Yummies in my Tummy...the land of Chocolates we visited next..

After a tearful goodbye at the train station, Chris and I headed back to the hotel in Paris to get a few more hours of shut eye now that we knew that Natty was safe on her train and well on her way to being back in Vancouver. After a few hours of restful sleep, we decided to take the train to Brussels as we missed visiting Belgium when we were in Germany in the first part of our world tour.

Brussels is known as the center of government for the European Union and although it is one of Europe’s smallest countries, covering 30,500 sq km, it has one of the continent’s highest population densities. There are around 10 million inhabitants here with 300 people for every square kilometre. Aside from it’s political importance, Brussels is known for its wide range of architecture, comic strip art, tapestry and lace crafts, beer and of course, their chocolates. Let’s face it, my main reason for coming to this country was to taste the yummy chocolates and boy are they right when they say Belgium has the finest chocolates compared to anywhere else in the world!! To all my girlfriends back home – wish I could of brought you some back but due to the heat in some of the countries we’ll be visiting next, it wasn’t a great idea. Let’s just say I did you all proud and tested the finest that Brussels has to offer!!

We spent three days in Belgium and did three cities in three days; Brussels, Bruges, and Antwerp. The cities are all pretty small in size with the main historic sights within the city centre and within walking distance which made exploring for us that much easier.

We spent our first half-day in Brussels walking through the Lower Town, the ancient heart of the city. The original settlement of the city was here and most of the streets around this area date from as far back as the Middle Ages up to the 18th century. The cloudy and cool weather kept us in jackets and sweaters and the occasional on again, off again rain reminded us of home. The cool weather was a welcome change from the heat and sun we were experiencing in our first half of the tour, making sightseeing much more comfortable. The only setback of course is that pictures don’t turn out half as nice as they do when the sun is out.

My first impression of Brussels was “Boy, is this place ever dirty!” We were quite shocked at how grundgy looking the streets and buildings looked, there was trash almost on every street, waves of strange smells would periodically fill the air, there were no garbage cans to be found and the whole Lower Part of town seemed like a ghetto. Since we had arrived in the early evening, the sun had already started to set as we started to explore the Lower Town and I didn’t have the safe and comfortable feeling I did while we were walking the streets of France. Perhaps “Broad Shoulders” wasn’t around to protect the hobbits anymore or maybe I was a bit paranoid as we were wandering the streets of an unknown city in the evening, but I distinctly remember constantly checking over my shoulder to make sure we were safe. It was an uneasy feeling but with Chris by my side, we stuck to the main roads and used our common sense.

The main tourist attractions we got to see that first evening in the Lower Town were:

1. Grand Place – geographical, historical and commercial square of the city containing the city’s most magnificent architecture
2. La Bourse – Brussels’ Stock Exchange
3. Manneken Pis – Brussels’ mascot if you can believe it, the inspiration for this famous statue remains unknown but the mystery only lends itself to rumour and fable. One theory claims that in the 12th century, the son of a duke was caught urinating against a tree in the midst of a battle and was thus commemorated in bronze as a symbol of the country’s military courage. Wow, now that’s what I call a story!!
4. Notre Dame de la Chapelle – church now turned into a pilgrimage site
5. Galeries St-Hubert – first shopping arcade in Europe and one of the most elegant
6. Rue des Bouchers – medieval pedestrianized thoroughfare known as the “belly of Brussels”

LOWER TOWN

The #1 reason for coming to Brussels, well at least mine (Rav’s)

One side of the Grand Place – outstanding Flemish Renaissance guildhouses which now act as hotels and restaurants

Grand Place – La Maison des Ducs de Brarant, a group of six guildhouses

Yet another side of the Grand Place called Everard ‘T Serclaes for the statue that can be found here (see below)

Everard ‘t Serclaes – bronze statue representing the man who was murdered while defending Brussels in the 14th century. Touching his bronze arm is said to bring luck….I’ll try anything to win the lottery I tell ya…

Maison du Roi of the Grand Place – first built in 1536 and was once the residence of ruling Spanish monarchs and is today home to the Musee de la Ville which includes 16th century painting, tapestries and the 400 tiny outfits of Mannekin Pis (this will be explained in a further picture)

The Hotel de Ville occupies the entire southwest side of the square which is still a functioning civic building today acting as Brussels’ town hall

Hotel de Ville by night – hard to believe that there are 137 statues adorning the walls and many mullioned windows

La Bourse – Brussels’ stock exchange and one of the city’s most impressive buildings

Manneken Pis – an unlikely attraction, this tiny statue of a young boy barely 30 cm (1 ft) high relieving himself into a small pool is as much a landmark for Brussels as the Eiffel Tower is for Paris. This little statue is so famous that visiting heads of state to Brussels donate miniature versions of their national costume for the boy and he now has over 400 outfits in the Musee de la Ville. Crazy I tell ya.

