Transport and accomodation

From Cologne to Brussels it was obligatory to reserve a seat in addition to our interrail ticket. We were able to do that online at bahn.de and it was only about 9 EUR for a family reservation.

Again we stayed at Novotel and this time in addition to gym and sauna there was a small indoor pool that was a hit with the girls.

We didn’t use local transport that much as we mostly stayed downtown while we were in Brussels.

Belgian Waffels

Obviously the first thing we did after we arrived in Brussels and had checked in at our hotel was going to a cafe and ordering Belgian Waffels. We went all in, ordering Liegue waffle with Häagen-Dazs icecream, caramel sauce, whipped cream and toppings. It was as delicious as it sounds!

Mannekin pis and golden buildings

We visited the Grand place, found a candy shop in pirate style and saw the tiny Manneken pis. The girls also got manicure at a nail salon.

Making acquaintance with the Belgium royalties

We decided to take a day trip to Bruges (Brugge). On the way to the trainstation we saw the Belgian Royal Escort on beautifully groomed horses on a standby. Our curiosity led us to a church where there was obviously an ongoing ceremony inside and a lot of security. After a while the royalties started to walk out of the church and came to salute the public. The girls had found their way to the front of the audience and the youngest one ended up shaking hands with Queen Mathilde and her children. At the time we had no idea why they royalties were there but discovered shortly after that it was Belgium’s national day (July, 21).