Brussels Sights

We only had one day in Brussels so we had to make the best of it. Our first stop was the Brussels Palace.

It was very pretty and the garden was spectacular. There were gardeners out working as we were there and it appeared they groomed the garden at least weekly, if not sooner. 

Even the gate to the palace was nice. It was rod iron with gold accents. This place was heavily armed. They had guards just like at the cathedral in Prague. 

Across the street from the palace was a really nice garden. Brian and I took a nice little stroll through the gardens to see all the landscaping. At the end of the garden there was a pretty fountain, that we stopped at and found a nice bench to relax for a few. 

Just a quick walk from the gardins and we arrived at the beautiful St Michael and Gadula Cathedral. 

This church looked similar to the Notre Dame again. It was built in the early 9th century. It had awesome stained glass windows inside. They all seemed to tell a story, and had such great detail. 

In the afternoon we went to the Grand Place Market. The buildings there were really neat. 

We also got to see the Belgium "mascot" the manneken pis statue. I kept seeing replicas of the statue all over like in front of the waffle shop:

And all over, so when we arrived at the statue you can imagine my shock when I saw a teny tiny statue. 

After using the zoom as far as I could I got a close up. 

After seeing the statue we decided to go on a brewery museum tour. 

We got to see some old brew tools and learn how the beer is made. 

We even got a free (included in price) beer! We went to the bar and the bartender asked light or dark beer, Brian said dark and I said "no thanks," and when I did I got the stare of death as he said "what?, what beer do you want." Since I'm pretty sure I offended him I quickly said light. Brian said he is sure no one has ever turned down a beer before with that guy. 

I took a drink because the guy watched me the whole time, and it was..... BEER! I hated it and could barely choke down one drink. So I learned to do the fake drink then when the guy looked away Brian drank from my cup. 

Brian thought it was really funny so he took a photo. 

After our brewery tour we went to Hard Rock Cafe for lunch. While we were there we saw Elvis cap from the Army. 

Getting to Brussels

When we found out we could save ourself a 9 hour train ride from Prague to Brussels by flying we jumped on it. The best part was is we flew with RyanAir and our tickets were only $36 each! I still am not sure how we could only pay $36 each, we didn’t have to pay to check ANY luggage, and the flight was not bad at all, especially since in the US the cheapest flight is way closer to $100. 

We did not get a complimentary drink, but honestly it was an hour and a half flight and I didn’t really care that we didn’t get a drink or a snack. To me a drink and a snack are not worth the additional $65+. We had heard mixed reviews about RyanAir, but our thoughts were, you get what you pay for and honestly the value for the money was great. 

When we arrived at the Airport and made it to our terminal we had to wait a little bit. When they finally called that we were boarding I was totally confused because there was not a plane in sight, only buses. We all loaded into two buses like a bunch of sardines, and they drove us about 100 yards away to our plane that was parked away from the building. We boarded the plane from the ground, which was a first for me but not Brian. 

Once on the plane we realized that the $10 extra dollars we had paid per ticket to be in priority seating was the best decision EVER! We were in a row of three seats and it was just us. There was no one behind us, which was nice, and no one in front of us. The plane was packed but in Priority Seating they give you more space between people. 

One of the funniest and most different thing that happened on the RyanAir flight was the food they served (for a fee). They have lasagna and chicken fingers and things like that, which they warmed up for you. We did not have any but they looked like MREs. They also sold lottery and scratch off tickets on the plane. 

We had a smooth flight and made it safely to Brussels. As we walked out of the airport and were looking for the bus to take us into town, we were offered a lower price to take a shuttle with 6 other people. We decided this seemed to be a good idea, since the bus wasn’t leaving right away and we were just ready to be to the hotel. Unfortunately we had to sit in the very back of the van, which was not good for me because I get car sick. As we began our “adventure” home I realized there must not be much of a speed limit in Brussels either based upon how this driver was driving. About 10 mins into our 45 min drive we hit traffic. After the driver did the whole “stop and go a little then slam on the brakes’ act he decided to make his “own road” off to the left of all the other cars, AKA the shoulder. He proceeded to drive about 60mph. He left the highway and took some crazy windy back roads at about 80 mph. The thought crossed my mind that “he was taking us out into the middle of nowhere to kill us,” but I quickly had a change of thoughts when I realized I was about to get sick from his driving. The fact there was no AC and I was crammed in the middle of a bucket seat in the back of a van didn’t help that matter.

After finding the highway again we headed into town going about 120 mph. My seat belt was tight, my knuckles white, and sweat was pouring down my back as I prayed that we please get back safely. I could tell Brian was freaking out a bit but was trying to be my protector and act like everything was cool. When we arrived at the train station, I almost kissed the ground.