Notre Dame de la Chapelle – this church became a pilgrimage site when a royal donation of five pieces of the True Cross were given. This Notre Dame church was not as grandeur or intricately detailed as the Notre Dames we have seen in France.

Galeries St-Hubert – the vaulted glass roof of this shopping arcade is what gives shoppers inside a feeling of being outside when really they are not

Having a very tasty seafood dinner in one of the many restaurants that line the cobble-stoned street of Rue des Bouchers

An example of the large comic strip images decorating the sides of buildings around Brussels’ city – here one of Brussels’ most favorite and loved cartoon character, Tintin created by Herge

After an eventful evening, we headed back to our no star hotel which had no stars for a reason. Although the location was fantastic being right next to the train station and only a 10-minute walk to the Lower Town, the hotel itself was a bit shady. The room stank like smoke but for 45 euros a night, it was a steal compared to the 75-80 euros a night, other hotels in the same vicinity were charging. The room itself was quite large and very nice but the smell and the oh so soft bed which sank in the middle were two things we could of done without. So needless to say, the nice sound sleep we were hoping for that evening didn’t happen. We both woke with sore backs and kinks in our necks. Despite the pain, we forged ahead to explore the Upper Town region of Brussels and Greater Brussels to visit the 1958 Atomium.

We walked for pretty much the entire day stopping to eat and to take in a visit at the Museum of Beaux-Arts & Ancient Art. It was another long day but one that was a bit better than the first as the Upper Town was home to the French-speaking aristocrats and royalty at one time and is therefore somewhat cleaner and more attractive than the Lower Town.

Here’s what the Upper Town had to offer:

1. Place Royale – a cobbled square surrounded by Neo-Classical buildings
2. Eglise St-Jacque-sur-Coudenberg – one of Brussels’ prettiest 18th century churches
3. Palace of Justice – rules the Brussels skyline and can be seen from almost any vantage point
4. Musee Instrumental – once a department store, the building known as Old England is a striking showpiece of Art Noveau architecture
5. Notre Dame du Sablon – one of the finest remaining examples of Brabant Gothic architecture
6. Place du Petit Sablon – pretty, formal gardens
7. Cathedral Sts Michel et Gudule – national church of Belgium

UPPER TOWN

Place Royal in the far background

A great view of the Hotel de Ville from Place Royal – definitely stands out in the skyline

Eglise St-Jacques-sur-Coudenberg – church that occupies a large spot in the Place Royal

Palace of Justice – this building occupies an area larger than St Peter’s Basilica in Rome and is still home to the city’s law courts

Museum of Instruments – a fine example of Art Noveau and one of Chris’ favorite buildings in Brussels

Notre Dame du Sablon

One of the main interests of Notre Dame du Sablon – 11 magnificent stained glass windows, 14 m high, which dominate the inside of the church

Place du Petit Sablon – formal gardens laid out in 1890 where Chris and I stopped to have a rest. The 48 bronze statues on top of the railings represent a different medieval guild of the city.

Sts Michel et Gudule Cathedral – finest remaining example of Brabant Gothic architecture

The dramatic interior of the church facing the altar

A great shot of the fine detailing inside the church and of the organ

Last Judgement window – at the front of the cathedral facing the altar is a magnificent stained glass window of 1528 depicting Christ awaiting saved souls

After exploring the streets of the Upper Town, we made our way via metro to an area outside of Brussels called Heysel to visit the Atomium, the most identifiable symbol of Brussels.

The Atomium – an iron atom magnified 165 billion times - originally built for the 1958 World Fair, it has now become a Brussels’ landmark

The view from one of the spheres that make up the “atom”, each sphere is 18 m (60 ft) in diameter and linked by escalators

Can you say “Bad Hair Day?” – Chris and I having fun in the Kid’s sphere

”Who said I can’t be tall??” You can never be too old to have fun.

Quite the site….the atomium rises 100m (325 ft) high and the highest sphere is of course a restaurant with spectacular views of the city

Another long day…a chocolate is in order me thinks….hehehe….I love Brussels!!