It’s not very often you get to plan your next destination simply by searching for the cheapest flight. But in the case of my Eurail adventure, that’s how I kicked things off. 
From my journey through England and Wales up to Edinburgh, Scotland I had to make my way back over to mainland Europe. With a bit of crosschecking and glance at a map, I found myself flying to Brussels, Belgium.
Arriving in Brussels there were two things I was very excited about.
The first was that Belgium would mark my 57th country. The more countries I find myself in the harder it becomes to visit a country for the ‘first time.’ As a result, each new country becomes slightly more monumental.
The second reason for excitement was that I would be seeing the lovely Stefanie, a fellow traveller who I met in Dublin, Ireland during my first RTW journey in 2010.
Part of my plan in getting a Eurail.com pass this time around was to see some new places, like Brussels, but to also see as many friend’s as possible while revisiting some cities I have been to before.
Meeting up with Stefanie in a new city meant my train trip was off to a good start.
I only had one day to see Brussels and catch up with Stefanie. Since we met travelling we decided to put the two together and explore the city with each other.
Our first stop of the day was the one and only attraction (aside from chocolate, beer & waffles) that I knew about Brussels: Manneken Pis.
Yes, a statue of peeing boy.
While there are many stories behind the boy, my favourite is that he saved the city from burning down by peeing on it.
GOLD!
With a quick waffel we continued on our adventure and attempted to see the many comic murals around the city by following a special route.
Sadly, we only found a handful and ended up in a slight shady part of town.
Once back on track, Stefanie suggested I try some beer at one of the most famous bars in the city.
I chose one that tasted like Christmas while Stefanie had a juice because she’s allergic to wheat.
Can you believe it? A Belgian who can’t have waffles, chocolate or beer!!
The insanity of it all! And I would know – I grew up on a farm and can’t have dairy or be around hay and dust. Yeesh!
With my thirst quenched, Stefanie had a little surprise for me. Not only is there a statue of a boy peeing in Brussels, there is also a statue of a girl peeing called Jeanneken Pis. This statue was even stranger, not working and locked behind a gate.
There is also peeing dog statue but I couldn’t be bothered to hunt it down.
After a quick break to have some french fries (another Belgian specialty) we headed back to the main square in Brussels called The Grand Place. 
Day or night, it is stunning and like many other visitors I’m sure, my favourite part of the city.
The time came for Stefanie and I to say farewell once again. I felt lucky to see her in under 3 years (a reality when your friends are on the other side of an ocean) but hopefully it wont be more than 3 years until the next catch up!
Thank you for showing me around Stefanie and I look forward to our next adventure somewhere in the world!
On my final day in Brussels, I walked to the central station and with a check of the board I hopped on the next train to Amsterdam.
I could finally fill in the first day on my Eurail.com pass and take my time doing it because I didn’t have to buy any tickets in advance or get on a specific train. My pass meant I could travel all day, on any train and in first class to boot!
This European train adventure was off to an excellent start.
I want to thank the team at Eurail.com for setting me up with my train pass.
If you’re thinking of heading to Europe and want to ride the train, hop on over to Eurail.com and check out the countless pass options they have available.
My first trip to Europe I used a Eurail pass, I am using one now and will use one on my future visits as well!
