Belgium: Brussels

I was really surprised by how charming Brussels was - although I had read my guide book before arriving, seeing it in person is much different that the pictures.  Although I spent 2 days in Brussels, you could probably do it in 1 day (in a pinch you could comfortably do Ghent-Bruges-Brussels in 2 days). 

I met up with two friends from Queen's: Jen and Jordan, on exchange in Barcelona and Helsinki.  Who would have thought on our first day in residence together that we would be exploring Brussels together two years later?!  It was really nice to see some familiar faces and talk about home, Queen's and our exchange experiences.  I realized that it was the first time in weeks I'd spoken to a native English speaker! 

Jordan and I, with the Grand Place down the street.  Although it was October we were still in shorts and T-shirts! 

Jen and I, in front of the Maison du Roi (a misnomer, no king ever lived here) in the Grand Place.

The coolest part of Brussels was definitely the Grand Place, the historic main square with buildings from the 15th-17th centuries.  This is the most charming town square I had ever seen - it was like out of a story book.

Guildhalls in the Grand Place.

Maison du Roi.

Maison du Roi.  The incredible intricacy of the stonework reminds me of the famous Belgian lace. 

Jen and Jordan in the Grand Place.

Guildhalls.  The second from the left houses the Brewery Museum.  It isn't really a museum, but the abbey-brewed beer was fun to try.

Inside the Brewery Museum in the Grand Place. 

Hôtel de Ville, completed in 1459 and still regarded as the finest civic building in the country. 

Hôtel de Ville (city hall) at night.  The whole square is lit up, quite a sight!

Just off the Grand Place is the Musée du Cacao et du Chocolat - a must see! For 5 euros you can sample different types of chocolate and experience a live demonstration by a chocolatier on how he makes chocolate.  This was really cool - he seemed to go seamlessly from French to English - it was like watching a tv demonstration but better! I'm worried that my taste in chocolate has been spoiled - the normal stuff will never taste as good as it used to!

A chocolatier at work.

Lots of other chocolate shops in the tourist areas, like Godiva.  There were also waffle shops all over, my favourite!  For brunch we stopped for waffles with ice cream, chocolate sauce and strawberries.  There are 2 main types of waffles, Liège waffles (square, with uneven sides) and Brussels waffles (large and rectangular, with even sides).  How am I ever going to go back to eating Eggo?

Godiva shop in the Grand Place. 

Beer store next to the chocolate store - perfect for 'him and her' shopping!

Great combination: Smurfs and chocolate!  Belgium is known for its comic books, the most famous being the Smurfs and Tintin.

Another indulgence Belgium is known for are french fries, which are eaten here with mayonnaise instead of ketchup.  According to wikipedia, they were given the name "french fries" by American soldiers in Belgium during WWI, as French was the official language of the Belgian army at the time.  Language is a very important issue in Belgium, with the northern area of Flanders speaking Flemish, a dialect of Dutch ("Dutch" is the official language of Flanders), and the southern Walloons speaking French.  Although Brussels is geographically in Brabant and is officially bilingual, most of its population is French speaking.  When I was in Bruges and Ghent, even in the train station, most signs were only in Flemish, without even directions in English like there usually are.  Flemish and Dutch have the same spelling and vocabulary; they differ mainly in pronunciation and the relative popularity of certain words.  The Flemish / French split is about 60/40, and German is also used in the east.

Brussels is a very international city, with many of the institutions of the EU based here.  Parliament Quarter, a vast modern complex, is one of the 3 homes of the European Parliament (the others are in nearby Luxembourg and Strasbourg (France)).

The European Commission.

European Parliament.

European Parliament.  This building is also known as the "Caprices des Dieux" (whims of the Gods), for its shape and lofty aspirations (and also a type of French cheese).

 European Parliament.

The "mascot" of Brussels is the Manneken Pis, a statue of a little boy relieving himself (he is a working water fountain).  He has 815 costumes, housed in the Maison du Roi, many of which are national dress donated by visiting heads of state.  Both days we walked by him he was wearing a different costume.  The inspiration for this unique piece of art is a mystery, although one story says that in the 12th century he was the son of a nobleman caught urinating against a tree during a battle, and a statue of him was made as a symbol of the country's military courage.  Although what that has to do with military courage I have no idea...

Manneken Pis in a Team Belgium baseball uniform.

The next day he was in some type of ceremonial garb.  I think it was some special feast day or something, because there was a guy there wearing the same thing and these guys showed up:

The national cathedral, Cathédral Sts-Michel et Gudule is a magnificent example of Brabant Gothic architecture, dating from 1226 (although it took 300 years to finish).  The interior is a bit newer, due to Protestant ransacking during the Wars of Religion and thefts during the French Revolution, although it still has fabulous 15th century stained glass windows.

Cathédrale Sts-Michel et Gudule.  Reminds me a bit of Westminster Abbey.

Fantastic stained glass windows, especially lovely in the late afternoon when the light is streaming through them.

Outside the cathedral, there was a temporary scaffold set up that you could climb for free and see breathtaking views of the city.  We had to wear hardhats!

Taken from the steps of the cathedral.  The scaffold is on the right foreground, and to the left in the distance is the Hôtel de Ville.

The cathedral, from the scaffold steps.

Hôtel de Ville.

The Atomium.   Designed for the 1958 World's Fair, it's a atom of iron at 165 billion times magnification.  It's actually on the outskirts of the city.

I loved the architecture in this city, I've never seen anything like it.  The flowers that were everywhere added an extra charm, a splash of colour on the stone facades. 

There was an interesting art-nouveau quarter, with houses built mainly from 1900-1910:

This is a man-made lake in the art-nouveau quarter.

A few random photos - it's impossible not to be a shutterbug in this city!

Parc du Cinquantenaire, built for the Golden Jubilee of Belgian independence in 1880.  In the centre is the Arc de Triomphe, and the side wings house museums.

The 19th century Palais Royal, the official home of the Belgian Monarchy.

The Belgian Parliament.

Palais de Justice.

Jardin Botanique, near the financial district of the city.  This is one of the few cities I've been to that actually has a skyline.  This area is outside the historic district, as is the Parliament Quarter.

This is what malls look like over here.

Lots of outdoor cafés and restaurants.

'Newer' architecture.

At about 10 am on a Sunday morning, we were walking to the train station - we heard a rumbling noise and all of a sudden hundreds of kids came barrelling around the corner!  We dove for cover in a doorway and waited for them to go by - we later found out this was part of the Brussels Marathon.  Later, we had waffles in an outdoor cafe right on the route for the adult runners.  It was pretty fun to watch the serious people run by, apparently this is one of the major races on the marathon circuit.  

I really had a great time in Brussels, especially as I got to see Jen and Jordan.  Belgium isn't usually at the top of the tourist list for Canadians, but I would definitely encourage at least a 2 day stay if you can fit it in on a trip.  It's really accessible, you can reach Belgium on the Eurostar from London and flights are very reasonable - 60 euros round trip from Lyon with EasyJet.  Chocolate, waffles, fries, beer, chocolate, lace, amazing old buildings, diamond exchange, cute medieval towns... did I mention chocolate? Belgium is awesome!!!!