Before visiting Brussels I heard that it was actually quite a boring city, yet I still wanted to visit it... maybe just to see if the rumours were really true?! We hopped on a short flight from Prague to Brussels for three days of exploring and eating all the delicious things that Belgium has to offer.
The first thing we ate in Brussels was poutine, no joke. Our hotel - Ibis St. Catherine (well recommended!) was right next to a huge Christmas market, and apparently the "destination of the year" which was being featured at the market was Quebec City. They had Quebec flags up, maple syrup on sale, and a wooden shack decorated with a mounted bison head selling poutine, Canadian beer, bison burgers, and Beaver Tails! I really wanted Beaver Tails (queues de castor) but they were so popular that the dough was sold out for the day, so we got poutine which wasn't as good as poutine in Canada, but was still fun to have.
We had high hopes for the rest of the Christmas markets in Brussels but were disappointed with how packed they were, and how un-Christmasy they seemed. There were a lot of neon flashing lights and cocktails instead of the cute, cozy stalls in Prague. They had food such as sausages, quiche, potatoes with cheese, and of course, waffles. The problem was that there were way too many people so it was hard to eat or walk around without bumping into everyone.
After a semi-boring walking tour of the city and getting the shock of how expensive things were, I was convinced that Brussels was a bust. However, I slowly started to be charmed after eating at La Maison Dandoy, a famous waffle place right near the Grand Place. I tried a delicious 'Liege' waffle with vanilla ice cream and lemon juice, with a very chocolately hot chocolate and I still think about that meal now and crave it! It smelled and tasted SO GOOD. On our visit to the city famous for waffles, we learned that a "Liege" waffle (named after the town of Liege in Belgium) is actually a more dense, chewier waffle with uneven edges. The Brussels waffle (which John tried) is more rectangular-shaped, and is lighter. Both were delicious, but I preferred the Liege and John liked the Brussels waffle.
After my first Belgian waffle experience, I was hooked on waffles. The streets smelled so sweet and made me crave them as I was walking around town. You could buy waffles for 1 Euro on the street, but they weren't as good as the ones at La Maison Dandoy. We tried some "lunch waffles" at a place called Waffle Factory, which were savoury-type ones with cheese and meat. John really enjoyed them but I preferred the sweet kind slathered with Belgian chocolate.
We learned that Belgium is famous for 4 things... waffles, chocolate, fries, and beer. We ended up eating all 4 each day we were in the city. Fries are all over the place in Brussels, but since people speak French there they call them "frites." We tried some crispy frites with a sauce called "Andalouse" which was made of tomato paste, mayo, and peppers. It was pretty good! While we aren't huge beer drinkers, we followed the local habits and drank up as well. The most interesting beer we tried was called Kriek, which was infused with cherries (not bad)!
During our wanderings around the city of Brussels, we came across the famous landmark - Manneken Pis, a peeing child statue. The statue has many legends, one being that it represented a boy who became a lord and during an important battle was hung in a tree from a basket, where he peed on opposing troops who eventually lost the battle. Strange. I'm not quite sure why the statue is so famous, as it's actually weird and quite small, but it was interesting to see in person. Not exactly a must-see attraction in Europe though!
One thing that did charm me (besides the food) was the lovely Grand Place. Brussels has a huge town square and it was very nicely decorated with a large Christmas tree. At night we stumbled upon an impressive sound and light show in the square. It gave the place an exciting atmosphere and really showcased the impressive architecture there.
On the last full day in Brussels I got to have my Beaver Tail (we went early before they sold out of dough for the day)! It was fun having a little slice of Canada in a foreign land. I never expected to be eating Beaver Tails and poutine thousands of miles from my home country, but it was a fun experience. In the end, Brussels won me over a bit, but I wouldn't say it was one of my favourite European destinations. I don't think it deserves all of its "boring city" reputation... I could think of many more "boring" places to spend three days at Christmas time!
Still thinking about those waffles...
The first thing we ate in Brussels was poutine, no joke. Our hotel - Ibis St. Catherine (well recommended!) was right next to a huge Christmas market, and apparently the "destination of the year" which was being featured at the market was Quebec City. They had Quebec flags up, maple syrup on sale, and a wooden shack decorated with a mounted bison head selling poutine, Canadian beer, bison burgers, and Beaver Tails! I really wanted Beaver Tails (queues de castor) but they were so popular that the dough was sold out for the day, so we got poutine which wasn't as good as poutine in Canada, but was still fun to have.
We had high hopes for the rest of the Christmas markets in Brussels but were disappointed with how packed they were, and how un-Christmasy they seemed. There were a lot of neon flashing lights and cocktails instead of the cute, cozy stalls in Prague. They had food such as sausages, quiche, potatoes with cheese, and of course, waffles. The problem was that there were way too many people so it was hard to eat or walk around without bumping into everyone.
After a semi-boring walking tour of the city and getting the shock of how expensive things were, I was convinced that Brussels was a bust. However, I slowly started to be charmed after eating at La Maison Dandoy, a famous waffle place right near the Grand Place. I tried a delicious 'Liege' waffle with vanilla ice cream and lemon juice, with a very chocolately hot chocolate and I still think about that meal now and crave it! It smelled and tasted SO GOOD. On our visit to the city famous for waffles, we learned that a "Liege" waffle (named after the town of Liege in Belgium) is actually a more dense, chewier waffle with uneven edges. The Brussels waffle (which John tried) is more rectangular-shaped, and is lighter. Both were delicious, but I preferred the Liege and John liked the Brussels waffle.
After my first Belgian waffle experience, I was hooked on waffles. The streets smelled so sweet and made me crave them as I was walking around town. You could buy waffles for 1 Euro on the street, but they weren't as good as the ones at La Maison Dandoy. We tried some "lunch waffles" at a place called Waffle Factory, which were savoury-type ones with cheese and meat. John really enjoyed them but I preferred the sweet kind slathered with Belgian chocolate.
We learned that Belgium is famous for 4 things... waffles, chocolate, fries, and beer. We ended up eating all 4 each day we were in the city. Fries are all over the place in Brussels, but since people speak French there they call them "frites." We tried some crispy frites with a sauce called "Andalouse" which was made of tomato paste, mayo, and peppers. It was pretty good! While we aren't huge beer drinkers, we followed the local habits and drank up as well. The most interesting beer we tried was called Kriek, which was infused with cherries (not bad)!
During our wanderings around the city of Brussels, we came across the famous landmark - Manneken Pis, a peeing child statue. The statue has many legends, one being that it represented a boy who became a lord and during an important battle was hung in a tree from a basket, where he peed on opposing troops who eventually lost the battle. Strange. I'm not quite sure why the statue is so famous, as it's actually weird and quite small, but it was interesting to see in person. Not exactly a must-see attraction in Europe though!
One thing that did charm me (besides the food) was the lovely Grand Place. Brussels has a huge town square and it was very nicely decorated with a large Christmas tree. At night we stumbled upon an impressive sound and light show in the square. It gave the place an exciting atmosphere and really showcased the impressive architecture there.
On the last full day in Brussels I got to have my Beaver Tail (we went early before they sold out of dough for the day)! It was fun having a little slice of Canada in a foreign land. I never expected to be eating Beaver Tails and poutine thousands of miles from my home country, but it was a fun experience. In the end, Brussels won me over a bit, but I wouldn't say it was one of my favourite European destinations. I don't think it deserves all of its "boring city" reputation... I could think of many more "boring" places to spend three days at Christmas time!
Still thinking about those waffles...
Once again,fabulous pics and commentary as well as an excellent and detailed description of...EVERYTHING!!! I think I would eat about a million waffles<3
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