This all started with the question: What to do on New Year’s Eve, considering I was in London. Different things could have been done but being a traveller, I wanted to travel to some destination and welcome the new year and the new decade in calmness.
But every flight I would search, tend to burn a hole in my pocket and then I came through an advertisement that mentioned the Auto Salon in Brussels from 10th Jan to 19th Jan. Auto Salon is the European Motor Show that is organized in Brussels each year. So I planned to book my self up for the Auto Salon in Brussels for the weekend of 11th - 12th Jan. I booked a coach from London to Brussels, a 1-night stay in a hotel and a Brussels Airlines flight from Brussels to London.
It started with my reluctantly boarding the Flixbus at the London Victoria Coach station since my previous experience of traveling to Europe on Bus was not good, but since I had no other option, I had to board it. The condition and comfort in a Flixbus were much better than what I had experienced on the Eurolines during my trip to Paris. We only had to get down from the bus once, for the passport control at Dover. Since the bus travelled through the Chunnel (Channel Tunnel) instead of the Ferry in the English Channel, we did not have to get off. It managed to board the train, travel through the Chunnel and deboard the train, with us sitting in it.
We left London at 22:30 on Friday and reached Brussels at around 07:00 in the morning. The first thing I searched after getting off the coach was breakfast and a coffee and I found a Mcdonalds just opened, at a 5-minute walk distance. I went there and had coffee. The hotel I had booked for myself was another 5 minutes walk from this Mcdonalds. So post breakfast I went to the hotel to drop my luggage and freshen up. I dropped luggage in the luggage room, checked in, but since my booking started post noon, I could not be allocated a room. So After freshening up, I headed out.
My first target was to buy a Brussels card + 48hrs Public transport. This would allow me access to multiple different Museums in Brussels, along with unlimited access to Public transport (Metro, Tram, and Bus) throughout the city, for 48 hours. I found a store that was selling the card near the Brussels Centraal Station. I bought the card for 48 Euros and went into the Brussels Centraal station to print the unlimited 48 hrs public transport ticket. Once this was in hand, I was all set to roam around Brussels and explore the city.
Since I was in the city for the Auto Salon, I went to the Expo centre in Brussels, which was almost 30-40 minutes away from the city centre on the metro. Since I already had my ticket to the expo booked, I directly headed in, by-passing the queue for the tickets and was well on time. Once inside, the expo was scattered in 7-8 different halls, with multiple cars and motorbike brand displays. Without wasting my time, I headed straight towards the First hall, which was dream cars. The entry ticket for this was separate but Since I had bought this in advance too, I was one of the few to enter the first. There were cars from Ferrari, Lamborghini, Bugatti, Rolls Royce, Bentley, etc. You name the supercar brand in the market, you will see it there. I spent almost half an hour just in this hall, clicking and admiring each of the dream cars. Post this I headed towards. The other halls to see cars from other brands like Honda, Suzuki, Toyota, JLR, etc. One thing that attracted me was the stall from one of my favourite brands from the motorcycle industry, the Indian brand - Royal Enfield.
The Dream Cars from the Auto Salon
After spending almost 3 hours in the expo, tired and exhausted, I exited and went to the Atomium. Atomium was a giant structure representing the Iron molecule, magnified to a 65M times. This was just across the road from the expo centre and is a must-visit for Brussels. Mini Europe is another attraction besides Atomium but was closed for winters. Since I had, The Brussels Card, I got a 25% discount from the entry fees to the Atomium.
As you enter, there is an elevator that takes you to the top viewing deck of the Atomium. The elevator runs at a speed of 5 meters per second and is made of a glass roof. So viewing up, while going at this speed, means you need something to hold but is a nice experience. The view from the top of Atomium is marvelous. It offers you a panoramic view of the surrounding area and with direction markings to the different cities of the world. The sight of Mini Europe from the top of Atomium was another beauty. There are three levels within the Atomium telling about the history of the place and can be accessed from the ground floor through escalators and stairs. There is a light show within the escalator tunnel too.
