Sightseeing Brussels

In between all of our eating and street art searching, we did actually get time to see the sights in Brussels.  I had set aside Saturday to do a walking tour of the city center and being the planner that I am, I had the route all mapped out so we didn't miss a thing.  Alas, we kept getting sidetracked by continuously looking for the comic book walls but we did manage to make it to all of the important points (and even some I had not scheduled).  In no particular order, I give you some of the highlights of our walking tour...

The Pis statues.

There are 3 of them but Manneken Pis (seen below) is the first and is the best-known landmark in Belgium. His legend dates back to 1142 when it is said the 2-year-old Lord Duke Godfrey III (and yes, I meant two) was with his troops in battle when they hung his basket in a tree so he could be an encouragement to his troops.  The toddler then peed all over the enemy troops from his high perch allowing his men to win the battle.   Another legend states that in the 14th century there was a secret plan for enemy troops to blow up Brussels with explosives.  The little boy, overhearing the plan, peed on the lit fuse and stopped the takeover.  No matter which legend you believe it is the truth that the little peeing boy has been guarding over the city in the fountain since the 1400's with the original bronze statue in safely in the city museum.

Some days the statue is dressed and others he is naked.  We happened by on a day he was dressed in his finest.  There is actually a schedule of what he will be wearing from his wardrobe of over 1000 outfits!  And an entire museum for his clothes.  We skipped that but it would have been fun to see if the weather wasn't cooperating.

There is also a Jenneke Pis - commissioned in 1985 as a counterpoint to Manneken...

and Het Zinneke created in 1998.

Having checked off the "pis" statues we headed on our way in the sunshine.  We got really and truly lucky with the weather on our trip!

Sitting in a row of connected businesses and townhouses near the main square, the 12th century Church of St. Nicholas is so inconspicuous we almost missed it.  It was not the most beautiful church we have been in but it does have a beautiful painting of Madonna with Child by Rubens and the diorama of what life was like in the 12th century.

There is was - the opening to the Grote Markt (The Grand Place).  Notably, it is one of the best preserved and arguably the most beautiful in all of Europe.  UNESCO even declared it a World Heritage Site in 1998.  Sadly, we would not be able to see it all in its glory as they were still setting up the EU-China tourism celebration that was to begin the next week.  Which meant scaffolding and cranes and half-finished sculptures littered the square.  But the picture below, which is not mine but from the Brussels.com website, shows what the square looks like in all her glory.

We wandered over to the Galeries Royales Saint-Hubert to gaze at the famously arched passageway that predates even the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II in Milan.  This time the Chinese lanterns that they had already hung added some pizzaz so I got pictures without obstructions...

Through the passage, we walked to the Royal Park and to see the Royal Palace (and yes, they do have a ruling King).  You cannot tour the palace except for a short time in August when it is open to the public but it was a gorgeous day and some time in the park was welcome.

Since we couldn't see the current palace, we headed to the one spot where we could see the former ruins of the first palace, the Coudenberg.  In the 12th century, the palace was perched on the banks of the Coudenberg river.  As one of the most beautiful palaces in Europe, it quickly became a mecca for politicians and an entertaining hot spot.  To aid in keeping it at the top of the list for rich princes to come visit, the city began to build the Magna Aula (a huge banquet hall) in 1452.  Each Duke successively added to the grandeur of the palace and embellished it with the most expensive tapestries, art, silver, and gold.  Sadly, in 1731 a visiting dignitary fell asleep without extinguishing her candles and 1/2 of the palace complex burned.  The royal family simply moved to the remaining building and forgot completely about the burned complex.  Today, it has been uncovered and the archeological site is available to tour and kids can get a scavanger hunt game to play as they go through the ruins.  We didn't participate as we knew we had so much else to see.

 This all used to be open to the outside and you can still see the floors and the sloping walkways.  The girls tried to walk as far as they could uphill without bending...

St. Jacques-sur-Coudenberg church at the Royal Place.  

