Tag Archives: Travel

Brussels means Business

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The title of this post says it all. This is the feeling I got during a recent trip to Brussels. I knew it is the capital of the European Union but wasn’t expecting it to be so vibrant.

I didn’t get any sense of slowdown (in terms of economy) while I was in Brussels. This city is hustling and bustling with all kinds of business activities. The construction of new buildings and restoration work is in full swing.

The city is also orderly and clean unlike some of the other European cities. The only issue was that we visited Brussels after Brugge.. 🙂 so didn’t find that many opportunities for photography. I settled with few pics and focused on being there and enjoying the moment (rather than the photography).

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A City called Brugge

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I have to thank Payal, Brinda’s friend who highly recommended Brugge. We had no idea that such a charming place existed in Belgium. This world heritage city is about an hour train ride from Brussels. It is also known as Venice of the North.

We got a good feeling about this city as soon as we got off the train and our trip also ended on the same note. It had pretty much everything that we were looking for. It was a real get away for us as we hadn’t seen anything like it in the US, Asia or Australia.

Brugge is perfect for relaxing or taking a break from busy life where you can be just yourself and don’t want to be bothered by anybody.

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Spiritual India in a Belgian Castle

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I had promised at the time of starting this blog that I would share with you our travels to some unique and interesting places, so here is the first one.

Radhadesh, “Spiritual India in Belgian Ardennes” has been on my mind for the last few years. Visiting a castle in the European countryside with all the spiritual goodness around it, what’s there not to like about it?

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Planning a Trip to Europe

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I think it is worth sharing some of the planning and research I did for our recent Europe trip. Most of this info can also be used for other international destinations.

The weather: This is the most important factor for any vacation that I plan. There’s nothing like being away when most of the days are sunny and the temperatures are in 60-80 degrees. That’s the reason I pin down the final destination only 4-6 weeks ahead of the actual trip. Surprised?? 🙂

It is not only the weather but mood factor as well. I usually have few destinations in mind but will know for sure which tempts me the most only before a month or two. Such short timeframe gets me excited and focused. This strategy has worked very well so far. For example, France and the surrounding countries had bad Summer this year but the Fall weather was beautiful.

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Visiting Europe – Think again!!

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I heard over the years how expensive Europe is and sure enough I got the taste of it during a recent trip to the continent.

Actually there were quiet a few shockers, not just an incident or two. So let me share the key ones.

Hotel in Brussels: We thought it would be a good idea to visit the capital of European Union as we had a stopover in Brussels. We spent weeks hunting for a hotel but weren’t able to find any that had good reviews and would fit our budget. Finally we found a small boutique hotel tucked away in one of the alleys in the fashion district.

Cost? Cool 300 Euros (approx $400) a night. We were able to reduce the damage though by using our miles (paid a combination of miles and $$).  To get an idea, a similar hotel in the US would not cost more than $150.

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