Belgium in January?  Yes, Virginia, There is an Off Season 

My birthday is this month, and as a kid I reveled in going on Christmas vacation in December, and knowing there was a good chance we’d be snowed in for my mid-January birthday. No School! Happy Dance!

As I’ve gotten older, I’ve been less enthusiastic about the timing. A couple of weeks after the “most wonderful time of the year” has passed, the festive holiday decorations have disappeared and we’re all socially spent and trying to eat healthier. That’s fine, we all need a reset after weeks of holiday cheer. Quiet birthdays aren’t bad at all, but they aren’t always memorable.

This year, the timing worked out that I could make this birthday different from any other and one I won’t forget. On an impulse, the week after New Year’s, I booked a solo trip to Brussels! Yes, solo. I’ve been organizing travel with my guys (husband and teenage son) for the last couple of years here in Europe to include a lot of historical sites. I’ve lost track of the number of military fortresses and artillery museums we’ve toured, but it’s enough to last me another six months, if not a lifetime.

For Brussels I started planning around things I can never get enough of: charming bookshops, cozy cafes and cool art museums. Belgium is synonymous with chocolate and waffles. YUMM! I really LOVE chocolate, and eating a real Belgian waffle seemed like a great thing to put on my To Do list. When I Googled art museums and saw Brussels had recently opened a whole museum dedicated to Belgian artist René Magritte, I was all in!

Yes, I was painfully aware it was going to be super cold, it’s January in northern Europe, but the real reason I kept pushing forward was that it’s off season and a travel bargain! My direct flight from Valencia to Brussels on Ryan Air was $93.65 round trip! After calling the hotel to book directly, I negotiated and free breakfast was added to my reservation. For three nights in the city center (location, location, location!) of this pricey European capital, hotel with breakfast came in at $319.04. So far, the trip is only costing $412.69 and I didn’t have any pricey activities planned so this is absolutely in my budget! 

After booking, I started thinking about how cold it was going to be and worrying I wouldn’t have a good time. But I also had just heard this pearl of wisdom from James Wallace, “Opportunities come to pass, not to pause.” I calmed myself with this thought and that I might never get another opportunity to go to Belgium, and if I did, it most definitely wouldn’t be this affordable. Even if things don’t go according to plan (Do they ever?), it will be a memorable birthday. So I ditched my fears and did it! 

“Opportunities come to pass, not to pause.” Thank you, James Wallace. I’m so glad I didn’t let this one pass.

Curious to know how it all turned out? Here’s the post Brussels in January: Birthday Trip + Solo Trip + Off Season. What I did, Where I Ate , What Surprised Me, and What Went Awry. Let me know what you think.

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