The best view of the city is truly from Mont de Art. Standing from the top of the steps (I am 3/4 of the way down in this photo) you can see the lower town square.

 After a late lunch at the pub (with Belgian beer and chocolate afterwards, naturally) we hit the spot the girls had been asking to see all morning, The MOOF.  The Museum of Original Figurines is once again dedicated to comic books but this time it takes you in with a collection of figurines of some of the most beloved comics of our time.  I found it to be much more accessible and along the lines of what we though the Comic Book Museum would be.  If you are there and you only have time for one, I would choose MOOF.

We did a bit more searching out of street art after leaving the MOOF (I just like making you read MOOF) but I put the photos and the stories in this post so I won't repeat myself.  And then we had some more waffles and beer, but we already talked about that in this post.  So I guess that just leaves me to conclude our fabulous trip to Brussels with this...

Somebody, please explain this.  Please because it was a bit creepy stumbling upon this storefront with mannequin heads on platforms and nothing else.

Ok, I can't leave you on that note so here I will truly wrap it up with a photo of two smiling girls heading back home after a wonderful time in Belgium.

Street Art

One more post on the street art in Brussels because I couldn't let these snapshots I took just sit on the computer without getting seen.  I know I have already posted about the Comic Strips that line the walls in the city but there is so much more art on the walls that is found everywhere.  And I mean everywhere.  And a lot of it is pretty impressive so here goes...

These three guys/gals are part of a European touring artist that is looking to bridge street art, modern technology (a phone app) and teach a thing or two about life in Estonia 100 years ago.  We didn't find all of them but we only started looking on our final day.

You have to make sure to look down too...

And I know these were in a previous post but they also belong here.  Interactive street art...

Waffles, Chocolate, Fries & Beer, Oh My!

Things Brussels is known for:

Waffles

Chocolate

Frites

Beer

We couldn't go without trying them all, over and over again.  In fact, we made an entire day of meals out of just these four things  (healthy, I know but it was oh so yummy!)

First, let's get the big one out of the way:  If the Belgium's invented Frites (Fries) why are they called French Fries?  During the First World War, American soldiers were served frites.  They erroneously thought they were in France (they do share the border) and hence the name was coined when the soldiers got home and told them about the wonderful fried potatoes they had in France.  In fact, the first recorded knowledge of cutting and frying potatoes is in 1680 around the Meuse river in Belgium.  

Now that we have that straight, here is how the Belgians eat Frites - fresh out of the fryer from one of the hundred of stands dotting the landscape.  The fries are put in a rolled paper cone that has a special spot in it just to hold the sauce and you are given a tiny little fork to use for dipping.  Fantastic!!!

The waffles don't really need as much of an explanation; they are called Belgian Waffles after all.  What differentiates them from the waffles that are popular in the U.S. are the dough (made from ale-yeast or egg-white leavened yeast), their shape (small rectangles with deep pockets) and the fact that they are eaten by hand, usually bought from a street vendor, with a dusting of powdered sugar.

Chocolate!  Fun fact, the Brussels airport, Zaventem, sells the most chocolate per day in the WORLD!  About 1.6 kg (3.5 lbs) per minute.  And I think it can be attributed to the fact that chocolate production has been regulated by law since 1884 when they imposed that there must be at least 35% pure cocoa in the final product.  This prevented dilution of quality by not allowing the introduction of vegetable-based fats into the recipes and keeps Belgium at the top of its game.  

Another fun fact: The chocolate bar was invented in Belgium.

Final fun fact:  We ate our weight in chocolate while we were there (maybe a slight exaggeration)

Beer.  This is a tough one because we have lived in two places that have exceptional beer (Prague and Munich).  I wasn't expecting much.  But when you are in a country that has more distinct types of beer per capita than anywhere else in the world you really do have to sample.  And with that many varieties, you have to sample a lot :)  

Fun Fact:  Most beer is served in a bottle with its own uniquely shaped glass.  It is said to enhance the flavor. 

And because that wasn't enough we also pretended to each ice cream...

And then really did eat MadHatter's ultimate favorite, Macarons...