Visiting Brussels was the longest stop on my road trip through the Benelux states. In French it is called Bruxelles, in Dutch Brussel and in German Brüssel. This multicultural background of Belgium is fascinating to me. This city has French as the main language but most of the citizens speak Dutch and English as well.

I had to park outside of the city, near the Atomium because in the city you can only use a car park for a lot of money if you want to park for a longer time without being a citizen. The hostel workers told me that around Atomium there are free parking spaces, unfortunately these times are long gone and due to the holiday first of May the few spots where I could park longer where blocked because of the parade. At the end I would have to pay 40€ for four days of parking. Luckily, I figured, that if I press "card lost" I only had to pay 25€ plus another couple of euros for the train to take me half an hour back to the hostel. I know, that’s not nice of me but I think they already earn enough from all the tourist parking there daily. In general, I didn’t have in mind all the parking costs that I would need to pay in the cities. For my next road trip, I will have them in mind. But the nights in the hostel saved up some money, so I could afford it. Additionally I mostly eat two out of three meals from bakeries or supermarkets to save up and then enjoy one nice meal or snack every now and then.

Atomium

Inside of this huge art like figure you'll find a museum, restaurant and a viewing platform. Since it was raining every half an our I skipped going inside and just walked around the area.

Each angle looks so different.

Reflection from the parking lot.

My days in Brussels brought me some relaxing days as well because of the rain. Mostly it was just a drizzle but on Sunday it was more then that. After breakfast in the hostel, I figured everyone in my room was still sleeping and it was raining anyway so I decided to nap a bit. It ended by waking up at 1 pm from the cleaning lady entering the room which was empty by then. I have no clue when the others lef... I guess my body needed the rest =D An error I always make traveling is not planning enough time to rest and process all the input I get. With the rain outside I could excuse it to myself to miss a day outside and just went to a café, did some laundry and went to bed early as well. At least I also had a hostel with a really nice and cozy lounge to relax. The next day I had power again to continue my journey. Still I had around two and a half days to explore this beautiful city:

Lounge ot the 2GO4 hostel.

Grand-Place

At this square you just turn around amazed by all the beautiful architecture with lots of unique details.

Musée de la ville de Bruxelles

Town Hall - So huge that it is impossible to get it on one shot even if you have a wide angle lens.

Manneken Pis

Why? I think this it what most people ask themselves when they follow the crowds and stand in front of this small sculpture...

This is basically the face of everyone when the stand in front of this small kiddo...

Manneken Pis is represented all over the city. I prefer those waffles, really tasty by the way. As I got told the Belgian mostly just eat them plane and not with so many toppings like you find theme in this tourist shop.

Béguinage church.

Place Des Martyrs.

Just around the corner some modern architecture.

Graffiti and old architecture in combination. I really like the diverse streets of Brussels.

Galeries Royales Saint-Hubert.

Art in front of the Chapel Church.

View from the Palais de Justice.

Notre-Dame du Sablon.

Mont des Arts.

Mont des Arts from the other side of the park.

L'oreille Tourbillonante.

Musée des Instruments de Musique.

Palais de Bruxelles.

Isn't this adorable? <3

In front of the Council of the European Union.

Parc du Cinquantenaire

View when you enter the Parc du Cinquantenaire.

Triumphal Arch.

Musée Royal de l’Armée.

Beautiful from all angles.

Firefighters having a traing session behind the arc.

Fascinating teamwork.

They made it!

Reflection somewhere on the Rue de la Loi.

Zooming in.

Parc de Laeken

Église Notre-Dame de Laeken - I waited a while, figuring out that they where closed because of the first of May...

First I thought it's "just" this line...

... and then I turned... This is what you need to be prepared to if you want to see the Château de Laeken close up... I skipped because I just had a couple of hours left in Brussels.

At least I had a look a this beauty.

Chinese Pavillion - Sadly in a really bad shape and closed...

Such a pitty that they let this beauty fall apart...

So many loving details. This is why I love Asian architecture!

Japanese Tower.

La fontaine de Neptune...

... and a close up... What the f...?