Brussels Part 1 - The beginning

After arriving in Brussels and orienting myself at Gare Du Midi, I made my way to the metro and found out which stop my hotel was (St Katherine) we emerged from the underground in the middle of a massive Christmas market only to find our hotel conveniently in front of us. We stayed at the Hotel Welcome and it was the most charming little hotel I have ever stayed in. Each room is individually decorated in the style of a country. We were in Istanbul and you can see some of the decor from the picture. Not only was there a ceiling fan, there was also a deskside fan which was great because we sleep with a fan on as a source of white noise. Also there was a button on the wall which had arrows pointing up and down. I can't resist a mystery button and on pressing it I found an electric shutter rolling down to block out light. As you can imagine we slept very well in this hotel. Breakfast was included, though I only availed of it the first morning as I filled up and spoiled lunch. I am not a breakfast eater anyway. I can not recomend this hotel enough for a stay in Brussels. The location is perfect and a short stroll to all the best shopping, eating and drinking in Brussels.

After we settled in we wandered the Christmas market and tried some warm kriek which was quite nice. Then it was time for lunch and we had a nice meal and my first beer in Belgium. I have only ever had or even seen Leffe Blonde so I was interested to find others in the range. I had the Brown and it was quite lovely. Plenty of Caramel, Prunes, Muscovado. A perfect introduction to my beer pilgrimage in Belgium. My wife went for a Maes, we will leave it at that.

Later we wandered around and decided to escape the rain in a local boozer called Superstars. I had a Primus Pils, not because I wanted one but because asking for a beer menu resulted in two glasses of this muck, one of which I promptly spilled (my wifes) so I gave her mine. One might conclude my subconscious did that so I could order some proper beer. I then tried this Tongerlo Blonde. I could not tell the difference between this and a standard Leffe Blonde but it was good enough.

On one of our wandering trips in between bars we noticed this big sign on a building beside the opera house. I love the part where it says "de place to bru" even though I know it has noting to do with brewing or beer.

The next post will feature the Delirium Café which is the first port of call for a serious beer drinker in Brussels and deserves its own mention.