There is a Planetarium nearby the Atomium. I went there and realized that I could watch a show there for free since it was part of the Brussels card. There was a show on Ice on the moon that was about to start in 10 minutes. I booked it and went into the hall. The projector being used was originally built in 1935 and was still operational. Since I was tired from the walk around the expo, I didn’t realize when I dozed off and woke up in the last part of the show. ;)
Post this, I realized, it was best to go back to the Hotel and rest for 1-2 hours and then head out again. So I went into the hotel and had a quick nap.
By the time I woke up, It was already night. So I went out to the Atomium again since I was told that the best time to go inside the Atomium is during the day and to see it from outside was at night. When I reached the Atomium, It had different lights on, making it shine in the night. Post this I headed towards the Grand Place, which was in the city centre since it was another location that looks beautiful at night. After sitting in the Grand Place courtyard, I searched for a kebab place for dinner and headed back to the Hotel for the night.
Day - 2
I had the list of the attractions I could visit with the Brussels Card. I marked 5 attractions that I could visit on the second day.
The day started with a walk to the Mannekin pis. This a small statue of a boy pissing near the Grand Place. No one knows for sure why the statue was installed but there are stories of the boy saving the village by pissing on the explosives. This is now an icon of Brussels. A small walk away there is another statue of a girl pissing (NAME OF THE GIRL STATUE), which was installed as a playmate to the Mannekin Pis. But this girl statue did not gain the popularity that the Mannekin Pis got. Since I started early, I was one of the very few there (I saw loads of people trying to click the statue in the evening).
Post this, the next place I wanted to go was the Auto World. After watching the modern cars in the Auto Salon the previous day, it was time for some vintage cars. Auto World is the Auto Museum in Brussels, with vintage cars from when the transport was run using horse-pulled cars. It was an experience to see how the car transport improved over the decades, from vintage horse carts to the current Rolls Royce and Mclarens.
Across the parking of the Auto World, was the Royal Military Museum. This museum had different military artifacts from the Wars, including swords, guns, artilleries, and tanks. I wanted to go there to see the fighter jets that were visible in the pictures of the Museum, but upon reaching I saw that the display had ended a few days back. Without spending much time at the museum, I headed towards my next stop.
Post this there was an attraction named, Experience Brussels which was set up on a hotel floor. This was an interactive display of the city of Brussels, including a 3-D map of the city, answering your questions using different displays and lasers. Though not huge, it was quite good. There were topics like, how the city was set up and expanded, NATO, the European Union, the culture of people of Brussels, the language, etc.
Next stop was the Train World, as the name says, it was Train Museum. Since it was trains, it was spread in a huge area with different displays involving the vintage trains to the modern trains and the equipment used not only in the trains but supporting the smooth running of the trains. There was a display on how the railway track modernized in the last century. Visiting the Auto World and Train World was quite satisfying.
Post this I headed towards the city center again since the visit to Brussels would not have been complete without enjoying the Belgian Waffle. In the streets behind the Grand place, there were many take away Waffle places. I was searching for one where I could sit and enjoy. I found one, named Waffle Factory around the corner where I could sit. I ordered Brussels waffle with white chocolate, banana, and whipped cream. The taste of this waffle was different. The waffle was airy, light and crisp. I must say I enjoyed it, with Cappuccino.
It was already 5 in the evening and so I decided to pick my bag from the hotel and move the head towards the airport. Getting to the airport from the City center meant almost an hour of travel. Luckily I got a bus direct from the center to the airport (number 272). The security at the airport was quick and in no time I was inside the terminal at the duty-free, where I bought some Belgium chocolates. The terminal was not a big one. I still had 2 hours to my flight and since I was feeling hungry, I had another waffle at the airport. The flight took off at the right time and I was in London at 21:30 GMT. It then took me another 2 hours to cross the whole of London and reach home.
This marked an end to another trip and triggered a countdown of the next trip which was already planned for Italy from 18th - 21st Jan.
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