After the Corfu experiente, I've realized that I can organize a trip different than the one from the travel agencies, much cheaper and with much more places to see and experience. DIY (Do It Yourself) trips started to be my religion.
So, during the trip in Corfu my girlfriend and I have bought some tickets to Bruxelles.
Our first contact with Belgium was the Charleroi shuffle, as we landed at 40 km far from Bruxelles. After a trip on the highway with lots of Romanian and French people we've arrived at our hotel. Pretty nice if you ask me, but I didn't care. All i wanted was a nice bathroom, a quiet and central area, or at least near the train station.
After unpacking we went for lunch in the Old Town. Very strange feeling I had when I saw that in the central part of the city (Zuid) there were lots of Kebab restaurants and arabic people. Lots of garbage, lots of drunk people, but happy, music everywhere, mixed vibe, cozy places, interesting food (french fries, mayonnaise and burgers) and friends. This was my first phisical contact with this place, a mix of cultures. I was very happy because the city was full of life, lights, food, beer and so on. Some groups were playing football on the street, others were drinking in the front of a church. A lot of people were eating french fries with mayonnaise (the most eaten food in Belgium).
We managed to go to Delirium, a great internationa bar, with local beers. Until 2 a.m. we got lost on the streets and felt the vibe.
Early in the morning we took the train to Brugge. Fast trains, not so cheap as we expected, but very frequently.
Brugge is a very old town, the old part of it is very romantic, very cozy and colorful. If you want to buy something expensive, try some chocolate specialities :).
We took another train and went to Gent.
Gent is very similar to Brugge, but for me it was more beautiful. I was very impressed by the castle and the old buildings.
Next stop? Antwerp, the city of diamonds. Here we left a little locker on the streets, a little symbol for our strong relationship. A very good reason to come back after a couple of years to see if the locker is still there.
Anyways, I was very impressed because I saw for the first time small cars that were washing the streets. Really nice thing.
After a full day trip, we came back to Bruxelles. We went to a very nice bar and we met a good friend of mine that introduced us some local colleagues from work.
At 5 a.m we were at the airport, so no sleep for us.
In conclusion, Belgium is a good idea for a weekend. The trains are very fast and frequently so you can see a lot in a couple of days. The beer is extremely good, the people are very relaxed and have very good vibe, the food is not healty, I cannot recommend it if you're on a fat free diet. Also, the country is not very clean, but it didn't matter for us.
The romantic channels from Brugge were the the icing on the cake, definitely a good idea if the weather is good and warm.
We heared about a place in Brugge where you have to leave a shoe at the bar in order to receive beer in special old and expensive glases. This is a traditional custom, because in the past people were leaving with the glass.
Gent is a very nice place, especially for those who have played Stronghold in their childhood and Antwerp is the proper place if you want to spend some hours on the streets and see the luxury at every corner of the streets.
Bruxelles is a good idea if you are a free spirit and you enjoy drinking on the streets, together with people from the entire world.
Next stop? Italy