Blogs from Brussels-Capital Region, Belgium, Europe - page 63

Brussels has a comic museum! Yes a museum to comics and the tiny nerd with pig tails and braces and super thick glasses inside of me (or you know the one you see on a daily basis) was so not going to pass that gig up so off I went with my museum loving roomate Sarah and my dearly beloved Ryan. There was a whole section for raunchy comics which kept us laughing oh so very long. And then there was all this great tin-tin stuff. After we had seen all the fun comics we headed off to the royal art museum to drool all over thier magritte collection. They had some of the most amazing paintings I had ever seen included but not limited to Cranach's Venus et l'Amour & Bosch's tryptique de la tentation ... read more

I didn’t know what to expect from my stop here. When I had told people that I planned to spend a few days in Brussels I was asked “why?” on more than one occasion. Yet the Lonely Planet guide starts it’s description with “it’s hard to fathom how Brussels got labelled boring”. Due to the mixed reviews, I decided that three days may be too much to spend in Brussels itself, so I stopped off in Antwerp on the way and spent a day there. Known for it’s art and architecture…….it was a fairly impressive place. A strange mix of French and Dutch speaking here, as well as influences in general. The same applies for Brussels…….almost as if they can’t decide on an identity so choose to be both. While the buildings in Amsterdam were relatively ... read more

Well it was an eventful day & night ! We went to bed reasonably early but a couple of Aussies in a camper van sat up half the night drinking with some guy who was obviously trying to pick up. Not sure if he succeeded, but was giving it his best shot. Spent the day in Brussels which was great, although big mistake trying to drive in. Will use public transport next time. Thanks to the nice policeman who suggested we park somewhere safer just when we found where we wanted to be. Didn't fancy getting the car broken into on the first day. We saw the Grand Palace and some of the royal family as the Dutch King and Queen were in town for a visit. Had lunch in the beautiful square surrounded by amazing ... read more

Brussels was a unique city in that the French and Flemish cultures were melded together and infused with a fair amount of British and American culture as well. Most of the people we met in Brussels spoke a minimum of three languages (English, Flemish, and French). Many also spoke German. The people of Brussels were proud of their main attractions, which we visited, including Grand Place, and the infamous Mannekin-Pis (a small bronze statue of a urinating child dating back to the 8th century and exemplifying some of the unique Belgium humor). The Grand Place was hosting an interesting Lavender Fair, teaching the residents and tourists all about how lavender is grown and processed throughout areas of Belgium and what an industry it has become. The Belgium lace shops, of course, abounded, along with many street-side ... read more