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Country 1: Brussels, Belgium

  • Vittoria
  • Mar 2, 2018
  • 4 min read

2 Days On The Road ~ Location: Brussels, Belgium ~ Transportation: Bus

We left London on Monday 26th February and our bus was at 21:00 from Victoria Coach station. I was so nervous leaving my parents house for what feels like the last time. Our bus was late (typical), and when it finally arrived we had to queue outside for an eternity in the freezing cold weather. We decided to go with Flixbus because they have the cheapest fares and they also have a sustainable program where they allow you to donate money on your ticket checkout to Atmosfair, a company that works in carbon footprint restoration; this way our trip had zero footprint, as if we never boarded the bus! Here you can read more about this incredible initiative.


The bus was really comfortable, we warmed up quickly, and I slept on and off throughout the journey; until they woke us up at the boarder with France and we had to get off to show our passports. It was snowing...so we rushed back into the bus as soon as we could! One of the things I was mostly excited about was seeing how buses, trains and cars cross the English channel: the bus drives into a very long corridor, like a metal box, and then this container moves with the bus inside. So it wasn't like shooting through a glass tube underwater looking at fish...unfortunately.



We arrived in Brussels earlier than expected and it was colder than ever (-7). We had a coffee at Starbucks which was completely Zero Waste since we had our reusable cups and cutlery and the sugar was in a glass jar and not in paper sachets. We met our Couchsurfing host Wannes in the neighbourhood of St Gilles, one of the most bohemian and artistic district of Brussels. Wannes works in the theatre and unfortunately he had to work during our visit so we didn't spend much time together. But he plans to travel to Bali or Thailand at some point so I am sure we will have occasions to return the favour.


Here you can watch the video about our time in Belgium:


Our itinerary included:

~ Rue des Moines

~ Hallepoort

~ Place Royale

~ Royal Palace of Brussels

~ Mont des Arts

~ Grand Place

We walked pretty much the whole time a part from couple of times we used the tube, since we paid for a daily pass and we wanted to make the most of it. We bought it to get to St Gilles from the Station Gare Du Nord, which is where the Flixbus left us. The tube is very easy to use, and there is a train every few minutes.


Best Moment

The best moment was seeing the view of Brussels from the steps in front of Place Royale. The view over the garden and the city is mind-blowing. Also I loved the Grand Place square, which has some incredible architecture, the details on the facades were insanely intricate. And maybe the greatest moment of all was getting on the bus and realising the adventure had finally began!

Worst Moment

The noisy people on the bus to Brussels, talking on the phone and eating crisps loudly while we were trying to sleep. But we forgot all about it as soon as we arrived, because then we were just damn excited.

Healthy Tips

We didn't have any problems finding healthy food for a great price. We packed oats and seeds from London and that is what we have for breakfast with some fresh fruit we buy locally. During our stay we cooked our own lunch and dinner, using canned ingredients and fresh bread.


Zero Waste Tips

We bought our food from a local Carrefour and they had unpackaged fruit and vegetables, as well as fresh bread from the bakery. We decided to go for an assortment of tinned beans, because the tins are recyclable and we also treated ourselves with some olive pate in a glass container, which is recyclable too. Having the Zero Waste Shopping kit is a lifesaver! Here you can read all about Zero Waste shopping.

Minimalist Tips

We have been leaving our backpacks and laptops at home and then walking around with our daypacks which are very light. I believe there are some items in our backpacks we can leave behind, but I am going to wait one more week to see if some of the clothing comes in handy or not; I will let you know how it goes.

Final warnings: prepare some change because you will have to pay to use public toilets, but the plus side is that the toilets are very clean. We paid between 30p to 50p. Also we tried to visit some museums but they were all quite expensive, so it's one thing to consider when you are travelling on a budget. Overall we couldn't have asked for a better country to begin our adventure with. It was picturesque, quiet, clean, the sun through the trees, parks and buildings was stunning, and we just had a blast!


Transportation Footprint: 235 miles = 0.01 metric tons of CO2e

we paid £0,23 each to Atmosfair.com to Zero our footprint

VS Plane: Flight London to Brussels = 0.10 metric tons of CO2e

How Long We Stayed: 1.5 day

Accommodation: Free thanks to Wannes from Couchsurfing

Expenses

~ Food: £15

~ Transport: £13 daily pass + £26 Flixbus

~ Toilets: £1.1

 
 
 

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