Waffles, Chocolate, and Fries in Belgium!

Before I get into my trip to Belgium, I have been very busy the past two weeks with classes. Two weeks ago, I began an intensive class, European Law & Economics, which began on a Monday and I had the final the following Tuesday. That meant lots of class hours in a short period of time. I learned all about the EU and how they make laws especially concerning the single market. It was actually extremely boring and made me sure that I did not wan to go to law school...ever, so at least that was beneficial. The week that I had my final, I also had a Finance Midterm, and my final paper for my Organizational Behavior Management class, so it was quite a busy week. I wasn't able to do much in Vienna but on the bright side....

CHRISTMAS MARKETS ARE OPENING!

I went to the opening of the first christmas market at Rathaus (the town hall) where there were over 150 stalls selling food and christmas ornaments and trinkets. The Christmas markets are a dream come true, as Christmas is my favorite season of all time. I met a group of my friends and we walked around the Rathaus Christmas market, looking at all the stalls and ornaments, resisting the temptation to buy everything in sight, and with glühwien in hand of course. Each market has their own mug and you pay a deposit for the mug that you can get back if you bring it back to one of the stalls but I plan on keeping my mugs to collect them. Also one night last week, a group of us (Elizabeth, Stevie, Emily & her boyfriend who was visiting, and John) went to the Travel Shack, a bar, for the night. It was a lot of fun because the Travel Shack has all these crazy shots that you can take. We did the snuff shot using this crazy contraption and a fire shot where you swish a shot of sambucca in your mouth, they sprinkle cinnamon in, and then light it on fire and then you swallow the shot, pretty crazy! But it was a lot of fun for a different night out.

Belgian Chocolate Shop

After a whirlwind two weeks, my trip to Brussels, Belgium was much needed! (And how appropriate after my Econ class that was all about the EU as Brussels is the capital of the EU!) I met Travis, Emerald, and Tabb (Emerald's friend who is also studying in Milan) on Thursday night in Brussels. I didn't get there until late because of a class but we got up bright and early on Friday to sightsee in Brussels. We began our morning with Belgian Street Waffles in a park. Brussels has many different types of waffles, but they are all delicious! The Street Waffle has sugar on the inside while the class waffle has it on top, and the tourist waffle has the fruit and chocolate and whipped cream on top. We walked around the city and saw St. Michael's Cathedral, Parliament, Palais de Justice, Palais Royal, Grand Place, and Manneken Pis (this statue of a little boy peeing, i'm not sure why its such a popular national landmark but he had an adorable outfit on!). After our self-guided walking tour, we stopped at Chéz Leon, recommended by my DG sister Mariana who is studying in Brussels, to get Moules (aka Mussels). They were so delicious! I had them with butter and herbs and they couldn't have been any better. We stopped in a few chocolate shops to try their sampes and then we made our way across the city to the Atomium (this huge structure that looks like an atom that was made for the 1956 World Fair). We stopped for Pommes Frites on the way back and each got different types of dipping sauces. Brussels is known for the vast amount of dipping sauces that they have for their fries, and i got the pouvre flavor (spicy pepper) it was very delicious. After a quick nap in the hostel, we wandered downtown to find some dinner. We stumbled upon some sort of parade/riot where people were in 18-wheeler beer trucks and wearing lab coats which had been drawn all over as well as hats with long duck bills...we have no idea what was going on but it was insanity. We ended up finding a vietnamese restaurant for dinner, and I had a pretty good curry, shrimp, and vegetable soup. As we were in Grand Place trying to find the bar we wanted to go to, Tabb suddenly freaks out because he just saw Michael Caine (the british actor who played Alfred in the newest batman movies!). We stalked him slightly to make sure it was him before his wife started giving us weird looks. We then found Delirium, the bar that Mariana suggested that was in the Guinness Book of World Records for having the most variety of beer (over 2,000 and 25+ on tap!). We tried a few different kinds, Travis and I had two versions of a Xmas Beer. One was the Delirium Xmas beer which was a little spicier and another Xmas beer that was a little fruitier tasting. We bar hopped on that street after that and had a blast, ending up on Kebap street for a late night snack for Emerald and Tabb.

Town Hall in Grand Place with Christmas Tree (Left) & Atomium (Right)

Tabb & I with our Moules

Beers at Delirium

Emerald and I in Bruges

The next morning was a bit of a struggle waking up, but we were able to make it and hop on a train to Bruges (or Brugge), a medieval town about an hour away. It was an adorable town with canals and cute houses/shops. We wandered around seeing some of the sights which included Michaelangelo's "Madonna and Child", and Jesus's Blood (seriously...it was in a vial....) in Holy Blood Church. We ran into people that we had been talking to (in spanish for quite a while) at the bar the night before, which was very funny and ironic. We stopped for lunch at PItahuis to have some delicious gyros. Then we went to the Chocolate Museum to learn about the history of chocolate and see a life size chocolate Obama! After the museum, we headed back to Brussels for a nap. After such a crazy night the night before, we decided to lay low and grab a late dinner and then go to a movie. We went to a asian restaurant that served chinese, vietnamese, and thai food. I had a squid and vegetable dish that was delicious and a chicken, bamboo, mushroom soup that was also very good. Then we went to see 50/50 but missed the last subway back so we had to call a cab. 

in front of the Mini Melk Abbey where I visited
earlier in the semester!

On Sunday, we woke up early and went to Mini Europe, a park with miniature versions of many of the monuments in Europe. It was fun to see the sights that I've seen in a lot of my travels. We first had waffles for breakfast and then took lots of pictures in the park. Afterwards, we headed back to our hostel to grab our bags and head to the airport where we got lunch in a diner. Shortly after, I was on my way back to Vienna. It was a crazy and fun weekend and I really loved the city of Brussels and also Bruges! This weekend I will be off to Berlin to meet my roommate from Richmond, Chelsea, and will be traveling with Louise, my DG friend here in Vienna. I cannot wait to be back in Germany again, and at christmas time...I know there will be more Christmas markets!