On my wanderings I was fortunate enough to find quite a few of them – walk in, appreciate the architecture and the cool air, and continue my explorations. As with many of the churches I’ve explored on this trip, there really isn’t too much else to say about it… it’s a beautiful gothic / baroque style building, nicely quiet and serene.
It’s simply there, as a beautiful example of architecture and design. No more, no less.
Monday, 29-July-2024, through Saturday, 03-August-2024
I’ve gotten to really enjoy my walks from the train station to whatever airbnb, vrbo, or hotel I’m staying in. It’s a nice switch-up; I’ve got heavy bags to keep my body occupied, and I’ve got a new city to gaze out over to keep my mind occupied.
It’s a nice change of pace after a long train ride, and one of the few chances I have on this adventure to really get a good workout with heavy(ish) weights… definitely a grand combo, and one that I found myself reflecting on as I walked from the Brussels train station, through town, to my rental unit for the week.
I didn’t really have any expectations for what Brussels would be like – Belgium isn’t particularly high up on the list of “countries they teach us about” in New England, and Oregon wasn’t any better with including Belgium or Brussels into popular culture. I knew about Belgian Chocolates, and waffles… but truth be told I didn’t really make those connections until I was walking.
As I passed through the streets, though, the connection became clear. Chocolate shops, waffle shops, one after another, all interspersed with the ubiquitous tourist stores. I saw signs for the Atomium, which I hadn’t heard of (but made a note to see), for the European Parliament (which was interesting, but not interesting enough to make a plan to see), and a plethora of gothic and baroque architecture.
Churches, government buildings, all of them – not quite the opulence of Vienna, but at least equal to Warsaw or Krakow… if not a little bit more so? It was gorgeous, and very noticeable – adding a lovely sense of grandeur to my walk.
Soon enough I was at my destination, settled in, and ready to explore this beautiful city that I found myself in. The capital of Europe, and my final adventure before landing at my destination…
I started with food.
Belgium, Brussels specifically, had some excellent food – and people seemed to enjoy it a lot. Everywhere I went, from the early evening until late at night, was packed with people. Sitting by the fountains sipping drinks, chatting with friends while eating, a whirling mix of languages that somehow seemed more chaotic than any of the other cities I’d been in thus far. It was lovely, and I had a blast exploring the different culinary options:
Woodpecker 47 – I had a fun time at this brunch spot. It was solid food; a good brunch, but nothing too standout from any of the other spots I’ve broken my fast at. What was interesting was the interaction I had here – There was a long line, and I noticed that the person behind me was alone as well… so I invited her to sit with me at my table! She accepted, and we shared a quiet brunch together. No real conversation, aside from an exchange of names, but still. I’m proud of helping people get fed more quickly, for optimizing restaurant space, and most importantly for putting myself out there and being social!
Izzy – Simple and fun coffee shop, with a similar story to Woodpecker! I was chatting with the Barista while she was making me a rather excellent flavored latte, and asked about some signs that I’d seen around town – it seemed that everywhere I went, there was a poster for the “Harry Potter world of magic experience”… I could google it, of course, but that didn’t fit with my attempts to be more social… so I asked her about it! She hadn’t heard of it, but said she’d love to check it out… so we exchanged numbers, and ended up seeing it together! Woo!
Bij den Boer – This was a really neat looking restaurant near where I was staying, and I was excited to try Moule Frites here – mussels with fries! Unfortunately… not so great. They weren’t bad, per se, but I wouldn’t recommend getting them here.
Café Begijn – Unlike the above, this place I heartily recommend! Great breakfast, amazing meatballs (not quite as good as my Grandmas, or the ones in Stockholm, but damn close!), and excellent coffee!
La Cave du Roy – I honestly can’t remember what I had here. I could pretty easily look at photos to figure it out, but I’m going to take that as a sign for this review – it was fine, but not particularly memorable. Grand location with a great view, though. Wait! I had frog legs here, for the first time ever! They were okay. Worth having once, sort of like the various Greenlandic dishes I tried, but I won’t be seeking it out again.
Cafe Lloyd – Simple and delicious breakfast; couldn’t ask for more.
Café du Sablon – Good spot for a quick coffee, a pastry, and getting some postcards written up
House of Ribs N Grill – I’d say this was probably my favorite restaurant in Brussels. All you can eat baby back ribs… I didn’t know this was an option, but holy crap it was good. Add in some fancy beer, and I was in carnivorous heaven.
Atomium Café – Cafe at the top of the Atomium, from the 1958 worlds fair! Good food, fair price for the location, and amazing views. Fully recommend.
