After a pleasant and scenic 2 and 1/2 hour Eurolines bus ride from Amsterdam, I arrived at Central Station in Brussels, Belgium! Since it was only 10am, there would be plenty of time for sightseeing after checking in to my hotel! The center of town is home to most of Brussels’ main attractions.
My first visit was to the St. Michael and Gudula Cathedral, just a five or six minute walk from Central Station. This 11th century gothic-style church is the leading Catholic church of Belgium for Royals. The remains of St. Gudula are kept here. The interior of the church is noted for its gorgeous stained glass windows. I enjoyed celebrating the Sunday morning service here, as I am a devout Christian! We sang hymns in French and listened to beautiful scripture passages.
Then, further down the road I scurried, until I arrived at The Belgian Comic Strip Art Museum. I was greeted outside the museum by a large,colorful statue of the adored detective and comic book character “Tin Tin”. Inside the museum could be found figures of other famous comic strip protagonists and loveable characters such as the Smurfs.
It was mid afternoon and I still had not eaten after my lengthy bus journey! After all, there was sightseeing to be done! However, it was indeed time for a meal now. Keep in mind that overseas, veggie-friendly restaurants may not be open every day or every hour. Thus was the case here. I decided to eat at Exki(Exki). This veggie-friendly cafe had a cafeteria-style dining service. The clerks had a menu guide which told them which items were vegan. I selected a cold sald of grains and veggies, along with a bowl of Thai curry coconut milk soup. For a snack, I purchased a bowl of grapfruit, oranges, and melon. Everything was good and nutritious. They are in fact, a health conscious restaurant.
Brussel’s main square “La Grand PLace” is the most elaborate square in Europe they say. That was my next destination. It was absolutely gorgeous! The Town Hall is a massive facade with a hovering tower. The ornate buildings to its sides were also impressive and trimmed with gold. In the evening the buildings shimmer with lights! I spent quite a bit of time visiting the shops and chocolatiers in its confines then went strolling about on the neighboring streets and alleyways. One of the side streets was an international cornucopia of ethnic cuisine restaurants from Italian to Greek to Chinese.
I stopped in one of the cobblestone streets near the town hall where the international restaurants reside. One of the Italian restaurants offered to make a vegan risotto for me consisting risotto, mushrooms, tomatoes, and veggies. It was flavorful and delicious!
After dinner, I went walking around town again. I found the infamous Mannequin statue. This little guy squirting water from its body was dressed in a suit, moustache, and hat on this particular night. I also found the chocolate museum. However, they were not doing demos at that hour.
I found a chocolatier in one of the nearby streets that did make vegan dark chocolate on site. It was delicious! It was a good time to get some souvenir shopping done too. Then I called it a night.
Early the next morning, I took a day tour by bus for an excursion to the villages of Brugges and Ghent. After arriving back in Brussels around 8pm, it was time for dinner. There was, fortunately a veggie-friendly restaurant open late in the evening. Soul Restaurant is located in the SAblon neighborhood, just about a 20 minute walk from the center. Sablon is known for nice restaurants, upscale shopping, gardens. It borders a more casual shopping and cafe district called “Les Marolles” which I wallked through on my way to dinner. At “Soul”, I chose the humungous veggie burger with hummos, greens, and pumpkin mash. It arrived with vegan bread and olive oil for dipping. This was truly a gourmet meal! Everything was incredibly scrumptious!
Soul Restaurant(Soul Restaurant)
The day, I set out to explore the government buildings. My first stop included the Belgian Parliament wwhere my guide showed me the House Of Representative’s meeting room, as well the Senate. Next, I headed for the European Parliament. What an impressive place that was! The exhibits showcased acts of injustice which prompted the formation of the EU, and also displayed all of the positive events happening on the continent, ever since it has been put in place!
The Royal Palace is located across from the Belgian Parliament, on the other side of the park, so I made a stop there to see its magnificent grandeur.
When I arrived back in the center of town, I just had to spend some more time perusing the souvenir shops! I found a sweets shop which sold a type of Belgian wafer cookie called “Speculoos”. Apparently, they are vegan. I tried a sample and it was indeed good.The shortcrust biscuit is made with cinnamon and other spices.
For lunch, I just had to eat at the only all-vegan restaurant in town center, “Den Teepot”(though rumor has it there may be a vegan, Turkish chain restaurant in Brussels somewhere also). I choose the veggie plate consisting of brown rice, mixed veggies, seaweed, and greens and cabbage salad. It tasted delicious and nutritious!
Den Teepot(Rue des Chartreux 66 )
Since this was my last evening in Belgium, I spent it strolling the streets around and at La Grand Place.
Before getting some sleep for the night, I headed over to a chocolatier near my hotel, to watch a video of the chocolate-making process.
The next morning, I ate the bean and veggie cakes I had received from Den Teepot the night! It was a tasty and healthy, vegan breakfast meal! On my Aer Lingus flight back to Boston, they provided a vegan meal of pasta, salad, and fruit.
My time in Belgium had to come to an end, with enjoyable memories of impressive architecture, quaint villages, great food, and gorgeous scenery!
