[Europe] Half Day in Brussels

Actually i can't say "half" day for this trip. Because i only spent 4 hours to explore Brussels. However, if you just want to do the sight seeing, this time will be enough. FYI, Brussels is a small city. 1 day is more than enough to explore this city.

From Bruxelles Central, we walked through the street behind Hotel Le Meridien. Most people there went to the same direction, the Grand Place. That's also where we're heading. However, it was 3 pm at that time, and we haven't had lunch. I had no idea where should we eat. Because i've read at some forum about Brussels, and most people said that restaurant around Grand Place was a tourist trap. But, the hot weather and the tummy rumbling forced us to pick one restaurant. And we chose Brussels Grill  for our lunch.

After had lunch, we started to strolling. First, we walked to Grand Place, one of the famous landmark in Brussels.

Hôtel de Ville de Bruxelles 

You can found the street artist at Grand Place. His pictures are so wonderful..

There's a lot of chocolate stores around Grand Place. But there's one place which i like the most, Godiva. I always like Godiva's chocolate. Wherever i found Godiva, it's a must for me to buy the ice cream or even the ice chocolate. But this time i didn't buy the ice cream. They have a "new" food which looks so promising : Fresh strawberry coated with delicious chocolate. How could i refuse that???

We continued our trip to the next landmark at Brussels, Manneken Pis. Manneken Pis is a fountain with a bronze statue of a little boy. It's located not far from Grand Place, about 400 m. Just walk to the "small" street at the left of Hôtel de Ville, go straight, Manneken Pis will be on the left. You will not miss the statue. Because it always full of peoples, especially tourists.

At this street, you can see a lot of stores selling waffles, tapestry and sculptures. Everything looks pretty and wonderful. But i still have 2 weeks at Europe and i think it would be hard to bring the sculptures during my trip. Anyway, i tried the most famous and delicious waffle at Brussels, Maison Dandoy. It also located at this street. I'll post about this waffle separately.

Before we ended this trip, we took a look at Galeries Royale St Hubert, a luxury shopping mall. It didn't take a long time, because we didn't have a plan to shopping here. Otherwise the place is also not big.

Delvaux store at Galeries Royale St Hubert 

I didn't realize it's already 7 pm. It's time for us to leave Brussels. We went to Bruxelles Midi station, and take Thalys train to go to Paris. However, i feel happy to have a trip at Brussels, even just for 4 hours. It was amazing day for us.

Just an advice from me :
Do not walk at Brussels with bring a luggage. The street is not good and it's very difficult to walk around with luggage. If you don't stay in Brussels, it will be better to put your luggage at the station. There's a locker for the left luggages at Bruxelles Central. But you have to prepare coins to use the locker. It's around € 4,5 for the large luggage.

[Europe] From Amsterdam to Brussels with Mega Bus

It was the second day of my Europe Trip, and we're going to Brussels. To go to Brussels, i chose to take a "Mega Bus" ride from Amsterdam. The bus fare is quite cheaper than a train ride, £14 pp (it costs €40 pp to take Thalys train). And it also doesn't take a long time to go to Brussels (about 3 hours). Otherwise, i want to have an experience to go to another city by taking a bus. It must be nice with a beautiful view that i would see.

We started this trip from Amsterdam Centraal Station. We took tram 26 at CS tram Oostzijde towards IJBurg, and get down at the 4th stop (Zuiderzeeweg). Right behind this stopped, you'll see a large parking area, called "Zeeburg P&R coach park". This is the place where we gonna take Mega Bus.

inside the tram

When we arrived, the place was so quite. Even i couldn't see any people there. I feel worried if we're at the wrong place. Because we were there with large luggages, and it's gonna be hard for us to find another transportation.

Luckily, we met the security, and he told me that the place was at the end of the parking area. We walked to that place, and he was right. We saw a Mega Bus there. But there's no people there. Maybe it's too early ( i came 90 minutes before departure schedule :P)

30 minutes before the departure, peoples started to come. The staff checked our printed ticket (we've made reservation before) and the bus was ready to go. The departure schedule is at 11.30 am. Make sure you won't come late. Because they will not wait for you.

The bus is clean and comfortable. They also have a restroom inside the bus. So don't worry about the long trip ^^ During this trip, we saw the beautiful view of Netherlands. I'm so glad that we took this bus. So we could enjoy the view in Netherlands. Even though we're not exploring another city at Netherlands.

First time i made reservation at Mega Bus, they told me that the bus would stop at "Bruxelles Central" station. That's why we chose this bus. Because it's not far from the "Grand Place", so we could take a walk from the station to Grand Place. But, about 1 month before departure, i received an email from "Mega Bus". They told me that the stop has been changed. Start from July 16th, 2015, Mega Bus will stop at Rue du Progres, next to Gare du Nord.

It was confusing me at the first time. Because i didn't know anything about Gare du Nord area, and i was afraid running out of time in Brussels. However, when we were there, it didn't confused me as i was thinking before. I just need to take a train at the Gare du Nord towards Bruxelles Midi, and get down at the first stop (Bruxelles Central).

at Gare du Nord, Brussels 

Well, welcome to Brussels!! Don't forget to try the "real" Belgian waffles (and chocolate too!!). It's so delicious ^^

P.S. :

Don't forget to make a reservation at megabus.com few days before, and print your ticket. You can't buy the ticket on the spot.

Fish & Chips - Volendam

When you're in Volendam, there are 2 kinds of food you should try : herring and fish & chips. You can find many food stalls selling fish & chips and herring at Volendam. However, while i was there, it was raining and the weather was really cold. I need a place that is warm enough to shelter and have a lunch. That's why i went to Fish & Chips Volendam. Otherwise, this restaurant also quite famous in Volendam.

The place is quite small, but they have 2 floors. It wasn't crowded while i was there. So i could get a place easily.

They have various kinds of food. Not just fish & chips, they also have seafood platter and herring as well.

The fish and chips (and seafood platter), served with salad. If you like, you also can add paella rice on the plate. Just for your information , the portion was really big. I think 1 plate can be shared for 2 persons.

Fish & Chips

Overall, the foods was not really good, but it's also not bad. The paella rice was so different with the "real" paella, it's quite tasteless. But, the fish and chips was delicious and tasty. It's crispy and so fresh. They just fried it when you place an order.

How about the herring??
Sorry, but i wasn't brave enough to eat the herring. Because it's a raw fish , and some people said that the taste was fishy. However, if you like to eat raw fish, you should try this traditional food of Volendam.




Fish & Chips Volendam
Haven 22, 1131 ER Volendam, Netherlands