Just before going to bed to grab a couple of hours’ sleep on the 19th, I did a last check that I had everything ready, and I realised that my parking reservation at the airport had not been processed. It is a good thing that being an Aena member, the price had not gone up outrageously from when I had done it the first time a few months back. I have no idea why it did not work the first time, but I am glad I caught it before I left, because non-reserved parking is three times as much.

I did sleep for a few hours and the alarm clock went off around 3:00 for my 6:20 flight. The drive was uneventful, I found an awesome parking spot, and I had the bus just for myself after a minute of waiting. Security was fast, and it was weird to be in the Schengen side of the terminal for a Ryanair flight. I got on the plane and got some sleep. We landed in Brussels [Bruxelles (French) | Brussel (Dutch)], Belgium [Belgique | België] early, but deplaning took a while. Once outside, I followed the signs for the train and there was one there already. I settled until I got to Brussels Central station, where I bought a coffee, a drink, and a sandwich. I then walked towards the underground station – the coffee was gone even before I was there.

I knew I was in the correct underground line when I started seeing cosplayers and kiddos with superhero merchandise along with their resigned parents. My backpack was not heavy, but I was glad to have a seat both on the train and the underground. I reached the area of Brussels Expo a few minutes before the convention Heroes Comic Con opened for general admission. There was a queue, but instead of getting in line, I walked up to the nearby Atomium.

The Atomium was built as the centrepiece of the Brussels Expo’58. It is credited to architects André Polak and Jean Polak from a project by civil engineer André Waterkeyn. It was designed as a homage to scientific advance, especially nuclear physics, and thus resembles an atom or a molecule. It is 102 metres high, and it comprises nine spheres with a diameter of 18 metres each, joined by tubes and escalators. The Atomium was not designed to survive the Expo it was built for, though. In the mid 2000s, it had to be renovated, and a lot of the original aluminium was replaced by stainless steel.

I contemplated going up the building. However, when I looked at the time, I realised that if I went in, I would be able to get into the first of Misha Collin’s photo shoots. When I decided to buy the tickets, I only bought one picture in the afternoon, because I was not sure what time I would make it to the convention, considering the plane, the train and the underground. But I was there on time so I used my phone to buy an extra ticket for the photo shoot in which Collins would be wearing the outfit from Supernatural’s character Castiel. This also gave me the chance to get the photograph signed during the time between photo shoots. Furthermore, I was still within budget – because I had decided to indulge myself with the money I had originally set aside for a balloon ride in Cappadocia.

I walked into Brussels Expo. The exhibit was huge, but I had a map downloaded on the phone. I was a bit confused when doing my original research, because it turns out that there were actually three conventions going on at the same time – Heroes Comic Con, Made In Asia and Gameforce. However, once there, it was easy to get around. Heroes Comic Con is “a big feast dedicated to pop culture”, so basically a one-size-fits-all big merchandise fair with graphic artists, cosplayers, the whole nine yards, nothing too different from Paris Fan Festival. Heroes Comic Con’s biggest selling point, however, was having invited a number of popular actors – along Misha Collins (real name Dmitri Tippens Krushnic, for the record), other guests were Bob Morley, Eliza Taylor, Ian Somerhalder and Paul Wesley. Some of them… rang a bell. I might even have seen a few of them somewhere – I must have, because I did watch the newer Star Trek. However, I find it great that they had a large following and there were queues for them.

I followed my map towards the photo booths, where they checked my ticket and gave me a bright-coloured chip – they give you a chip per ticket, as you can have two people in one photograph. I was on my own, so no problems there. I actually got two photographs out of the first shoot – so I’ve got three though I paid for two, yay me. I had brought a customised jacket with a pair of angel wings, and the goal was to have them in the photographs, so I would be facing Misha but looking over my shoulder. The first photograph did work out too well, so Misha called me back for a re-shoot. He was very friendly, and much more approachable than my usual Japanese artists. Either that or I was less strung up. The pictures were printed on-site, so I took mine to the autographs area to wait. I had bought an official book beforehand – the lightest thing I had found, to be honest – in case I could not get a photograph signed, but since I this had worked out so well, I had our recent picture – and in the character outfit – to be signed.

