"Capital Of Europe" a Brussels Travel Page by Bix10

The title does not necessarily mean that my last trip is my very first time to Brussels but I would say that it is my first time to Brussels in my adult life. Why would I say that it's my first time, one would ask. My answer is simple - the first time I visited Brussels was when I was 9. I was always in Brussels every now and then everytime I was in The Netherlands of France. In Summer 2004, I went to Brussels and was robbed by a group of Moroccans just outside Central Station. I could have said that was my first time in my adult life but I couldn't appreciate the beauty of the city as I was more focused in making a police report and trying to get an emergency passport from my embassy to go back home. In February 2008, I managed to go to Brussels and stayed for 3 days and took plenty of pictures which I find it to be amazingly fantastic.

So there you go. I find the last trip as my first time to Brussels to understand and appreciate the beauty of the buildings an scenery. However, I must say that it's a pretty dangerous city and when I look around, I don't find myself safe even with the presence of the police. I just wish that the Belgian government would do something about it. Plus, those brick roads at Grand Place / Grote Markt is such a nuisance for people with baby prams. I'm aware that Europe is made of brick roads everywhere cos I live in Europe but the ones in Amsterdam is way better and baby friendly than those ones in Brussels.

In retrospect, the visit was good with some disappointments toward the people. Managed to get some beautiful pictures of the city.

We came from London and we decided to take the Eurostars from St. Pancras cos we've never been on it since it first launched and took off from Waterloo station. The fare was £320 (Round Trip) for 2 adults and a 5 month old baby (well, the baby traveled free actually, so the fare was just for the adults.)

The ride was really smooth and it only takes almost 2 hours to reach Brussels Midi-Zuid station, which literally means south. There was a stop at Ebbsfleet International in England and Lille in France. The ride was smooth all along. We traveled to most places by taxis and I must say that the fares are really decent, unlike the ones in Amsterdam, which starts at Euro7.50.

We decided to come back a day earlier than planned and the ticket was non-refundable and non-exchangeable. So we had to buy another ticket to go back. We had the imagination that it'll be the same price as the ones we bought but we were so wrong. We had to pay Euro260 for a round trip cos we were advised that it's cheaper to buy a round trip than a one way journey. The ride was again smooth.

Overall, Eurostar should be complimented on a good job to smooth its passenger traffic because the immigration for Brussels was done at St.Pancras station in England and the British immigration was done in Brussels station.

All tourists will definitely look out for Manneken Pis. It tops their list to do for Brussels, I'm sure. Next would be Grand Place and the Palace of Justice plus the actual Royal Palace itself. I find them all fascinating and incredibly beautiful. The story or tale that a young boy managed to diffuse a bomb by leaking on it is just interesting enough. The smell of Belgian waffles all around the city, golden buildings at Grand Place, huge gigantic architecture of the Palace of Justice is my favourite one. It made me realise why I'm a lawyer and not an architect.

Overall, the city is a beauty!