Either way, Mechelen is a nice little town with a few attractions, and the main one is the central plaza is definiely worth a visit, especially for its cathedral:

like many old cities, it's surrounded by water for protection

the music box mechanism that ran the bells, was impressive:

And of course, there was the view at the top, which was excellent:

you could barely see Bruxelles in the distance

No direct flight to Brussels of course, so the easiest was to fly to Amsterdam and take the 1H Thalys to Brussels (outside of actually getting tickets on it, it books out so I had tickets for a later train and I kind of forced our way on the next one, which they don't love, but it can be done):

Thalys is the fastest, but it books out, hard to get seats on the train you want

After arriving, went for a walk to enjoy city sights:

After visiting the Bruxelles City Museum (clickme), it was time to enjoy the night light at Grand Place:

Next day, went to enjoy more sights, including some yummy chocolates:

gaufre and duck foie gras? Yes please!

those were good too

it's the only place where I can buy beers I actualy like

Agreed!

A few museum nearby was the Museum of Erotics and Mythology:

It was then time to take a train to Mechelen and go to Tomorrowland:

On the way back, before going to Romania, I had another day in Bruxelles, given the nice day, it made sense to go to Parc du Cinquantenerre:

While there, I went to visit the impressive Musées Royaux Art et Histoire, quite an extensive museum (click on the link for museum info).

The nearby park was quite nice and a good place for a picnic:

Finishing the night at Grand Place of course:

and all you can eat ribs

The next morning, the airport didn't suck:

the lounge had its own chocolate chef!

Lots of chocolate and other yummy stuff was had, glad to have been back.