Bruxelles, Belgium

I have at this point moved on from my stay in Brussels, but as I reflect upon what was there, I am slightly dissapointed at myself for not exploring more durring my stay. Perhaps I compared it too much to the fabulous Edinburgh, Scotland. Maybe getting into the city late in the day tainted my view - either way I am sure Brussels has more to offer than what I experienced (not to say that I didn't enjoy my stay). Location wise, I was not exactly in an ideal place to enjoy downtown, so I definitely recommend staying as close to the main city center as possible.

Actually, I found myself wandering around a lot, probably because it was the first truely foreign country I have been to alone (everyone speaks french/dutch and they have an entirely different culture). It was certainly rich in culture and that became apparent when in the town centre. Here's the good things I saw:

Musée des Instruments de Musique:
        Right in the middle of the museum square downtown is a really interesting musical instruments museum. I had been recommended this by the company Use-It (geared toward free/affordable youth tourism - check them out at www.use-it.travel) and was not at all expecting what was inside. The tour comes with a free audio guide and as you walk around looking at the thousands of different instruments, it automatically plays music played by the instrument infront of you! I had never experienced such a thing, and was really impressed by how high-tech everything was.

Musée Margritte: (no photography, but I snuck a few)
        This was by far my favorite museum in Belgium, and probably my favorite museum in Europe so far. Dedicated to famous contemporary artist René Margritte (reh-neh mahr-greet), this museum holds the largest personal collection of paintings done by Margritte, aswell as a full history of his life and accomplishments. Having not been very familiar with him, I was reluctant about going at first, but for a very reasonable €2 it was worst every bit. I even bought a book from the gift shop (which typically is against everything I stand for), and so with that, I leave you to google more of his artwork and see for yourself.

Chocolate Square and the Chocolate Museum:
        For everyones information, the Chocolate Museum is not located in Chocolate Square... Easily missed (and I can see why) is the Chocolate Museum in Brussels which in my mind is not worth the Euros I paid for it. The museum gives a full historical backround on the cocao bean and chocolate as a whole, as well as a chocolate making demonstration (which I missed) and a chocolate sampling (which was pretty delicious) Available for purchase are overpriced chocolate bars and other paraphernalia. Chocolate Square got its nickname through being the home of every gourmet Belgian chocolate shop you can think of (and then some). Its located mjust down from museum square and is a real pleasure to walk around in, although I did not purchase any chocolate because the prices were absurd. If you have the money, I recommend it, but being on a backpacker budget that was out of the question.

Manneken Pis:
        The famous statue of a boy doing his business - not the best thing but a must see if in Brussels. There are also rumors that they now have a female version and a dog version somewhere in the city!

There were plenty of other good things about the city, but thays for you to find out when you are on your own trip! Questions? Comments? Write to me below!

-A