In December, my mom, my sister and I travelled to Belgium for a quick trip right before Christmas. Since I studied abroad last spring, I’ve been itching to travel anywhere in the world, even around the United States. And Belgium it was. After a long flight, we landed in Brussels in the early morning, and took a quick train to Gent for our first few days of the trip. Side note – if anyone has any tricks to sleep on a long, uncomfortable flight, please let me know!
From the train station, we decided to walk with our luggage to an Airbnb. A 15 minute walk turned into an hour walk because we couldn’t help but stop and take pictures of the beautiful city! Rivers Scheldt and Leie run throughout the city, which reminded me a little of Paris. After arriving at our Airbnb and meeting our host, Clementine, we quickly left to explore more of the city. The great thing about European cities around the holidays is there is bound to be a Christmas market. However, the market in Gent was one of the biggest Christmas markets I have ever seen! You could find anything from beer, fries, glassware, chocolate, and the best part – WAFFLES! If you ever travel to Belgium, the first thing you must try is the sucre waffles, they are the best thing to ever happen since sliced bread. The Christmas market also included a lit Ferris wheel and an ice-skating rink! The city of Gent also has beautiful and medieval buildings.
The next city on our list was Brussels. Brussels isn’t as romantic and medieval as Gent, but it’s a larger city with a lot of history. Another interesting thing about Belgium is you will find people speaking French, Dutch and German. The center of the EU is actually located in Brussels! Unfortunately, we were unable to get a hold of our Airbnb host but ended up eating dinner with a lovely French woman and her family for 2 whole hours. We talked about the city, the French language, chocolate, and even US politics. Later on, we hopped around some bars and met some locals. My favorite drink, which I even brought a bottle home of, was peche biere – peach beer!
We explored Brussels the next day, and walked through several markets and into many shops for more waffles! We wandered into old churches and castles, and listened to Christmas carollers. One of the best things about travelling to Europe is that even if you just walk down the street you are going to be in awe of your surroundings. Overall, our trip to Belgium was quick but well worth the long flight. If you were ever deciding to visit a country in Europe, Belgium is a good choice – preferably Gent!