Quirky Brussels

Brussels was…well, really the only word I could think of was "quirky."  It was a jarring mix between old and new, sophisticated and drab.  There wasn't much there that overly impressed me, but it was all pretty cool :)

My bus got in Friday night.  I generally make it a point not to be out after dark, but sometimes it can't be helped.  Luckily, my hostel was a couple minutes' walk from the metro station, which was called "Elisabeth."  Cool!  I got up the next day and just wandered around without much of an agenda.  My whole bucket list for Brussels involved food:  waffles, fries, and chocolate.  I got fries for lunch that day (don't judge, they do it there, too!).  I saw the Royal Palace and Mannekin Pis, this little statue of a boy peeing into a fountain.  Classy, right?  That night I found the LDS church to watch General Conference, which was great!  I was concerned getting back to my hostel in the dark, so I prayed and asked God to protect me, and let me tell you, God answers prayers.  An elder asked me where my hostel was, and he said he and his companion lived a few blocks from it.  They offered to walk me back :)

Belgian Frites!

Royal Palace

Sunday was a catch-up day.  I did laundry, caught up on my blog, the usual.  Then I headed back to the church for more conference.  I was able to video-chat with my mom between the sessions and grab dinner.  But yeah, that was about it for Sunday!  I met a really sweet girl in my dorm, Lin, and we got along great.

Brussels LDS Church

I thought Lin and I were going to hang out on Monday, but there was some miscommunication there.  Not surprising, though, she doesn't speak much English.  So when I got off the train, she said "bye," and I thought, "oh well." I forgot that most of the museums are closed on Monday.  So I got a waffle, I got chocolate, and asked around for things to do.  I saw an exhibit on modern life in Brussels, found an indoor place to chill (it was pretty cold) and while I was looking for the cathedral, I heard someone say hi to me.  I looked up and there were the missionaries!  They said they were going to see the Japanese and Chinese towers on the edge of the city.  I didn't really care about seeing the cathedral, I just wanted something to do, so I asked if I could tag along (it's ok if we're outside right??).  Anyway, we got some cool pictures.  After that, I met up with Lin and we went to dinner at the senior couple's apartment.  Elder and Sister Steenblik are the aunt and uncle of my friend Jonathan, whom I know from school!  

Sister Steenblik, Lin, and me :)

It was nice to relax in Brussels, but the highlight was probably the food!  The waffle was so good!  Bruges in SLC tastes exactly like it, so well done Bruges!

Belgian Waffle!