Belgium

Think Belgium, think chocolates, think centre of Europe, think beer. That's what we were thinking one weekend 2 weeks ago. Belgium held 2 destinations for us, namely Bruges and Brussels.

We spent 2 days in Bruges & 1 day in Brussels following unanimous recommendations of how amazing Bruges is. And amazing Bruge is! Bruge is absolutely a picturesque little Belgian town 1hr away from Brussels on the train decorated by its affluent architecture, cobblestone pavements and tranquil canals. And if you come during December, you can add to the list Christmas Markets & an open-air ice skating rink!! We wondered around the town browsing through its markets while Rebecca 'tanked' up on their malt warm red wine (gluhwein) and munching our way through Bratwurst (German sausages) & fries. I was astounded at the number of chocolate shops around too! You'd think they'd diversify but it apparently isn't the mentality of the Belgians, they must looove their chocolates!! We also went to the Chocolate Museum and learnt where chocolate comes from, its history (yeah! it actually has one) & that it is fatening (only it didn't want to admit it. The exact words were "If you are thin, you can probably eat as much as you want and not get fat. But if you are fat, you might want to watch how much you eat. Moderation is good". To me, that just says "YES, but...."). We also watched an Aussie make these amazing lollies in a lollie shop - Yes, an Aussie, of all places! The process was actually pretty amazing and the lollies end up not only tasting like strawberries (or any other flavour for that matter), but it looks like strawberries too! (check out our photos). Another highlight was the Ice Palace which was very very cool, just check out the pics!



After Bruges we spent a quick afternoon and evening in Brussels. Did a quick city tour on the City Tour Bus and visited the little peeing boy. I still wonder why the little boy is famous because it's not all that impressive... hmm... Once again, they had some nice Christmas markets there and the Christmas atmosphere there was just magical. Brussels in home to the European Union too if you didn't know! Oh! and while we are interesting points about Belgium, did you know there are more brews of beers found in Belgium than anywhere else in the world?