Travel to Belgium

We enter into a small chocolate shop in one of the lanes by the Grand Place in Brussels (Bruxelles). Though no attendant is seen from outside, a wind chime attached to the door signals that somebody is in; the shopkeeper appears to our service. We are enamored by this European style of greeting. We are in Brussels, the capital city of Belgium in Europe that is also famous for its vibrant shopping markets, besides being the capital city of the European Union.

Brussels abounds in shopping spots. According to the ministry of Economy and Employment of the Brussels, the city's compact geography and a lot of shopping areas, each with specific characteristic, make it easy for tourists to get around in. So, one can easily reach most of the shopping areas in no time from the hotel of stay. We explore three major streets on a walking round trip in Brussels.

To begin with shopping expedition in Brussels, start on with Rue Neuve, the actual pedestrian shopping street and in fact, the longest one in Brussels, in the middle of the town. With no vehicles allowed in the street, it offers a carefree space to the walkers and one can enjoy shopping calmly here. The street is packed with clothing chains, fashion stores, perfumes, gifts, music and more such stores. At the north end of Rue Neuve, there's a mall too. City 2, the only shopping mall in the center of town, has over 100 stores, plus cafes and restaurants.

Following the shops all the way down Rue Neuve Street takes you to the Stock Exchange building on your right, and you know you have reached the surroundings of Rue Dansaert where the Romans founded Brussels in the 10th century. However, unlike its history, the area has all contemporary shops. The place is rather trendy with Belgium designers' boutiques, clothing and accessories stores and more.

From Rue Dansaert it's worth walking a few meters away on your left to reach the Grand Place (Grote Markt), the central square of the city which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and has tourists thronging it the most. The place is a symbol of European history but not everyone knows that it's also a wonderful shopping destination for the real Belgian souvenirs. The narrow streets around the Grand Place is full of small shops where you can get everything that's Belgian – from  Belgian tapestries, Belgian laces, Belgian beers, Belgian chocolates and pralines to souvenirs of Manneken Pis, beer mugs and even comic strips of Tintin. In fact, Belgian tapestry shops are in abundance at this place. You can get full range of home linen made of these tapestries. Even tapestry paintings and wall hangings make for a worth buy. And when you get tired, munch on some seafood dishes or burgers at the street side restaurants that look very inviting. Also, it is in one of these streets where Manneken Pis, the famed bronze statue of a urinating boy, lies.

What's more? The Grand Place doesn't let you stop. The Royal Galleries just off the Grand Place is not to be missed. It's a passageway donned in form of an enclosed portico with very high ceilings. Walking on the cobbled pavements of these galleries with shops, cafes and terraced restaurants on either side, imparts an old world charm. The area is also suitable for spending evening with a lot of local feel and variety of choices for having food. Most of the shops at the Grand Place are open until 9 PM.

Be it for the traditional Belgian tapestries, Belgian laces, Belgian beers, souvenirs or the trendy clothes, Brussels' street shopping is an out-and-out experience.  And if you thought you have missed out on anything while in Brussels, treat yourself with Belgian waffles along with some hot chocolate sauce.

Europe, a historical, cultural and geographical mammoth that squares up confidently to any other continent on earth. From its Northern Lights to its Southern shores, this drama queen keeps on thrilling, surprising and confusing with her extraordinary wealth of sights, sounds, peoples and parties Europe offers you a new and a  fresh experience. Europe having a proud cultural heritage, leads the others in fashion, art, music, architecture and design. Europe is a delight to tourists. 

 

The snow-covered Alps, the coastlines, the ancient cities like Rome, the Vatican, the Scottish highlands, the graceful canals of Venice, etc Europe has it all. Belgium is a low-lying country on the North Sea coast in the Benelux, northwest Europe. Sitting at the crossroads of Western Europe Belgium shares borders with France, Germany, Luxembourg and the Netherlands. Known for its medieval architecture and atmosphere cities like Brussels, Ieper, Antwerp attract thousands of tourists. 

 

Belgium got its independent status in 1830 after being freed from the Netherlands. It remained occupied by Germany during World Wars I and II. The city of Ieper and the nearby areas have many war graves near the battle zones. Belgium has central rolling hills, wooded hills, valleys of Ardennes Forest in southeast, flat coastal plains in northwest. Belgium comprises of three regions listed from north to south: Flanders, Brussels, Wallonia. Ieper or Ypres is a town in the Belgian Flanders endowed with wonderful architecture. Ieper is best known as the site of three major battles of the First World War.

