The small town of Mechelen, about 30min outside Brussels, was one of our first stops in Belgium. It has a lot of folklore about a small doll that was tossed up and down on a sheet… You can see this crazy guy in lots of places around town!

Mechelen also has a beautiful canal boardwalk which was a real treat getting around town.

Mechelen wasn’t in any of our tourbooks, but it is absolutely charming!

Dating back to 1369, Het Anker is one of Belgium’s oldest breweries. Beers here were originally brewed by beguines, holy women living in a small religious community. Today, the brewery’s restaurant is known for delicious Gouden Carolus beer and local chicken, called cuckoo or malines.

The weather was a bit dreary during our trip, but there were bright, beautiful flower boxes in nearly every window.

Loving the window flower boxes

Mechelen

Mechelen

Mechelen’s old town square

Quirky doll-man being tossed in the air; residents give him different socks to support local events and causes

We loved the beer culture in Belgium and that every beer has its own unique glass. At this bar, I picked my drink based on the glass it was served in: a goblet etched with fleur-de-lis.

Julien found a self-guided walking tour of a neighborhood in Brussels where the architecture is original art nouveau.

More window boxes… I couldn’t resist!

More art nouveau in Brussels

We did a fantastic Beer and Chocolate tour in Brussels. Not only did we taste some real delicacies, but we also did some sightseeing with our amazing guide.

Manequin Pis! According to folklore, the boy’s name was Julien and he saved the city from certain destruction.

A modern take on an old classic

The merchants guilds in old town Brussels

One stop on the tour served hot chocolate as the chocolate tasting; it was delicious!

The last spot on the tour was one of the oldest bars in Brussels. The entrance was down an old, narrow alleyway.

The last spot on the tour served what some consider the best beer in the world. Apparently it was entered in an international beer competition, but not in the category for “best beer.” So many of the tasters loved it that they voted for it as best beer anyway, and it won!

Checking out some city views

The René Magritte Museum

We timed our Belgium trip to go the Seven Days Walking tour by my favorite pianist, Ludovico Einaudi.

Day trip to Bruges! It was a bit touristy but as charming as everyone says it is.

A local brewery built a ‘beer pipeline’ between its brewery and bottling facilities!

We tested the beer pipeline ;)

Bruges

Bruges

Bruges

¡Guauu, que guapo! ;)

The local government building in Bruges leans slightly to the left… Belgium’s own leaning tower!

Our hotel in Ghent was an old post office that had been renovated into space for shopping, offices, and a wonderful hotel.

The “Honesty Bar” in our hotel where you could pour yourself a drink and pay by writing what you took in a small paper log for the hotel staff to charge your room later.

Boat tours offer a very different perspective of a city, and we had a great time on our tour in Ghent.

Old castle/prison

The end of the line in our Ghent boat tour

We spent a couple of hours in Antwerp before we ended our time in Belgium. The train station there is one of the most beautiful in Europe (and it has some of the most delicious waffles, too!).

Beautiful interior of the Antwerp train station