| Brussels has one central area, which itself is very touristy. Many big wide courtyards (most of which seemed unused) and tall older buildings. While Brussels is more French-speaking, there is still a lot of Dutch for those who live in the north. I came here mostly to find one of the newly minted 2.50 euro coins depicting the battle of Waterloo. I went to a bank to find one. They said they aren't distributed to banks and directed me to a money exchange/pawn shop. The exchange place said it's a collector's item. Then the coin collector's shop didn't have any. I ended up at the EU Mint, who told me to look online. They were sold out online. Bruges is a beautiful authentic town to the west. It has canals going through it, moreso like Amsterdam than Venice. If Brussels is touristic, then Bruges is indescribable; tourists were littered all over the town. I felt bad for the locals, really. There didn't seem to be any particular landmarks; instead, it was more of the architecture that people were interested in. That, and boat rides through the canals or just sitting outside with a beer. While originally I was going to stay for a night in Bruges, I opted for a day trip from Brussels instead. On my last night, I visited Brussels' Angoleiros do Mar capoeira group. During the summer season, they practice in the park, which was really fun. I haven't played capoeira since getting to Europe, and I was starting to feel a bit out of shape. |
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September 2015
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