Brasserie Le Cerf – Pretty solid. As many may know, I really enjoy making a variation on Steak au pouvre – so when I saw that on their specials board, I had to try it out! Was good – not quite as much to my taste as what I make, but it was definitely solid and worth the visit.
Ohh… What else to say about Brussels?
I already mentioned the amazing architecture, and made passing comments about the beautiful street art and massive murals… It was a really amazingly lovely city, through and through. It was quiet, too, which was a bit unexpected and extremely appreciated. It added to the sense of serenity and relaxation that I so desperately appreciated here, at the end of my grand adventure…
Wow… How long has it been since I’ve done an international trip? How much longer since I’ve gone international solo?
Let’s see. The last international trip was to Scotland, right before the Pandemic hit. When I had that really bad flu… right before the Pandemic. With COVID. That presents sort of like a flu. That I’ve somehow avoided getting, as if I’d already gotten it and gained an immunity… Okay we’re not going down that road the last time I went abroad was January 2020. Three years and change.
The last time I went on a solo international trip? Well, that’d be New Zealand, back in 2012. 11 years.
It’s high time I explored.
I got accepted to Trinity College’s MBA program back in November, and accepted the offer that same month… though I delayed admission until 2024, to give me some time to finish up in Oregon and save up a bit more money. While talking to the admissions officer though, I learned about a Business forum put on by Trinity in March – a perfect opportunity for me to stretch my international adventure legs and see if Dublin would make a good home for a year or three!
I planned, I packed, and I set off on my first solo international trip in over 10 years…
(Please note that these are my raw notes from the trip. I’m proofreading them for obvious mistakes… but they’re still short-hand. Because life is busy, and blogs don’t need to be perfectly edited.)
Friday, 10-Mar-2023
I had a date today!
A while back, I’d moved my dating profile over to Dublin in an attempt to meet people and hear some stories and info from the locals. I was pretty clear about where I lived, and how long I’d be in town, and had some great chats with a few very interesting folks… though, interestingly, I didn’t end up chatting with too many native Irish. But I did chat with quite a few folks going to Trinity, one of whom was actually from Boston originally!
I’m getting ahead of myself – I started the day nice and early with breakfast at a bookshop.
It’s a nice bookshop, but not quite as homey as a used book store, and not nearly as extensive as Powell’s… Somethings, Oregon takes the cake with, no doubt. While not a record setting store, it was quite lovely and offered up an excellent breakfast, so I wasn’t complaining by any stretch of the imagination. I ate, read a bit, and did some shopping.
I wandered, made good use of the morning, and soon enough found myself meeting with with Katherine – a woman from Boston who’d been studying in Europe since ~2011! She’d started with her Masters in Vienna, and is almost done with her PhD here in Dublin, studying at the same College I’m looking at. We met up for seafood at an excellent restaurant literally 100yards from my apartment, where I got to try out my first serving of Fish and Chips!
They were delicious, if you were curious.
We chatted, she filled me in on a ton of neat little tidbits about both Dublin and Vienna, and then we headed onward to the Coast, via my first train ride in Ireland! First public transit! Heck yeah!
It was lovely, and definitely a good sign about whether I’d enjoy living in Ireland. Folks were polite, the gates were efficient, and buying a ticket barely took any time at all. There was even a guy proactively spreading salt, in preparation for a possible freeze over the next day or two.
That’s an interesting thing I’ve noticed, here in Dublin – There’s a lot of people working. Places are approximately equally priced to the States (food is a bit cheaper, actually), but there seems to be more staff at any location. The coffee shop I’m writing this in has four baristas, for example, whereas in the States there’d be one or two at most.
Katherine and I chatted as we walked, with her telling me interesting stories about moving around the world, and the varying pieces of knowledge that she’d picked up in Dublin while working on her dissertation. I shared insights about how life in the States has been going, and told her about some of the fun parts of my work in industry, giving her a sense into the corporate life that I lead in the States.
We sat by the water, spent some time chatting with a few cold-water swimmers, and made our way back to where she’d left her bike. Another good note about Dublin – I’ve seen TONS of bikes around! It’s definitely a bike-friendly city, no doubt.
After Katherine headed out, I wasn’t quite feeling ready to settle in for the evening yet… so I let my feet take the lead and wandered a bit. I found myself walking through Dublin Castle (still in use, it seems!), through a few gardens, and into the sunset. A stop at a grocery found my dinner, which I cooked up back at the apartment before turning in for the evening.
