Brussels Travel: The Good, The Bad and The Ugly

Our month of Brussels travel was a happy coincidence. We were in Amsterdam, panicking about where to go next, when the day before we left we found ourselves Skyping with a young woman who was about to leave for the Camino de Santiago trail and wanted to rent out her apartment while she was gone.

Travel lovers renting from another travel lover? It was too good to be true.

And it didn’t hurt that her apartment was awesome and located in a great area of the city, either.

Here’s the rundown of some of my observations from my time there.

The Good

The beer

It goes without saying that Belgium is world-renowned for its beer, and with good reason. The vast number of beers sold and produced here is staggering and even the smallest dive bar in Brussels will serve a dizzying amount, all poured into their own specific glass. I myself am a big fan of the fruity Belgian Lambic beers, so I was in heaven during our month there, especially enjoying the peach flavour that I can never get my hands on at home.

The frites

I dedicated a whole post to my search for the best frites in Brussels and I can honestly say that it was an enjoyable task. I loooove fries and I admire the Belgians for creating a whole meal out of them, complete with a ridiculous amount of sauce slathered on top. You can find friteries all over the city but my best advice is: stay away from the city centre if you want good fries. The touristed spots in the main squares pale in comparison to the neighbourhood friteries.

Easy accessibility

You can get to Brussels easily and cheaply from several other popular European cities. We took the Megabus from Amsterdam, which only took around 4 hours, and which was then continuing on to Paris and London. This is a great option for those who don’t like flying or who are travelling on a budget and makes Brussels really accessible even for a day trip.

The love of comics

It isn’t just the comic strip walls that Brussels is famous for, but in fact all things comic-related. There is a comic strip museum, huge comic character statues and more comic book stores than you can shake a stick at. They are comic obssessed, and it makes for a very fun and nostalgic vibe.

The Bad

Sticker prices

I’ve talked about how expensive Brussels is before, but the main area where it pinched our purses was at the grocery store. It was fairly shocking to see how much more our daily or weekly shop added up to, compared to Amsterdam from where we had just come. Add on to that the occasional trip to the cinema at 10 euros per person and a meal of mussels for 20 euros, and even living like a local can hurt the budget.

Lack of cheeriness

I’m not one for stereotypes, so before people start accusing me of pigeonholing French-speaking people I’d like to explain that this wasn’t so much a language barrier as a distinct lack of cheeriness among locals that couldn’t be shaken. At the supermarket, at bars and cafes, at shops; people weren’t exactly “happy to help”. Unlike in France, the Brusselians don’t tend to sneer when you attempt to talk to them in their native language (or even if you don’t), but still, despite the fact that they live in a damn cool city, you could rarely raise a smile.

The Ugly

The presence of so many Manneken Pis-themed things

Ahhh, Manneken Pis. That absurd and yet intriguing little naked peeing boy that no-one can resist snapping a picture of. I think he’s awesome, mainly because of all the crazy attention he gets. But really, can we stop with the life-size chocolate moulds, the brass sculptures, the house ornaments and numerous other freaky and disturbing replicas that be found in restaurants and souvenir shops all over the city?

Pedestrian crossings

This is an odd one, but then if it wasn’t it wouldn’t be in this category. There are pedestrian crossings EVERYWHERE in Brussels. If you want to walk from one street to another, you will have to take a pedestrian crossing. This must send drivers insane, as they are constantly having to stop every few seconds and let people pass. As a pedestrian I appreciate the nod towards safety when crossing the road, but I don’t appreciate the game of dare when trying to figure out whether a car will actually stop for you or not.

Photo credit: manneken pis