Brussels by Foot

It’s been a while since I’ve been on a proper adventure. You might be familiar with Just a Girl and Her Bike. This time, it’s Just a Girl and Her Boots.

Yes, that’s right. Back pack loaded and hiking boots laced up, I was more than ready to see new parts of the world.

This trek started with a 2 week stretch through some big cities. The best way to really see a big city is by hiking through the parks. I was utterly surprised and delighted with the immense green space in Brugges, Munich, and Prague. But, we’ll get to that.

Let’s start with Brussels. We arrived in the afternoon and hit the ground running. Putting on your walking shoes and getting in some steps right off the bat is the best way to reinvigorate yourself after a long journey and to keep yourself awake and not suffer long effects of jet lag. Just lace up those shoes and go!

We made a proper first stop at Moeder Lambic for some outrageous beer. I gravitated to the lambic style that they had on tap (this doesn’t happen at home). I replenished with moules & frites. The lover of creepy things on me came out when we grabbed a night cap at a high-end beer place that used to be a theater and is filled with puppets!

Our second day gave us a full day to hike and see things. Unfortunately, we weren’t able to walk through the forest areas that we thought we could. When it doesn’t go your way, find another one. We turned the day into a big city tour and covered a lot of ground.

We started off with a visit to a Gothic cathedral. The style is stunning, inside and out. There’s something sureal about looking up at windows, arches, and structures riddled with intricacy and that must have taken a long time to create.

We then fuelled up with a proper local breakfast of Croque Madame and a delicious beer.

We hiked all through the city and up a hill to a science center. Keeping a good pace and meandering off the main route to cover the occasional little bit of forest is a sure way to get your body and your mind feeling great after a long day of travelling. I highly recommend setting at least a guideline for your route with a target pace and distance. It’s the key to feeling great from the beginning of the trip.

After our invigorating walk, we kept the steps going. We made two stops at the famous Delirium brewery. It’s an entire street of separate places, all serving up fresh pints!

The day was getting long, and it took us a bit, but we found an amazing spot for dinner, down in a cave like place. This is when patience paid off. I was famished. The day was getting long. But when we walked into this place, I knew I needed to tap into my zen. When a plate of rabbit slow cooked in lambic beer was set down in front of me, I was in heaven. When it gets long, take a deep breathe a d regroup. Travelling by foot can be amazing if you can tap into your patience and your calm energy.