Waffles and Brussels

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Matthew Lotz
  • 31st Fighter Wing Public Affairs
AVIANO AIR BASE, Italy --  This French-and Dutch-speaking country is intimidating because these are two languages my wife and I had no way of understanding, but the same country that prides itself on various beers and local waffles, removed any hesitation to visit.

Brussels, the capital and largest city in Belgium, has a population of more than one million residents, who thankfully for tourists like us, are multilingual.

Leaving from Treviso airport, we travelled the skies for the short, hour and a half-flight to the Kingdom of Belgium. Once we landed, we found the train that took us to Gare de Bruxelles-Central train station.

As we walked up the staircase from the rustic train station, we were taken back by all the beauty. The sizeable historic buildings and the Mont des arts, where a large garden with rows of trees lead to the King Albert I statue were just like what we had seen online.

Mesmerized, we continued walking, passing several waffle stands and our stomachs started growling, screaming they wanted a Belgian waffle. However, we had luggage in both hands, so we continued toward our hotel.

My wife found an amazing hotel a block from the city's town hall and the Museum of the City of Brussels or otherwise known as the Grand Place. This is considered the central square of Brussels.

Finally with luggage-free hands, it was that time.

Before travelling, friends explained that trying a plain waffle is a must, but being the rebel that I am, I added peanut butter to my first waffle and was not disappointed. To please my big boy-stomach, I ate back-to-back waffles before even taking a full two steps past the stand.

While trying to remove the peanut butter from my fingers and face, we headed for the famous Manneken Pis or "the little boy urinating" fountain.

The fountain is on a tiny street corner and can easily be missed. The iconic statue was surprisingly small, standing only two feet short.

With several waffles consumed and seeing Manneken Pis, it was time for us to check off the next item on my Brussels bucket list - having a Belgian Beer. Fortunately for me, my awesome wife signed us up for a beer-tour. The tour took us to three bars including the famous Delirium Café, which holds a Guinness Book of Records record for the most different brands of beer in one bar; 2,004 to be exact. I highly recommend participating in the tour; we were able to try several Belgium beers for only $15 a person.

As the day came to an end and I was tucked away in my bed, I knew I had just lived every man's dream - having a stomach full of Belgian waffles and beer.

The next morning, the only thing my wife and I wanted was more waffles. My belly spoke to me again, as I ordered a waffle covered in melted peanut butter topped with bananas to ensure I got my daily serving of fruits for breakfast.

We continued our weekend walking several miles around the city. We explored the rest of what Brussels offered including the infamous Belgian chocolate and french fries. Then we visited another symbol of Brussels called "the Atomium," a museum shaped like a unit cell.

While Brussels is considered a small city to its locals, it is full of museums and culture. Being stationed overseas has given my wife and me the opportunity to travel to many locations in Europe and by far, Brussels is at the top of my list and it's not because of the eight total waffles we consumed.