We'll be taking this trip on May 21, a Saturday. How close is the Brussels train station to any kind of chocolate shopping? How much time should be allow if one of us really has to buy Belgian chocolate "since we'll be there"?
I should have specified Brussels Central, which I hope is Brussels Midi, just in two different languages. :) Maybe that was assumed, but you know what happens when you assume...
Melody, Brussels Midi (also called Brussels Zuid) is not the same as Brussels Central. They are one stop apart.
What I should add is that you can buy chocolates in the Midi station.
See what happens when you assume? Good thing I haven't bought tickets yet, and have enough time to check and see if I can get a ticket that goes to the right place. BTW, how far apart are stops? How far will we have to travel if we CAN'T get the "right" ticket?
There are local trains that run fairly frequently so if your train only goes to Midi, you can transfer to a local train and go one stop to Central. It does not cost much.
Trains from Germany will terminate at Bruxelles Midi (Brussel Zuid). Brussels has 3 main stations, all in a row. North is at the north, Zuid is at the south, and Centraal is at the middle, about half a mile from Zuid. Plenty of chocolate shopping in Zuid station. The Grand Place and the arcades are a stone's throw from Centraal. No reason that I can think of to go to Nord. There are trains between the three every couple of minutes all day.