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Brussels, Belgium
Take the time to waste a moment
I have been to Belgium before and have even been to Brussels, but truthfully I have never really been to Brussels. Sure, I’ve changed trains and eaten waffles at the train station at a layover on the way to Bruges, or flown in or out of the airport to some other European city a few times, but (for whatever reason), I never really thought of stopping and getting out, even for a few minutes or a few hours, time after time missing all that was so close all this time.
After landing at night, I stayed at the airport hotel before transferring early the next morning to a downtown one
Yet again, Brussels was just a stopover. Maybe next time I’ll spend more than just a few hours on a layover walking around and getting lost on my way to its Grand Place. You never know.
From London, I took a morning Eurostar train directly to Brussels Midi (a quick, two hour trip) and then took any train I could find to Brussels Central, checked my luggage, spent a few hours walking around, picked up my luggage and took a quick, 40 minute train to Ghent Sint-Pieters and, before you know it, you’re somewhere completely different.
If you had limited time in Belgium, chances are that you would make a stop in Bruges a priority, and I seriously thought about a return trip there this time around. No matter where you go in Belgium, it’s hard not to compare it to Bruges and (unfortunately for everywhere else), in most contests, Bruges usually wins.
That said, after some thought, I intentionally decided to go to Ghent instead and do my best to forget all about Bruges and just enjoy what was there. And there is plenty to enjoy. There’s an old town with canals and flowers and all of the picturesque Flemish buildings you can stand. And then, right in the middle between St Nicholas Church and the hard to miss belfry is this, the Stadshal designed by Marie-José Van Hee + Robbrecht & Daem. A permanent canopy for temporary events and markets that feels at times both foreign and familiar.
Day becomes night in two photos of what it’s like under that great big roof at the Stadshal.
Like I said, in Ghent there’s an old town with canals and flowers and all of the picturesque Flemish buildings you can stand. Here are a few quick pictures from all around the old town, before night and the rain came to wash it all away.
