Brussels, Belgium: Why I Was Not A Fan And Need A Re-Do
Have you ever been to Brussels, Belgium before?
Very rarely do I not like a place when I travel. Even if a place is not the greatest I will find things I like about it. No place is perfect. But I’ll be honest and say that I was not a huge fan of Brussels, Belgium. This should not sway you from visiting, though. Everyone has their own opinions and I have tons of friends who loved and enjoyed their time in Brussels. Travel is so subjective. Brussels was one of the rare places that I didn’t connect with. This was highly disappointing to me because I want to love or at the very least, like every place that I visit.
When I left Paris for Brussels, I remember my local Paris friend told me to skip it. Another friend who lives in Amsterdam that I was going to see after Belgium told me to skip it too. So strange, I thought. My American friends who were in Paris at the same time said they loved it. I thought what could be so bad about beer, chocolate, and the European capital? Even when people tell me not to go places, I want to form my own opinion and see it for myself.
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The main reason I didn’t like Brussels is that I didn’t feel safe while exploring the city. I had already been travelling for 6 months around the world by myself and consider myself a capable solo female traveller. The first issue I had was when a strange man followed me for close to an hour. I’m quite street smart so I made sure not to go down quiet streets and to stay in very busy places. I made weird twists and turns through the Christmas markets yet he was still in my peripheral view. I decided to go to a cafe and I sat in there for a while in hopes that he would get tired of waiting for me. When I felt like he was gone, I bolted out of the cafe, had lunch really quickly, and then took a taxi to the train station to leave the city.
Besides this man who followed me, there were also a handful of men who spoke to me in Chinese (I am not Chinese…I am Asian though) which I found odd. And lastly, I had some homeless people yell at me. And not just yell but berate me. That didn’t bother me so much and I figured that it wasn’t about me so I kept walking and tried to ignore it. But after being followed and strange men talking to me, I just felt uncomfortable.
I hate not loving places but I felt so uncomfortable in the day time and that never happens! Sorry Brussels, you gave me weird vibes. I really want to like you. It’s not you, it’s me. Perhaps I’ll come back again but with a travel companion next time. I do want to go back though since I am a huge lover of Belgian beer.
Regardless, I did stumble upon a really great cafe for mussels not far from the central square or Grote Mrkt. Click here to find out where!
Are there places you didn’t jive with when you travelled? Where and why?