Belgium: Pints of Beers, Boxes of Chocolates, and Tons of Fun

Having loads of fun with my classmates, all on exchange, in Bruges, Belgium

As much as I am a staunch advocate for solo travel, I have to admit that I absolutely love group travel as well. And when I say that I always have this particular visit to Belgium in mind. I had zero expectations from this trip - no plans, no guides, no itineraries - not even a rough outline of how to spend the next three days in a country I *probably* would not have even visited had it not been for the invitation of some of my friends from Ateneo, my home university in the Philippines, to join them. It sounded like a perfect way to spend a long weekend. And it was!

Day 1: Brussels, the capital city

It's true what they say about expectations: without them, you can't ever be disappointed. I arrived in Brussels, the country's capital notorious to a lot of travelers for being 'boring', at around 10 in the morning via a Ryanair flight from Madrid. Coming from a city outside of the capital of Spain, I had no other option but to go ahead of everyone else in the group as they were coming much later in the day. 

Have I ever mentioned how much I love fries, waffles, beers, and chocolates - well, basically just like everyone else? It just so happened that prior to this trip a little bird told me that Belgium is a land rich in all four. Paradise is what this country should be called. After checking in at our hostel, I went straight to the city center to try some waffles and was not at all disappointed.

Belgian Waffles from Funambule next to the infamous Manneken Pis: Strawberries, Bananas, Chocolate, and Whipped Cream

Later that night when the crew was finally complete, we went back to the center to have dinner and check out Delirium Café, a local bar which boasts housing thousands of different brands of beer under one roof. The vibe was great, sort of reminded me of college parties except people weren't recklessly annoying-drunk but were instead enjoying some of the best beers in the whole world. Just make sure you pee before leaving and don't end up like me - I could barely walk to the metro trying to tell my bladder to calm down. With that, let's just say that the rest of that eventful night is history. Thanks, Hoegaarden! Much love.

Day 2: Bruges, the city of chocolate

The following day, we decided to explore some of the nearby cities outside of the capital. Basically, you can't go to Belgium and not at least make a quick stop to Bruges. You just can't. It's a fairy-tale city in real life, with cute chocolate shops adorning every corner and an iconically Gothic historic center that just makes it even dreamier.

Bruges, Belgium has since become one of my favourite cities in the world

We decided to buy lunch from this fast-food type/healthy store/I now feel bad for not jotting the name down somewhere which was located near the windmill (I don't know how many windmills there are in Bruges, but I'm talking about that one in our group photo above). They had some of the best sausages I have ever had in my life and these amazing Belgian fries. I remember just saying a string of cuss words I never knew I was even capable of saying while having lunch on these random benches just because the food was THAT good. It was so good that suddenly, it didn't matter to me that it was freezing cold outside and I could potentially die of hypothermia.

Not French Fries: With mayonnaise and a bunch of other cool-sounding and great-tasting condiments

When it was time for souvenirs, we went to a really cool antique/thrift store nearby that sold original beer mugs and glasses for less than 1 euro each. But I couldn't possibly leave Bruges without buying chocolates and beer, so that's exactly what we did for the rest of the time we spent there. A box containing around 10 authentic Belgian truffle chocolates from any of the plethora of shops in Markt will probably set you back 8-10 euros. Not bad considering the superior quality and incomparable amount of happiness that it will bring in your life. I also found a pack of waffles covered in Belgian chocolate and great chocolate beer from one of the Carrefours near the train station. 

Day 2.5: Ghent, the university city

Dubbed as a 'university city', Ghent was the one thing about Belgium from which I actually had some expectations. Everyone was telling me not to miss it because of the lively, uni-vibe - a city filled with young people has to be a lot of fun, right?. But I don't get it. The city was practically deserted when we got there. Perhaps it was bad luck? And as I said, no expectations, no disappointments. Thus, I'm attributing this particular let down to the really cold weather and the fact that by the time we got there, the sun was already about to set. It was still a charming little city but definitely does not compare to Bruges. Maybe I'll visit again in the future. Maybe not. 

Arya Stark goes to some random castle that kind of looks like the Vale in Ghent, Belgium

We did get to take some cool photos with this one castle which turned out to be not as authentic as it looked or claimed to be. But the Belfries were also pretty cool and wonderful to admire, just like the ones in Bruges. I really think this city has potential, maybe it was just a case of bad timing for us. Anyway, we headed back to Brussels after spending only a couple of hours in Ghent, partly because we were starving and could not find a decent restaurant to have our 'last supper' together in Belgium.

And like I always say about this country, Belgium was very good to me in many bad ways. Let's just say we all swore to go on a diet and exercise once we were back in our respective host countries and cities. But in reality, Belgium was my rubicon, my point of no return: I only got even better at eating local cuisine after crossing this off my checklist.

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