Stadtpark

In Antwerp there is this park in the city center that is well worth a visit! You have lots of space to jog, a lake and a children's area for them to play. There's also a bridge and birds passing by. I went there on a sunny day and it was a great place to stroll around and soak up the sun :)

Caves of Han

So... even if my Brussels' time has long passed (I am back to Portugal since last August), I was checking my blog folders and realized I had saved some draft posts that I still hadn't concluded since the end of my traineeship. So here's a few more tips and tricks that can be useful if you're still living / planning to move to Brussels :)

Last June, me and some other trainees decided to gather to visit the Han Caves. These caves are located in the Namur district, in Han-sur-Lesse. We took the train headed to Arlon and hopped off at the Jemelle station. Then you need to take a bus that will take you directly to the place where the visitor's center for the caves is (you can buy the ticket to the driver and the stop is right outside the train station). Be sure to check these bus' schedules, as it doesn't pass too often.

At the sight we visited not only the caves, but also the wildlife reserve. You can reach the entrance of the caves by foot or with a mini-train from the center of the village. For the reserve, there is a train as well leaving from the center that will take you there (which is always playing a joyful tune saying "les grotes de Han... pour les petites et les grands!"). Then you can either visit the reserve always in the train, or you can get out at the entrance and visit it walking. That's what we preferred to do, to get a better view of the place and since the weather was nice.

In the reserve you can see some different species of wild animals, but all of them are gathered inside fences. The place itself is really nice, with lots of trees and green fields.

In the caves you have to wait for the start of a guided tour (they have them in French, Flemish and English). The tour takes around 1h30 and you will follow a guide that will provide you with explanations in several parts of the visit. In the end you have a lights' show in one part of the caves. The caves are huge and it's much colder and wetter down there, so be sure to dress appropriately.

This trip is perfect for a full day, as it takes some logistics to get to the place via public transportation from Brussels and it also takes some time to visit both places. So I would advise you to leave in the morning (we left at around 9h30) and expect to return in the evening (we arrived at around 20h30). Be sure to take something to eat along with you, as in the village you have a couple of restaurants/cafes, but not with much variety of offer (or nice prices). Plus, taking your own food will allow you to enjoy it with the sights of the reserve and will make you not waste time :) The village itself has some nice attractions as well, like a wax museum picturing different kinds of craftsmen and some typical shops. I would recommend a visit to this place, it was a day well spent!

Lake Genval

In middle June, the cycling subcommittee organized a trip to Lake Genval. It is located around 25km away from Brussels, so a group of us brave trainees decided to endeavour the task of cycling 50km in one day, with city bikes, between woods and secondary lanes. It was tiring, but a lot of fun! We took our food to pic-nic at the lake and saw some amazing natural landscapes on our way there. It's a great idea for a day trip (with or without bikes) from Brussels. This was the way we took:

Fruit-Time

Fruit-Time (located in Anderlecht) is a farm that opens to the public in the summer months for you to pick strawberries, flowers and raspberries. It is a bit far from central Brussels (I live near Schuman and it took me 1h15 to get there by public transportation), but definitely worth a visit. As you get away from the city center, this is the scenario you find.

As you arrive, you are given a box to fill with strawberries. The rule is one basket per person, per day, so it allows more people to come and pick their strawberries.

The raspberries are still too green! Wait for middle July, as there are plently of them (more than the strawberries) to pick.

Sneaky kid eating some while picking them!

In the end, you take the fruits you've picked for weight and pay for them. The price is 4€ for each 500g of strawberries. It is a great activity to do on a sunny day, with friends or family, being able to take home then some really fresh fruit bought directly from the producers. I have bought 1kg of them and everyday since Sunday have been making fresh milkshakes and juices with them (delicious!).

Right now the strawberry season is open and in July the flowers and raspberries are on too. See here the available periods:

Strawberries : June and July
Raspberries : July, August and September
Flowers : From July till September

For more information on how to get there, the opening hours and to see when the new cultures will be available, check out their website. Are you wondering how I did to get there? Here's how: I took the metro line 5 and hopped-off in Saint-Guidon. There I took the bus 46, direction Moortebeek (the bus stop is right outside the metro exit). You leave the bus in the stop Sibelius and then walk to the farm for around 15 minutes (it's a straight road). To return, the bus stop is closer to the farm, so you just walk around 10 minutes. But nothing like google maps to help you better plan your trip!

Fruit-Time

Rue du Pommier (left to no. 463 - Restaurant de Notelaar)

1070 Anderlecht

info@fruit-time.be

http://www.fruit-time.be/

Japanese Garden

A couple of weeks ago I have been to Hasselt, a town just 1h away by train from Brussels, whose biggest attraction is this garden, that was awarded the title of largest Japanese garden in Europe. You pay 5€ of entrance and get access to this mini paradise! I really liked to visit it, such a beautiful place with nature in its all forms and colors.The day presented us with some good weather, so we just wandered around for about 1h30, surrounded by these magnificent views. There's a bus from Hasselt's train station that goes directly to the garden (and using the buses in that city is for free!). Definitely a visit I can recommend if you like gardens and have a sunny day for free.

National Botanic Garden of Belgium

A couple of weeks ago, on a sunny day, I went to visit the National Botanic Garden of Belgium. I went by bike, as the visit was part of a cycling activity, and we departed from the Central Station with bikes rented with Point Velo (9 euros for the whole day). We cycled around 10km towards Meise, which is where the garden is located (already outside of Brussels actually). The entrance costs 6 euros and it's a beautiful garden to spend a day in, as there are plenty of things to see: greenhouses with exquisite plants, a charrette pulled by horses that goes around the garden and to which you can hop-in and hop-off, a lake and a small castle. In the end, we returned by riding our bikes the 10km back.

It was a great way of spending a sunny day! The garden is amazing and you can take food with you and make a pic-nic there (although there's also a cafe near the lake that sells food and drinks).

Royal Greenhouses of Laeken

Every year, the Royal Greenhouses of Laeken open their doors to the public for 3 weeks only. You can visit them for just 2,50€ and I assure you it is worth the visit. I was there last weekend and happily strolled along the corridors full of flowers, making a stop in the middle to see the magnificent view of the lake and the Japanese tower. It was a bit crowded, but that doesn't make a difference when enjoying the views, as there is many space around. Count with 1h to do the whole visit!

You still have the chance to visit them until next Sunday! Otherwise you'll have to wait until 2014.