Since I had been towards the end of the photograph queue, I did not have to wait long for Misha to come. A staff took my name on a post-it note and attached it to the photograph. When it was your turn, you paid for the autograph (I decided not to get a selfie, because I still had another photograph bought), and I told him about the pure chance I was there. He was “glad I could make it”. As I said, nice and approachable.

By the time I was out of the autograph area it was around 11:40. I decided to wander around. I gravitated towards Made in Asia, and was very strong reminding myself I wanted to keep my luggage light and not pay for any extra. Thus, I managed not to buy anything despite finding a bunch of Saint Seiya merchandise – which I now regret, but that’s FOMO speaking. I had a chuckle or two out of young people complaining about the official good stuff being “too expensive” when I found the shops cheaper than the stands I see in the Spanish counterparts.

I returned to the photo booth for the second photograph, and I thanked Misha for the chance – I look silly in the picture, but that’s okay. It was great. There was a Q&A with Collins an hour or so later, but I decided to forego that and leave the convention. If I stayed, I would have no time to do anything in Brussels that day. I also wanted to keep on the move because else my body would remember how little slept it had gotten, and I would crash. Thus, I bought an online Art Nouveau pass, and I left the convention.

Brussels’ Art Nouveau Pass is 20 € and it covers entry to three museums, historical places, or exhibitions in a long list, all of them related to – obviously – Art Nouveau. The pass can be value for money even if you only visit two of the “big ones”. Since the pass is valid for nine months, I might be able to use it for a third time in the near future. The original idea was to buy one from the beginning and hit the Comic Museum, the Horta Museum and the Solvay House – things I had not had the time to visit the previous time because in the end I spent a lot of time walking to different spots (read: the Natural History Museum). However, the Solvay House was under renovation, and the Horta Museum was a bit out of the way, so I ended up being flexible

I rode back to Central Station and walked out towards the Cathedral of St. Michael and St. Gudula Cathédrale des Saints Michel et Gudule | Kathedraal van Sint-Michiel en Sint-Goedele, which was beautiful in the flurry of autumn leaves. It was cold, so I hastened towards the Comics Art Museum Musée de la Bande Dessinée | Stripmuseum (Belgian Comic Strip Center). The museum is located in the former textile store Magasins Waucquez, an early 1900s commercial building designed by architect Victor Horta. Horta is considered one of the founders Art Nouveau, with his use of curved forms and use of steel, skylights and open floor plans with abundant decoration.

After the department store closed in the 1970s, the building was listed as a historical site, and it was bought by the Belgian Government to be used in the promotion of comic strips. The museum itself was founded in 1984 as a non-profit, and it opened in 1989. It runs a new permanent exhibition on the history of comics in Belgium and Europe (free from the American Comics Code Authority and censorship – I mention this because I had tickets for a Marvel exhibition the following month, and the CCA had a lot of impact in the development of American comics). The person at reception told me to watch out for a very first-print Tintin which had been recently added to the exhibit. There are items and print issues related to most of the great Belgian comic artists – there were a lot of things I had never even heard about. I found a big lack of Morris’ Lucky Luke though.

Something I had decided to do in this trip was trying the typical foods, so once out of the museum I headed towards the central square Grand-Place | Grote Markt and Manneken Pis, which was not wearing any costume this time around, even if Brussels is still under a lot of construction (when I saw it in 2023, it was wearing a reflective jacket). I remembered that there were a lot of places that sold local street food – I don’t tend to be much of a foodie, especially with street food or fish. I figured out that Belgium could be a safe place to experiment without risking an upset stomach.

Thus I got some frites, Belgian fries, at a chain called La Friterie. I had seen a few of the establishments with queues outside, so when this one was almost empty, I jumped at the chance. Belgian fries are sourced from local potatoes and cooked in two goes, traditionally in beef fat. I got them with just salt, and they were really good. And warm. That was a great point.

It was around 17:00 by this time, and things had started to close down. I headed off towards the station to take a train to Bruges [Bruges | Brugge], in the north west area of West Flanders. The historic city centre is a Unesco World Heritage Site – Historic Centre of Brugge – and it is criss-crossed with canals. The area has been inhabited since Prehistory, but its importance peaked during the Middle Ages, between the 12th and 15th centuries. It became a commercial hub due to its strategic location between Flanders and France, though it later opened to other countries, like the Portuguese. The first stock exchange in the world probably opened there in 1309.

The Medieval architecture and brick Gothic constructions are exceptionally well preserved, including the pattern of streets intertwined with waterways. I was curious about northern Europe canals, which was one of the reasons why I chose the city. The other one was that it is a city to walk and see from the outside, which was great for a Monday morning. Unless it’s raining and about 7 ºC colder than cool – I had prepared for 13 – 17 ºC and drizzle, and got 9 – 13 ºC and rain. Whoops.

I bought some snacks at the station and went down to the platform. The train was late. I knew it was late, and I knew when it was expected, because the board told me. It was refreshing, considering the uncertainty around Madrid’s trains this last couple of years. I had booked a hotel close to the railway station, and I got there around 19:00. It was quite a basic place, with a toilet, and a shower closed off, and a washbasin column in the middle to separate the wet area from the bed area. Functional, and all right. The heating worked and they spoke English, so all good.

I did not rest for long. I ate the snacks, grabbed my umbrella and an extra layer of clothing, and headed out. It was dark outside already, and I hoped to get to see the city centre lit up for the night. My first stop was the Church of Our Lady Onze-Lieve-Vrouwekerk. Mostly built between the 13th and the 15th centuries, it is one of the highest Gothic brick structures in the world.

Then I headed towards Saint Salvator’s Cathedral Sint-Salvatorskathedraal, a curious mixture of neo-Romanesque and neo-Gothic, with a bell tower that looks more like a defence tower than anything religious. This tower, however, was the result of a 19th-century modification of the original tower. Of course, both churches were closed at this time, but they would open the next morning.

I continued towards the Market Square Grote Markt, featuring the Gothic Provincial Court Provinciaal Hof, the Historium, and the Belfry of Bruges Belfort van Brugge. The Medieval bell tower is doubly World Heritage – it belongs to the Historical Centre Unesco site, but it is also key in the Unesco Belfries of Belgium and France serial property. And while it is not part of the Manual bell ringing intangible Cultural Heritage, Bruges takes a lot of pride in its carillon and its bell ringing. At the centre of the square stands the statue of Pieter de Coninck and Jan Breydel Pieter de Coninck en Jan Breydel, who participated in the Flemish resistance against the French King in 1302.

I also wanted to explore a large park I had seen on my way. It turned out to be two of them, Poertorenpark and Minnewaterpark – which later I found means “Lake of Love Park” – before it was too late in the evening. There I found the Gunpowder Tower Poertoren – built between 1398 and 1401 by Jan Van Oudenaarde, and used as gunpowder store for almost five centuries. Beyond it, the Lake of Love itself Minnewater, the Lovers’ Bridge Minnewaterbrug, “very romantic” stone bridge. I noticed the part about it being stone. It also yielded to a beautiful night view.

I did not want to stay out too late. Thus, I crossed the Barge bridge Bargebrug to get back to the busy street area. Bargebrug is a modern construction, barely 20 years old, in bold red curves. On the other side there was a “reception area” in the same style, apparently a sort of bus station, and then there was the main road. Afterwards, I just headed back to the hotel and turned in for the day. I watched some TV, but to be honest, I had woken up before 3:00 am, so I zonked out rather quickly.