Free Weekend Experience

Brussels

June 30th to July 2nd

Day 1: The Journey To Brussels

For my free weekend, I joined my friends Taylor, Nick, Aaron, and Jacob to visit the capital of Belgium and headquarters of the European Union, Brussels.

We spent the week leading up to the weekend getaway planning the trip, and decided to take the Thalys, a French-Belgian company that provides high speed rail service between Amsterdam and Paris.

On the afternoon of the 30th, after meeting representatives of Delft, we took the next intercity train to Rotterdam, where we boarded the Thalys.

ALL ABOARD!

Onboard with Aaron, Nick, and Taylor.

Excited to see my first high speed train ever!

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A video of the train arriving.

THe Arrival

After a brief, hour-long train ride, we arrived to our cartoon-themed hotel in Brussels.

I knew from my high school French class that Belgian people are proud of their comics. Some of Europe's most popular comics originated in Belgium, so I was not entirely surprised to see our hotel was cartoon themed.

It was a unique and fun experience to welcome us to the new city.

Visiting the City Center

Soon after we dropped our bags off at the hotel, we scurried off to discover the city center and grab a bite to eat. Taylor and I couldn't say no to a authentic Belgian waffle too!

We took our time wandering the streets until we arrived at our destination, the Grand Place. Here, we saw the city hall (personally my favorite building in all of Brussels), former guildhalls, and other baroque style buildings of the square.

We also happened to stumble upon the square when an event called "Ommegang" was being set up. 1,400 actors clad in renaissance costumes with puppets, horses, stilts, and more recount the coming of Charles the Fifth to Brussels in 1549. It was a spectacular show and welcome to the city that went on well into the night.

Getting a snack as we watched the show.

Taylor and I met the woman who performed the national anthem.

Lights cast upon the buildings of the Grand Place.

At 11pm, we decided to depart the event for the hotel in order to relax and prepare ourselves for sightseeing the following day. See the videos below from Ommegang.

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Day 2: sightseeing the city

Our second day we spent sight seeing in the city. Our late brunch was interrupted by the sky raining cats and dogs for a brief few minutes, but we embraced the sporadic rain and met a few other Americans while huddling under the awning.

We first visited St. Catherine's Cathedral in the city on the way to our next stop. It was quiet and allowed us to relax before continuing on with the rest of our day.

After a quite hectic morning, we headed to Parc du Cinquantenaire, a large urban park home to the Cinquantenaire Arch and several museums. We peeked at the Royal Museum of the Armed Forces and Military History, but ultimately spent our time in Autoworld, a vintage and modern car museum.

Pictured above: Saint Catherine's Cathedral

Parc du Cinquantenaire.

Arc du Cinquantenaire up close.

Autoworld from the 2nd floor.

Vintage American cars.

Experiencing Brussels from the rooftop thanks to Nick's family friends.

The rain returned but we didn't let it ruin our fun.

And the Sun sets on day 2...

After meeting up with Nick's family friends, we visited a "little Greece" in the heart of Brussels for some gyros and went out on the town.

We reflected on our experiences that day, especially appreciative of the wonderful, walkable city that is Brussels. Surprisingly, not too many cyclists were seen; preference was given to walking and using transit, our main methods of transportation during this trip.

We went to bed, ready to see the city the next day and ultimately return to Delft.

Day 3: The Last Day

We spent our final day in the Quartier Royale, or the royal district of Brussels. Our plan included visiting the Royal Palace of Brussels, but unfortunately it was closed for remodeling, so my friends and I visited different gardens in the neighborhood. While exploring the area, we wound up at the Embassy Row, and saw the beautiful buildings that diplomats called home.

Brussels is not only a significant European city for being the capital of Belgium, but also is the home base of the European Union, therefore a global city as a center of international governance.

Belgian Bike Facility

On the left is a Belgian equivalent of our American "sharrow" that we all know and love (or don't). This was the first modern bike facility that I noticed in Brussels, located in the Royal District.

The history of Chocolate

A visit to Belgium cannot be complete without chocolate!

Nick and I visited the Museum of Cocoa and Chocolate. On the left, Nick is sitting in a not-to-scale cocoa pod.

On the right are vintage hot chocolate drinking cups from France. Some even have mustache guards to keep mustaches clean while consuming the frothy drink.

In the afternoon, we met up with Megan Roegner, the head advisor of Oregon State’s Civil and Construction Engineering Department. She is so cool!

My friends and I returned to the city center and visited “the Manneken Pis”, got our final Belgian waffles, and enjoyed our final hours in the city.

Although the capital city is the largest in the country, my friends and I did not feel overwhelmed in the city. Funnily enough, there weren't many modern or special bike or pedestrian facilities. The city was naturally comfortable to traverse, with many pedestrian paths and a well supported metro in favor of private vehicles and large roads and intersections.

I would attribute this comfort in a city so new to me to its human-scale design. Although the city is large, tall buildings were reserved to newer districts and the majority of Brussels was approachable from a planning perspective. Beautiful parks of various sizes were scattered around the city and the city felt welcoming.

Something particularly interesting about this trip was my transportation experience. My trip from my room of the Social Hub to our hotel in Brussels consisted of a 3 minute walk to a station, a 14 minute intercity train to Rotterdam, no more than an 1 hour and 15 minutes, and a 20 minute walk to our hotel from the Belgian station. In those four unique travel time blocks, I left the Netherlands an found myself in a different country with completely different customs where the primary language was French, not Dutch! I really appreciate the possibilities that come with not only a well connected network within a country, but between countries.

I'm eternally thankful for our weekend getaway to Brussels and was even more thankful to return to Delft in the evening. Brussels was a beautiful city, but I am ready to return to my home away from home and enjoy my last few days in the Netherlands.

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