Within my first 48 hours in Basel, the other MITers and I decided to go on a last-minute weekend trip to Brussels. An excellent idea since none of us speak French or German, no GPS's were available to rent, and only Asvin peripherally remembered how to drive stick (sorry Dad, I know you tried) from a friend ten years ago in college. It took a few trips around the parking lot, perplexed faces & downright begging at the French rest stop / gas station called I kid you not "Flunch", and a healthy dose of luck but we eventually arrived in Brussels Friday evening. Our first Belgium beers, waffles, and chocolate fountain sampling were consumed not long there after.
Saturday was a day of sightseeing and aimless wandering. I loved the Grand Place - the central city square of Brussels. It was adorned with flower shops, sidewalk cafes, a wedding processional, artists, one man bands, and living statues. I could have been perfectly content sipping coffee at one of the cafes people watching for hours. The picture below shows Kevin and I in the square.
No trip to Brussels is complete with seeing the Manneken Pis the inexplicably famous water fountain / statue pictured below.
Although viewing the Manneken Pis was rather anti-climatic, on the way to find his squatting sister we happened upon an American vagabond to hang out with that evening, the Delirium Taphouse with over 2000 beers on tap, and a youth travelers center with ideas of things to do in Brussels on post-it notes. We grabbed a note to "lay on the floor of the Palace of Justice, contemplate life, then stare up at the ceiling". Finding and attempting to enter the Palace of Justice was an entertaining ordeal that gave us the opportunity to see even more of the city.
The awesome day of sightseeing and meandering was capped off by an exhilarating evening of cheering on the US team to an unexpected tie against a higher-ranked English team. I enjoyed Brussels and recommend the city to you guys.
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