MalinExplores

15 August – The day I walked to France

Best thing to do on a sunny holiday: a trip to the seaside!

People kept telling me the Belgian seaside is rather ugly and I didn’t want to believe it, so I had to see for myself. The beach itself is fine, the problem is the amount and type of buldings right behind/next to the beach. It’s like a wall of 70s concrete apartment building complexes. Rather unpleasant. Which is why my colleague and I spontaneously decided to proceed to France instead 😀

We were able to walk on the beach since it was super low tide (Google even thought we were swimming, they should really learn about the tides!). It was supposed to be a 5h walk so we cheated a little and took the coast tram half way to save some time. Once we got to France, the concrete constructions ended 🙂

My colleague and I shared a bottle of French wine and enjoyed the sun setting behind the ocean…

All in all a super relaxed day 🙂

Strictly niceness rooftop session

One of those super hot summer nights, refreshing drinks, music, best company, intriguing conversations and lots of fun… Need I say more?

Ghent – Laissez les bons temps roulez!

People told me, I had to go and see Bruges but Ghent would be way cooler and I agree!

We were lucky enough not only to walks around and visit Ghent, we also got to experience the Ghent festival called Gentse Feesten. There were stages all over the city, bands playing all kinds of music, people out on the street drinking beer, the city was covered in lights and fire installations – simply amazing!!

Fire installation

main stage

three beautiful soul divas ❤

peace and quiet

In Bruges

As a foreigner in Belgium visiting Bruges is a must. Everyone told me it’s very pretty but even more touristy. And that’s what it is. Walking around in Bruges almost feels like walking around in an outdoor museum and I don’t mean that in a bad way. There are cute little medieval houses and churches, framed by the canal, very picturesque. If you’re into carriage rides, Bruges is the place to go. Just foodwise maybe not the best place to go, most of the cafes and restaurants I would consider to be tourist traps (20-25€ for a mediocre meal?) However, that didn’t keep us from having a good time!

Love this grandma puppet sitting in the window!!

The Atomium

The next day we did some sightseeing, obviously. I had never been to see the Atomium myself, it’s not very close to anything and there is nothing else there but some touristy museums. But it had to be done 😉 After a seen that done that, we went back into the city to explore the city centre and to get some sweet overkill Belgian waffles at Maison Dandoy! Good times!

It’s gin and tonic time!

I was very much looking forward to this day!!

My best friend came to visit me in Brussels and we had an amazing time together. I picked her up at Brussels Central Station after work and took her to Châtelain market where we got some delicious street food and a glass of wine. After, we went for fancy gin tonics at De Haus, a really cool place with a huuuuuge gin menu.

De Haus

Bruxelles, ma belle!

Some impressions of the capital of Europe:

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Sunny Brussels…

Place Royale

Petit Sablon

Église Notre-Dame du Sablon

Summernights

Parc du Cinquantenaire

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Brussels by night…

Grand-Place

Palais de Bruxelles

Really, guys?? 😀

Saint Géry

Peculiar details…

Doors of Brussels…

Doors of Brussels

Czech Street Party

Different people told me separately about the Czech Street Party and I must admit, it was really fun 🙂

They had different stands for each region with free food trials, free beer and Czech liquor. Also very interesting music and then there was this guy who advertised the amazing Mendel University in Brno. Apparently they have their own brewery and make their own wine 😀 Check it out! Amazing guy, we asked him for a photo after his speech

Mendel University fovever!!

I was super afraid we would fall 😀

Exploring Antwerp

One good thing about Brussels is that almost every other destination in Belgium is just a one hour train ride away. On the weekends the ticket price for a return trip is 50% off – so I thought, why not go to Antwerp just for the day?

Antwerp Central Station

The famous castle of Antwerp

…hidden passages…

Antwerp Central Station

City Hall

Antwerp Cathedral

…tiny backyards…

really loved this piece of art

Beautiful botanical garden

Beautiful botanical garden

Restaurant in a hidden passage

I did one of the free walking tours to learn some things about the history of Antwerp and mainly to get an overview of the city. I discovered this amazing food truck market where I enjoyed a delicious Quesadilla right at the waterfront:

Veggie-Quesadilla

Bienvenue à Bruxelles, Malin!

Hey guys,

I just decided to “re-open” my blog! Last year I wrote about my time in the US, this year I will tell you the story of my time in Brussels, the capital of Europe. Enjoy 🙂

I got arrived in Brussels almost two weeks ago and I’m already in love with the city. It’s very lively and welcoming. Before I came here I thought, well there are the institutions of the European Union, so it’s probably a place to work and nothing else. It is very much more than that. In Brussels you will meet people from all over Europe, from all over the world in fact. I have the impression that everyone around here speaks at least two different languages fluently, many people three or more…

In everyday life I have the opportunity to practise my French, at home I speak English with my lovely Greek roommate with whom I share a tiny apartment in the Flagey area. At work we also speak English. For those who don’t know why I’m here, I am doing an internship with the European Commission, DG Economic and Financial Affairs, where I’m a lonely lawyer amongst all the economists 😉

On my first day of work I attended a very interesting conference here in Brussels, the Brussels Economic Forum. George Soros held a most interesting and inspiring speech on his perspective of the (economic) future of the European Union.

My first days in Brussels: