Brussels in the Drizzle: A Drummer's Rainy Day Adventure

so here i am, sitting in a tiny brasserie near the Grand Place, nursing a lukewarm coffee and trying to remember why i thought touring in november was a good idea. the numbers 2803448 and 1056695813 are scrawled on a napkin next to my laptop - no idea what they mean, maybe setlist codes or something. the weather outside is doing that classic brussels thing where it can't decide if it wants to rain or just be generally damp. i just checked and it's 11.83°c with 82% humidity out there, hope you like that kind of thing.

you think this is bad? try playing drums in this weather,

the bartender told me when i complained about my wet shoes. he's probably right. i've been here three days and still haven't figured out if locals are being sarcastic or genuinely friendly when they recommend places.

anyway, if you get bored, antwerp and ghent are just a short train ride away. but honestly, brussels has enough weird corners to explore for weeks. someone told me that the comic strip museum is actually worth the entrance fee, which is rare for tourist traps. i heard that the friteries near the bourse are the real deal, not those tourist traps around the grand place.

*parc de laeken was surprisingly peaceful this morning despite the drizzle. i sat there for an hour watching people walk their ridiculous little dogs in designer coats. the whole place felt like a watercolor painting that hadn't quite dried yet.

my drummer friend back in london warned me about the beer prices here.

they'll charge you 8€ for a beer that costs 3€ in germany,

he said. he wasn't wrong, but some of these trappist beers are worth every cent. check out A La Bécasse if you want to experience what happens when locals decide to drink on a tuesday afternoon.

i've been using Yelp to find rehearsal spaces and TripAdvisor* for the weird museums nobody talks about. the musical instruments museum is actually incredible if you're into that sort of thing - three floors of weird old instruments that make sounds you didn't know existed.

last night i ended up in some basement jazz club in saint-gilles because a drunk guy at the bar told me

the real music happens where tourists don't go

. he was right. cover was 5€ and the drummer was twice my age and three times as good. sometimes the best things happen when you're too tired to care about plans.

anyway, if you're coming here, bring waterproof shoes and lower your expectations about sunshine. but also bring your curiosity - brussels rewards the people who get lost on purpose.

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