Day 1- So far so good!

After months of planning and anticipation, we have finally arrived at our first stop of the trip- Brussels, Belgium! We are on our way to Bangkok and we had a 6 hour layover in Brussels so we thought we should take advantage of the time and go into the city of Brussels to explore. Surprisingly we got a lot done!

We landed around 6:45 AM in Brussels and it was pitch black outside. We were a little worried about the darkness and we were hoping that the sun would rise by the time we got into the city via train. Of course, the first thing we witness when walking out of the airport while looking for a place to store our carry-on bags was a man getting mugged- not a good first sign.

With a little bit of help from some locals we were able to purchase a train ticket and get to Central Station in 25 minutes! (Thanks Nina, Mathias and Greg for the tips in advance)

It was still black when we got to the city and of course we forgot the detailed itinerary I printed out- all that hard work wasted!!! Good thing I was prepared and had a copy of the Powerpoint I made on my phone! So off to our first stop- Mannekin Pis!

We almost walked by it unknowingly- this famous statue of the peeing boy was quite small!

It was still dark out so we naturally were intrigued by the glowing, lit up buildings and so we started walking towards them- it happened to be the Grand Place! The buildings were beautifully lit up in the square while the intricate details of the architecture were astounding! So glad we caught this while it was lit up in the dark!

Since we forgot our map, we decided to just walk around the city and get lost on an adventure. Luckily, we ended up at all the places I wanted to go to anyway! Brussels is actually quite small and it wasn’t too hard to see the sights.

We walked through the Galaries Royales St Hubert area where there are a bunch of restaurants and cute stores. We stopped for our first meal of the day- waffles!!! We went to Mokafe  which the locals claim is one of the best waffles in town. It wasn’t crowded as it was early and they had just opened, so we grabbed a seat and shared a waffle with bananas and chocolate. OMG so delicious.

I didn’t even like waffles, but this is no ordinary waffle. Crunchy on the outside yet light and airy on the inside, it was the perfect start to the day. Of course, Eric had a beer with breakfast as well.

As we walked around the city some more, we grabbed some more beers and decided to grab one more waffle before we left. We went to Gaufre De Bruxelles where we tried a different type of waffle this time, a liege waffle which was sweet and didn’t need any toppings. OMG! This one was even better!!!!!

Soft and chewy, this dense waffle was completely different from our first and soooo good!

With our bellies full and with 3 hours of exploring under our belts, we decided to call it a day and head back to the airport. Don’t worry guys, I got you some chocolate souvenirs from Chocopolis! ;) Belgium Beer, Waffles and Chocolate….I think we got it covered

We had a great time exploring this small city. Definitely worth a quick visit if you also have a layover- very doable indeed!

So far so good! Now off to Bangkok!