Waffles, Chocolate and Beer

This weekend we made our first trip outside of Germany.  You might say, “But you just got to Germany”, yeah, well, we get impatient.  Advice from other Americans, “Don’t stick around home on the weekends, there is too much to do!”  So we went. 

 

Brussels is about a 2 hour 15 minute drive for us.  We left Düsseldorf by about 915 Saturday morning.  Very nice drive.  To get to Belgium, we go through The Netherlands, so we technically visited 2 countries this weekend. 

 

We went directly to Bruparck.  In the park is Atomium, which we didn’t go up in but that was ridiculously humongous.  It was built for the 1958 World’s Fair.  (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atomium)

 

We did go to a mini-amusement part called Mini-Europe.  It is a walking tour of all the monuments in Europe, Eiffel Tower, British Parliament, you name it.  It drizzled throughout our time there, but I think it was good because it kept people away.  (http://www.minieurope.eu/)

 

 

There was also a very cool exhibit all about the Eurpean Union (which is headquarted in Brussels).  Lots of interactive things throughout the park for the kids.  Also, the snack bar served beer.  Idlewild should take note. 

 

After that we went and checked into our hotel.  €79 for a Crowne Plaza, right in downtown Brussels, can’t beat it.  We relaxed in the hotel for a while and Skyped with my parents, Erin’s friends Erica & Julia , Ryan's friend Tyler & Mike’s cousin Tom.  (You want a personal shout out on the blog?, get your skype account set up lol). 

We got dressed in some warmer clothes and headed out to see Brussels.  Luckily we took our umbrellas.  We made it to within 2 blocks of the Grand Palace, when the skies opened up and it poured!  We ran to the square, looked around fast and booked it back to the nearest tourist trap Italian restaurant we could find.  They took us in soaked and all and even gave us the table right next to the fireplace. 

 

After dinner we headed back out to the Grand Palace.  Pictures cannot do it justice, but we tried.  The buildings date to at least 1679. 

So for the last few days we had been hyping up showing the kids the “most famous statue in Europe”   We told them it’s a statue of a little boy, but didn’t tell them what he was doing.  They were not amused.  Ryan said, “I pee everyday, and I’m not famous”. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manneken_Pis)

 

After that we went for some truly authentic Belgian Waffles, smothered in Chocolate, Strawberries, Bananas and Whipped Cream.  A-mazing.

 

By this point, the kids were pretty beat, so we grabbed one more beer and headed back to the hotel for a little rest.  We weren’t sure, but they rallied to get back out again to see the Grand Palace at night which was again, amazing.  (On the way, we stopped to grab roadies, the kids got ice cream, we grabbed beers, the kids ice cream cost more than our beer)  This time we skyped with Mike’s Dad (did you already forget to set up your Skype account?)   On the way back to the hotel Mike and I split a €2 Chimay Blue (this means a lot to beer snobs like my husband) 

Sunday morning we woke up and headed to the Royal Museum of the Army and Military History.  It was HUMONGOUS!  So much stuff crammed under one roof, or three, as it was at least three different buildings.  There are amazing views of the city from on top of the gate..  (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royal_Museum_of_the_Armed_Forces_and_Military_History)

 

After that we headed back.  Of course everything, as I have mentioned, closes in Germany on Sunday.  I respect it, but it will take some getting used to.  We stopped at a mall on the Netherlands/Germany border for some shopping, including Kentucky Fried Chicken and Burger King.  It was only about 45 minutes from the house, so definitely with in driving distance!

 

All in all, we had a great weekend.  When you come visit us, we can definitely do it again!