Getting Lucky in Brussels | The European Adventure
July 12, 2025A wise man once said: If you want to know whether two people are going to stay together or kill each other, they should take a trip to a city they know nothing about.
Not that I needed to test this theory—after twelve years of marriage, I was fairly certain my wife hadn’t plotted my demise. But if ever there was a day she might have considered it, this was the one. The single day we had to ourselves between Bruges and Paris.
One whole day to explore something new! Staying back in Bruges would have suited us just fine, but we decided to take our chances. This was an unplanned day—no hotels booked, no travel arrangements made. The contenders: Ghent, Brussels, and Luxembourg. The idea of ticking off another country did sound pretty cool… and also a tad desperate. Already in our third country on this trip, we’d begun to realise that crossing borders doesn’t guarantee dramatic change. So, we settled on Brussels.
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By the time we finished our deliberations, morning was upon us and we had to dash. But not before hopping onto one of the buses that ferry people around Bruges. As luck would have it, one stopped right in front of our hotel. We hauled our luggage into the rather crowded bus, only to discover later that it was a free service meant for local residents. No wonder there wasn’t a tourist in sight.
A free ride to start the day—what could go wrong? Spirits were high. We grabbed our train tickets to Brussels and were genuinely excited for the adventure ahead.
Midway through the two-hour journey—through some absolutely stunning countryside—we decided to get off at Brussels Midi station, since that’s where our bus to Paris was departing from the next day. We arrived, still with no accommodation booked.
Yes, if there was ever a day my wife might have killed me, it was this one. Two massive suitcases to drag, one hefty bag to carry, and a child to manage… and with all of that, we set off from the station in search of a hotel. None of the booking apps had anything remotely decent listed. Thirty minutes into our nomadic wandering—and after being turned down by two hotels—it started to rain.
“Five hundred metres ahead,” I said cautiously, spotting a hotel on the app. Meanwhile, raindrops were practically evaporating on my wife’s simmering head. Her face was turning redder by the second. Our son wasn’t helping matters either—he had begun his own round of complaints.
Thankfully, we reached the only hotel that had shown up on the app. It looked… adequate. But we’d done it. We had landed in an unfamiliar city with no plans, not even a place to stay—and we’d made it.
We found a hotel, a warm bed… and—wait for it—a toilet with a jet spray. This really was our lucky day.
First impressions of Brussels? Coming soon in the next post!
Read about my Brussels experience here
Also Read: Zaanse Schans
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