Our last day of the year started with a breakfast in our hotel. We didn't know what to expect at first, because the included breakfast only allowed us to grab five items from the buffee. Fortunately the hotel wasn't that strict after all, meaning that two breads counted as one item and we could eat as much cheese, ham and jam as we wished. We ended up having a lovely breakfast and were ready to face the long day.
Eelmisel õhtul olin uurinud välja peamise ostutänava asukoha ja meie esmaseks eesmärgiks oli see üles leida. Asus see aga meie hotellist üsnagi kaugel ja nii otsustasimegi ka muud huvitavad vaatamisväärsused, mis teele jäid, ilusti üle vaadata.
Our first aim was to find the main shopping street, which I had found on the map the day before. However, since it was quite a long way from our hotel, we also made detours to all other sights that crossed our way.
Ületades üht suuremat tänavat linna keskmes, avastasime, et tänava mõlemas otsas on uhke kirik. Kahjuks ei jõudnudki me neid lähemalt uurida.
While crossing one of the bigger streets, we realized that a large church is located on both ends of the street. Unfortunately we couldn't find time to give them a closer look.
Belgia Senat, kus uhkelt lehvimas meeletult suur Belgia ja Euroopa Liidu lipp.
Belgium Senate with huge flags of Belgium and European Union. 
Uhke St. Michaeli ja St. Gudula katedral. Ka seestpoolt on kirik imeilus.
The Cathedral on St. Michael and St. Gudula.
Kui lõpuks ostutänavale jõudsime, käisime läbi küll mitmed poed, kuid ostlemiseks erilist tuju ei olnud. Jalutasime tänava lõppu ja tagasi ning jätkasime oma teekonda vanalinnas. Leidsime ka huvitava välimusega restorani, kus kohvi ja kakaod juua - Drug Opera. Tõeliselt ilusa sisekujundusega koht, kus vanemas eas härrasmehed kõiki viisakalt teenindavad. Maksime oma jookide eest küll veidi rohkem kui mujal, kuid ka maitsele aitas see palju kaasa. Lisaks saime ka väikse tüki belgi šokolaadi ja vahvlit.
Once at the shopping street, we were actually not that much into shopping. We only went by a few stores and walked all the way to the end and back, from where we continued to the old town. Soon we also approached an inviting restaurant, the Drug Opera, to stop for a cup of coffee and hot chocolate. The place had an amazing interior and we were served by few older gentelmen. We did pay a little more for our drinks than usually, but turned out we also paid for a great taste, not only the location. As a suprise, we also got a small piece of Belgium chocolate and waffel.
Pärast väikest pausi, leidsime end taas jõuluturult. Selle lähedal asus ka väike kirik, mis oma olemuselt mulle tegelikult palju rohkem meeldis kui varem nähtud katedral. Seal süütasin ka oma lahkunud vanaemadele küünla. Kiriku kõrval nägime täitsa kogemata ka jõuluturu kaarti ja selgus, et see on paljupalju suurem kui me siiani teadsime.
After a short break we found ourselves from the Christmas market. At the market, we found a small church that had a little something to it. Therefore I decided to light a small candle for my late grandmothers. Just next to the church we accidentaly found a large map of the Christmas market and turned out it was a lot bigger than we thought.
When we saw the map, we were only at the church at nr 3. The small stands around the building already made up quite a big market. As we saw there is so much more next to the ice rink and Ferris wheel, we headed that way. Before we also passed several other stands, and at nr 5, I allowed myself a sweet apple-cinnamon waffle.
Suurele platsile jõudes selgust, et Brüsseli jõuluturg on ikka meeletult suur. Nähes vaateratast, tahtsime koheselt ka sellega sõitma minna.
I must say that the Christmas market in Brussels is enourmous. Right after we saw the Ferris wheel, we also decided to go for a ride.
Kui rattalt lahkusime, oli kell saanud juba neli. Kuna mõlemad juba pikast jalutamisest väsinud olime, seadsime sammud tagasi hotelli. Enne veel aga möödusime uhkest turuplatsist.
After getting of the wheel, it was already four o'clock. We started to head back to the hotel, but first passed the famous grand place.
Otsustasime, et et vali kõige lühemat teed tagasi hotelli ja vaatame veel, mis meie ümbruses paikneb. Nägime veel paari kirikut ja mitut parki, kuni leidsime end taas ühelt ostutänavalt. Ootusega leida toidupoodi, jalutasime edasi ja edasi, kuni lõpuks hotelli poole pöörduda soovisime ja selle kõrvalt leiame ka kindlalt poe, kust õhtuks šampus osta. Võtsime siis kaardi kätte ja avastasime, et oleme jalutanud täiesti teise suunda, hotellist eemale. Ühesõnaga, olime eksinud, ning koheselt ka väsinud ja pahurad. Õnneks suutsime läbi väikeste tänavate leida tee Euro Parlamendini ning sealt juba hotelli.
On our way back to the hotel, we wondered further away while seeing some more parks, squares and churches. We ended up on another shopping street and eager to find a grocery store to get some champagne for the night, we walked further and further. Until we finally decided to just drop by the store next to our hotel. Right then we pulled out our map and realized that we are way too far and kind of lost. That's when the tiredness really hit me. Fortunately we were able to make our way back to the Parliament and from there we already knew where to go.
Kuna me polnud endale õhtusöögiks lauda reserveerinud, plaanisime minna eelmisel päeval külastatud itaalia restorani kõrval paiknevasse restorani, mille kohta olin positiivset infot lugenud. Sinna jõudes aga selgus, et vana-aasta õhtul ju ei ole vaja kõiki restorane lahti hoida ja mitte ükski söögikoht sel väljakul polnud avatud. Jalutasime siis edasi ja edasi, kuni lõpuks leidsime Boston Steak House-i. Kuigi atmosfäär just palju ei pakkunud, olid toidud maitsvad ja teenindus hea. Hiljem nautisime hotelli baaris maitsvat Mojitot ja Belgia õlu. Kell 11 olime valmis, et taas südalinna jalutada ja ilutulestikuga uut aastat tervitada. Kuninga palee ümbrusesse oli kogunud meeletu kogus inimesi, kuid nagu hiljem selgus, oli see ka suurepärane koht show vaatmiseks. 2014 sai suure paugu ja tõeliselt kifti vaatemänguga alustatud.
We didn't bother much to reserve ourselves a table for dinner and therefore aimed for the brasserie at the square we found the Italian restaurant the day before. Once there, it turned out none of the restaurants were open. So we headed back to the city instead and found a small Boston Steak House, were we enjoyed some great food, and apparently some best steak of Brussels. We continued our eve at our hotel lounge with a Mojito and Belgium beer. At 11, we were ready to head back to the city centre for the fireworks show. The square next to the Royal Palace was super crowded, but as we figured later, it was the perfect place to see the fireworks. Our year of 2014 definitely started with an amazing and memorable show.
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