I have always wanted to explore Europe but it's not a budget friendly idea if you come from a country that requires to secure a Schengen Visa but I got lucky in the last couple of years for being able to visit 4 European countries to date.
The first time I came to the Netherlands I was already eyeing to tour the neighboring countries but without enough budget and free time (my boyfriend works most of the time), it was impossible but this time I was glad to have come across GoEuro which is a site for transportation around Europe by Train, Bus and Plane which breaks down prices for transits across different borders and with faith and patient, I got Martijn to agree on a day tour to Brussels Belgium yesterday.
It was a 2 hour bus ride from Eindhoven, the closest city from the town where we live. We opted for the 8.30a ride so we're at Brussels just before lunch. The cost of our fare two person two ways was around 37 euro. Will put the breakdown later after the photos. Our bus stop was 18 minutes walk from our first sight stop.
Firs stop is St. Michael and St. Gadula Cathedral, is located at the Sinter-Goedeleplein at the heart of Brussels. I must say the architectural designs inside were beautiful, from the high ceilings, stained glass windows and wall sculptures, it was like walking into a private chapel inside a castle. This is were the royal families are crowned, baptized and wed. It's just impressively beautiful and it has a souvenir shop inside as well as a museum where you can go in for 2 euro a person and if you're lucky you can attend a private mass conducted on the right wing of the church.
The church sits on top of hill with intricate details on all sides. Most tourists takes their short break just outside the steps. You can eat on the benches provided and the church is facing a tiny park where you can also rest.
The interiors were breath taking. My favourites are the stained glass which shows stories of coronation and stories of the royals. The individual sculptures on each wall was fascinating and the place where the priest preaches is impressive.
St. Michael and St. Gadula to which the cathedral was named looks so magnificent with their gold details. Lighting a candle will cost you 1 euro for small candles and 2 euro for the slightly bigger one.
These are the sides of the cathedral.
As a side sight, this is the museum of finance just on the left side of the cathedral. Look at all the sculptures. Beautiful.
The park outside of the church.
Second stop is Galeries Royales Saint-Hubert, is a 5 minute walk from the church. It is a beautifully designed line of shops (mostly chocolate shops). A little busy with tourists but the sights of expensive Belgian chocolates are fun to see. Never bought one cos we were doing a budget friendly tour.
I believe it has a Parisienne counterpart. It looks fabulous and walking on this tunnel like gallery makes you feel rich :D
All those prettily laid chocolates with prices ranging from 17 euro up. Maybe next time? Or I think it's the same as the ones we can get from the groceries. Chocolates shops here are lined, mostly owned by the same company.
Third stop is Hotel de Ville and Grand Place Bruxelles, it's an 3 minute walk from the Galaries Royales Saint-Hubert. This stop is the highlight of this tour. I've never seen so much intricate sculpture in my entire life than the ones from the square. It's jam packed with tourists and residents so it's fun to people watch and now that their Christmas Tree is up, it looks more beautiful. This is also the place where you can ride and rent a horse carriage tour, to bring you around the square.
I'm no photographer but these photos are not even close to justifying the perfected sculptures on the buildings. These buildings are old and can be traced back to the Gothic era. Some of them are museums while some are still used for offices, some are restaurants and hotel. It's I must say, this is the center of it all. This is also the square which the Belgians decorated with flowers all over it's ground.
Our fourth stop is the Mannekin Pis, the famous little boy who's private part project naughtiness and cuteness at the same time. A short walk from the square - 1 minute to be exact from Hotel de Ville which houses the laying sculpture of a woman whom you have to touch for good luck - to which I didn't take a photo of :D
It's one of the busiest sights at Brussels, so patience is indeed a virtue to walk while a sea of crowd takes their selfies individually on with this cute sculpture.
Our fourth and last stops are De Warande Park and the Belgian Royal Palace, both are adjacently lined. It is an 18 minutes walk from the Manneki Pis. The royals does have some wonderful views in the morning. De Warande Park is a huge park which I would personally compare to New York's central park. It's massive with fountains and trees and a mini forest with an ample benches for sitting and walkways and jogging paths. It was a perfect place to rest our tired feet from an entire day of walking.
De Warande Park is massively beautiful for morning and afternoon walks. A lot of people passes it by to go to their next route, it offers and easy access to trams, taxis and bus. It's also adjacent to the Royal Palace.
Like most European Palace, it is massive and resembles other European palaces as well. But it was beautiful to see it up close.
As a bonus, Martijn decided to make me his muse yesterday :D
Overall, it was a wonderful day tour to Brussels Belgium. Brussels as they say is the capital of Europe because the European Union Headquarters is there. It is a nice place and I'll say you'll somehow feel secure seeing all the armed soldiers doing their normal routine of checking the train stations and other places. They have also installed cctv cameras all over the place. I just not a fan of their steep streets which makes it a bit hard for heavy people like me to walk around but it was a good exercise. This day trip cost us almost 120 euro for two person with roundtrip bus tickets.
Fact, fries were first introduce by Belgians and at Brussels, you will find the oldest fries shop - Fritland, which has been opened since 1978. Didn't get to taste it because the line was long but looking at the faces of the people, I think it was worth it. Also, Brussels speaks mostly French since they're more closer to France. Though there are some who speaks Dutch. Most can speak English though in shops and restaurants.
Here's a breakdown. The bus ride is from Eindhoven Netherlands (close to the border of Belgium) and the prices are for 2 people. What we did was we brought our own bottles of water and necessary stuff to avoid buying. It would also be wise to bring small snacks - if you're like me who easily gets hungry. And don't worry about the food budgets, there are a lot of small cafeterias around Brussels where you can get snacks and fries for a good price. 2 to 5 Euros of food is already good.
And here are the places we've visited with our day tour. I strongly suggest to do google maps first before going around. You can either print the map route to the sights or you can use your google app for easier navigation.
I hope I can do another day tour in another country with Martijn soon. I find it really interesting and rewarding to go online and do research on this stuff. If you happen to be going to Europe anytime soon, feel free to message me for assistance :D
No comments:
Post a Comment