Back to Brussels. Prior to this trip, I had only stopped in Belgium via trains and planes to other countries, but I'm glad I visited for real this time. After hopping off the express train from Paris on Wednesday, I took the Brussels subway over to meet Christina at our hotel near the center of town. Belgium is officially trilingual (French, Flemish Dutch, and German). The southern part of the country is French-speaking (Wallonia), and the north is Flemish-speaking, which is basically accented Dutch. In the capital of Brussels, they officially use both languages. In fact, every single sign on every street, building, or object is in both French and Dutch. The majority of the capital region speaks French though, and almost everyone speaks English, too.
The city center of Brussels is pretty compact. We walked over to see the medieval town center, called the Grand Place or Grote Markt. This square is lined with beautiful old buildings, which once held different trade guilds. Additionally, the city hall and king's hall dominate each side of the square. As the capital of Belgium, Brussels competes interests with the city and the country as exemplified by the to massive buildings on the square. From the square, we walked down a tiny street to view the mascot of Brussels, Mannekin Pis, or the peeing boy statue. This tiny statue of a boy peeing water served as a well for the neighborhood, and the residents even have a society to protect him. He has over 700 outfits that he is dressed up in for holidays and special occasions. Customarily, dignitaries that visit Brussels leave outfits for him to wear of their home culture. Apparently the statue has been stolen many times, and the society has to replace it each time, meaning the original statue from the 1400s is long gone.
Onto the famous food of Brussels. We started by trying Belgian chocolates and waffles. The waffles were covered in strawberries, bananas, chocolate sauce, and whipped cream. I thought it was the best waffle I'd ever had until we had an even better one from the famous Maison Dandoy the next morning for breakfast. Chocolate shops and waffle stands line every corner of the city center, and it's hard to believe they can all stay in business. Next, we sampled Belgian beers on a tray of six types, most of which we could not pronounce. We also had beer called La Corne, which was served in a horn-shaped class like its namesake. We ended the night by trying a little of Brussels nightlife at the Delirium Bar. This is probably the most famous beer from Belgium, and the glasses and place were themed with the pink elephant logos.
On Thursday, we started the day with a bike tour of Brussels. We were lead around the city in a small group of 7 by a young Belgian student slash tour guide. It was great to see the city via bicycle because you can cover more ground than walking, and having a local tour guide really gives you insight into what life is like in a country. We stopped at some of the big sights again before moving onto new ones. First, the Palais du Justice, the massive law center of the country built by the ambitious King Leopold II after the independence of Belgium from the Netherlands in the 1800s. The building is too big to take care of, and our tour guide said he has never seen it a day in his life without construction scaffolding on the exterior. Also, Belgian lawyers still dress in big black robes for court, so we several walking around the building.
The remainder of the tour took place in the European quarter of the city, which is home to the institutional headquarters of much of the European Union. Brussels is the main seat for European Parliament and the Council of Europe. There are many giant office buildings in this area of town, and one can hear any of the 20+ EU languages being spoken on the streets. Also hidden in the European quarter are the most famous fries of Brussels, Maison Antoine. This stand has been serving famous frites for 60 years, and they were absolutely delicious. They are served fresh and hot in a big paper cone with a glob of mayo on top. You can choose any of the 20 sauces, and we also tried the house tartar sauce, which was awesome. After more biking around the city through parks and palaces alike, we finally took a break from the riding
Our final stop in Brussels was touring the Cantillion Brewery. This is the last homemade beer brewery in Brussels, and they have been open since 1900. They brew traditional Lambic beer, which is actually a cross between beer, wine, and cider. While the taste left a little to be desired for us, it was nice to get out and see some traditional Belgian craft. Christina and I relaxed for our big drive today, about 7 hours and 700 km. Once we get to Switzerland, I will update more. We'll be taking a day trip or two to Geneva and maybe Italian Switzerland. More to come. Ciao!
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