Sunday, May 5, 2019

A Few Days In Belgium And Around


We took this trip at the beginning of May 2019. We found a nice place to stay in Brussels. We booked it on Airbnb in five months in advance. The location was very convenient because it is exactly in the center of old Brussels;  The price was very reasonable.


The Arrival Day


From our apartments, the old Brussels can be reached quickly. The Grand Place can be reached by walking for five minutes. It is one of the most beautiful medieval squares in Europe. Each building here has its own name. Each palace was built in a different style. The photo below shows two of them.








Day One


The price of a ticket for the train is quite high but there are ways to make the journey cheaper. In our case, we had three full days. We bought tickets for ten rides for 86 Euros. Passengers have to write down the date and destination for each person for each ticket. It is possible to get of the train and get on again to continue the journey.  Our plan for the first day was to visit two prominent cities: Gent a Bruges.


The large parking place for bicycles was the first thing we saw in Gent.




The city is a paradise for bikers, there are special bicycle lanes. Gent has a few universities so there are many young people on the streets.


The city is remarkable because of its many medieval buildings, cathedrals, castles, and canals. This day was foggy and partly rainy.



Gent for many tourists is city on the way to the most visited by tourists place- Bruges.


The weather in Bruges changes often during the day. We were impressed by the number of beautiful streets and canals, they were decorated with green trees and colorful flowers.


The crowds of visitors were in only in a few central streets. The picture below shows a place full of tourists.




There are also many empty areas without tourists. They are very picturesque, we took lots of great photos there.




There are many pedestrian zones in the city.




The old buildings, water, greenery, flowers, bridges, calm streets create a fabulous atmosphere.


Bruges is photographer's paradise.




Day Two


We did some researches on the Internet before the tour. The French city of Lille is located relatively close to Brussels. There is less convenient way to reach Lille which cheaper than the train: you can take Flixbus. The price of one ticket is only 5 Euros. It takes 1.5 hours and we decided to visit this city.


The impressions were not as vivid as we had in Bruges. Lille is not a touristic place. The streets are full of cars. That’s why we couldn’t take many photos. We had to take pictures above cars pointing our cameras to the top of the buildings.




When we came back to Brussels, we had the evening to see the capital city of the European Union. The picture below shows the building of the Euro Parliament.




From the business area where the Euro Parliament is located, we rode the Metro. The Metro is very aesthetic, it wasn’t very impressive.


Day Three


This day was dedicated to exploring Belgium province. It was a Saturday, the day when weekend tickets are available, their cost is half of the usual price. We bought the tickets to Dinant.


Dinant is located on the south in a French-speaking part of Belgium. The city is considered as a hometown for the saxophone. The inventor of this instrument,  Adolphe Sax, was born in Dinant in 1814. The signs of it are everywhere.


Dinant is also frequently visited by tourists. The hills of the Ardennes and the Meuse River, old streets, forest - all together create a wonderful background for the fans of Instagram.




It was a cold day. Visiting a  cafe "Tea Room" to try the traditional Belgian waffles was a good idea, so we tried it with chocolate and with caramel. It was delicious.




On the way back to Brussels we thought about having a stop in one of beautiful villages.  We chose Lustin and it was a great choice.




We crossed the bridge and took pictures of wonderful landscapes here.   



 


The foam on the water added a more white color to the scenery of the picture.




Namur was the last city which we visited this day. We didn't have much time there. The city is quite pretty as other Belgium cities which we visited.




Belgium is a very interesting country for tourists. Many cultures have been living here together for centuries. Belgium provinces and countrysides are underestimated for tourists because many visitors stay in the top cities and don't know much about other places.




Belgium is a nice place to be!

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