The many memorials and cemeteries of the fallen in and around Ieper draw thousands of visitors each year. Ieper is the official Flemish name for the city while Ypres is its French name. Ieper has a wonderful countryside with many routes for cycling and walking. 

 

Ieper is generally very safe to live or roam. Some of the place which are a must visit are: 

 

1. Menin Gate- The Menin Gate is a Dedication to the commemoration of British and Commonwealth soldiers who were killed in the Ypres Salient of World War I and whose graves are unknown. 

 

2. Flanders FieldMuseum: Located in Grote Market or the Main Square, it is the most famous and a must see monument in Ieper relating to the First World War. It is said to be one of the world’s biggest war museums, located in the rebuilt colossal building Lakenhalle (cloth hall), topped by a 70m high belfry. 

 

3. Cemeteries in Ieper: Ieper has over 75 Commonwealth military cemeteries for the First World War soldiers. The Ramparts Cemetery which was founded in 1915, rests 153 Britons, 11 Australians and 9 Canadians. Even a memorial has been dedicated to the Indian Army which was erected recently in 2002 to remember the brave soldiers from India at the Ramparts. 

 

In Belgium people like to eat and hence is famous for its good cuisines. Some dishes considered as Belgian specialities include Mussels, Stoofvlees, Witloof met kaassaus, Konijn met bier and Waffles. Restaurants, pubs are very commonly found in Belgium as people like visiting them regularly. A bed and breakfast (or B&B) is a small lodging establishment which offer overnight accommodation and breakfast, but may not usually offer other meals. 

 

Generally, bed and breakfasts are private homes with around less than 10 bedrooms available for commercial use. Several establishments can be found easily in the Ieper marketplace that offer bed and breakfast services. Many old farms have been transformed to bed and breakfast establishments for the tourists. These bed and breakfast establishments also provide services like bicycles and vespa rentals.

The summer of 2005, my friend and I decided to apply for a summer program as part of our graduate degree and travel from United States to Europe and specifically to Bruges in Belgium, so as to attend an intensive seminar at The College of Europe on Politics, Policies, Lobbying and the European Union. Although I have never visited Belgium before, I was really excited to discover, while browsing the internet, that I was about to visit one gorgeous and historical city of the "Old Continent," while enhancing my academic knowledge and meeting new people.

Before leaving the US we printed any information we could find regarding the city's tourist locations, interesting cafes and historic buildings. Although Bruges is a very small town, it offers a lot of possibilities to those interested in exploring its excitements. But even if it surpassed our expectations, visiting only one European town or country seemed a waste for such a trip. Thus, we decided in advance to research the opportunities a young graduate student has while traveling around in Europe and the most convenient, cheap and interesting way to go from city to city and country to country was via train. The Eurorail trains are the simpler way people have to visit a variety of European destinations, as boarding a train actually offers to the adventure-seekers the possibility of having an extraordinary trip and admiring the countryside in the meantime.

In fact, upon the completion of the summer program, we packed our bags and traveled from Brussels to Amsterdam. The Netherlands' capital was a combination of beauty and adventure. The city streets, the people walking or bicycling around, the nice weather and its countless river docks create a unique combination of images, which are food for hungry eyes-like ours. Since we had less than 48 hours available to see as much as possible, we decided to pay a visit at the Van Gogh Museum, walk the Red District by night, and of course take the tram to travel through the city and gaze its unbelievable beat.

Next stop was Paris, France. Lucky as we were to find an available and affordable room as soon as we got off the train station, the next thing was to find a map of the city and its incredible metro system and travel around to check everything! Notre Dame, bridges, the Eiffel Tower, the Bastille, Champs-Elysees, small cafes and long walks across the Seine River or through the area of Montmartre, made our stay in Paris unforgettable. In fact, one of the best pictures we got from this trip was in front of the Arc de Triomphe and we took it by ourselves-both faces appear on the frame. Monte Carlo was our next and most expensive destination, but its beaches and sun gave our trip a legendary feel.

Next, we visited Italy. Florence and Venice, two of the most important trade cities in Europe offered us some life-time opportunities. Historical monuments, paved streets, canals, museums, restaurants and Italian cafes convinced us that Italy is actually much more than an interesting destination. In fact, I fall-in-love with almost every single building we crossed and by the time we had to catch our plain back, I though we have made a huge mistake; our eight day trip should have lasted a lifetime.