Capital of the EU

Our Brugge hotel had a rather early standard check-out time of 1030 which gave us just enough time to pack up after breakfast. We walked across Market Square to catch the bus to the railway station where we caught the train to Brussels, the capital of the EU and also Belgium.

The journey was slightly faster than the outbound two days ago. Arriving at Centraal station, we took a taxi to the NH Atlanta Hotel. We could have walked (15 minutes) or taken the metro (1 stop) but the latter wouldn’t have saved the us much money, for two people.

The hotel was a 4-star one which I had found through a search site and booked through a relatively unknown site called Onhotels.com. I was a bit worried that it was a scam but fortunately it worked well. The rate we got was EUR40 whereas normally it ranges from EUR75-110. Not a bad way to spend four nights! And we even got an early check-in.

We wandered to the St Catherine area to check out some seafood places but they were all pricey. We had settled for cafe-style meals in a big pedestrian mall nearby. After lunch, I had to relieve myself and did that against the wall of St Catherine’s, as is the tradition, as there is a urinal set up especially for it.

We crossed the main road to the Grand Place, which has been described by some as the most beautiful square in Europe. It is gorgeous but then so are all the other squares in Belgium.

There were many restaurants around Rue de Bouchers offering great dining deals. They are largely (or exclusively) run by Middle Eastern people and advertise their set meals outside of the restaurant by way of several boards. There may be a EUR10 offer (including drink) but when the restaurant gets busier, that board goes behind another board that advertises a EUR15 set meal.

And when the restaurant gets really busy, both boards disappear and a very expensive menu (around EUR40) is brought out to those seated without having seen the promotions. It’s just like the airlines, the last few seats will be for those who are willing to pay the big bucks!

Brussels (or what we have seen of it) seems like a very pleasant capital city for the country and for Europe. It isn’t too big or crowded and has a delightful historic centre.