Brussels, the enchanting land of waffles...

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Wednesday morning, the 24th of December, a day before Christmas. I embarked onto the journey to Brussels. I, personally, was really looking forward to Brussels, the land of chocolates and WAFFLES…

I didn’t have a good start tough. The train from Hilversum (where I was staying) to Amsterdam Central station had mechanical problems and stopped midway for a while. The result of which, as expected, I missed the connecting train to Brussels by 5 minutes. Sheesh…. But thankfully, there was another train shortly which I boarded and was off. Whew.

Within 3 hours I reached Brussels. My commute misfortune didn’t end there Even though, as per the map, the Marriott hotel was located like 10 minutes walking distance from the Bruxelles Centraal station it took me about 30 minutes to reach the hotel because I went in the opposite direction despite having called the hotel to ask for directions. Sheesh . What made the walk to the hotel worse was lugging the big suitcases on the clobbered paths weaving through the Christmas shoppers and tourists. I breadth a sigh of relief when I saw the sign for the Marriott. Yippee…

So like it or not, as usual, let me first give you details about Brussels

Brussels is the capital of Belgium, situated on the coast between France and the Netherlands. Apart from the architecture, Brussels is known for a lot of things including: over 700 varieties of beer, 'Mannekin Pis' (A little statue of a small boy peeing, What?? I know weird, eh! ! ), delicious chocolate (Godiva, Côte d'Or to name just a few), intricate lace, charming parks (didn’t go to any as it was freaking cold), birthplace of Tintin (yes, that’s right, Tintin, the famous cartoon character with the small white doggie, Sprouts ( they were first cultivated in Brussels hence the name ‘Brussels sprouts’ and Brussels is also the capital of the European Union Commission.. Oh did I forget the most important thing… WAFFLES… ahhhh.
Hmmmm I think I mentioned it in the beginning too but there is it again … WAFFLES… 😊

Like most European cities, the town centers are old and artistic and have their own allure (like the Dam square in Amsterdam in my previous blog) and likewise Brussels is no exception. I will tell you about the town center as we go on.


After dropping the bags off at the Marriott, I set off on foot, re-experiencing the Christmas feel which I had in Cologne, Germany. It had the similar magical atmosphere with the twinkling lights, people swarming around the little shops selling mulled wine and off course other delicious eatery joints

Like I said before, Brussels is paradise for anyone with a sweet tooth. Before going to Brussels, I had made a silent promise to myself to curb my over enthusiasm about eating chocolates and waffles. Unfortunately upon seeing the first waffle shop my inner chocoholic self took over and went into a frenzy. I just prayed I wouldn’t end up with a toothache.
Thank you, God of Chocolates for not messing with my holiday.
It was the most amazing gastronomic experience ever. The mouth watering waffles topped with a generous spread of chocolate and a sprinkle of sugar. I still can feel the taste of it as I write this blog. Incredibly yummy.
What was really funny was that even the trash cans smelt of chocolate. It was unbelievable.

So, after eating the lip-smacking waffles I headed to the much talked about town square called the Grand Place. The Grand Place or Grote Markt as said in Dutch, the cultural heart of Brussels, is the most picturesque town square I have ever seen which is surrounded by magnificent, intricately carved old buildings. I was stuck by awe seeing the splendid architecture of these buildings.
Infact, what was fascinating that one of the buildings stood out displaying a paradoxically, complimenting contrast in architecture. Half the building was Gothic styled with gargoyles other gothic type features while the other was built in Renaissance style. Also these beautiful buildings around the Grote Markt have statues on top of the buildings all pointing in different directions. They looked as if the statues are talking to each other. 😊
Now comes the best part. There was also one huge Christmas tree in the middle of the square decorated with countless of tiny twinkling lights and a monumental installation called ‘The Electrabel Nights’. The whole setting was extremely enchanting with a symphony filling the night air with an alluring melody.
According to some description I read for the Electrabel Nights, “the design transformed the Grand Place into a magical forest, complete with mythical animal sounds. LED masts are scattered all around the twenty meter high Christmas tree, giving the audience the chance to walk around as if they are actually in the forest. The masts were seen from every corner of the Grand Place fully integrating the public in a 3D performance. “
I stood transfixed to the ground enticed by this spectacular sight. One thing I can say is that this sensorial experience can only be felt in person. I tried to take some videos of this but unfortunately there were two factors which caused hindrance to my video shooting capabilities. Firstly, the noise of people around and most importantly the blasted freezing temperatures which made my hand quiver all throughout. Finally I gave up trying to capture this on video and decided to leave the Grand Place. (See the feeble attempt of one of the videos I took embedded at the beginning of the blog)

So i decided to go in search of the much talked about and famous 'Mannekin Pis' statue. The ‘Mannekin Pis’ is a small statue of a little boy peeing into a water-fountain. Believe it or not, this small statue is emblematic of Brussels. Another interesting fact I found out about this statue is that he has over 750 costumes.

After all this gawking and roaming around my stomach was growling again. I found this place selling kebabs and falafel called ‘Sultans of Kebap’. I highly recommend it. Extremely delicious kebabs and for quite a reasonable price. Another instant hit in Brussels.

The next day I booked the tickets back to Amsterdam, Schipol Airport and then boarded one of the ‘Hop-on Hop off’ buses to do the touristy thingy called sightseeing in and around Brussels. Being the 25th of December, I was worried that most of the places would be closed. But thankfully most of the shops and places of interest were open except they opened around noon. Whew… Not a wasted day.
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As the tour bus started, everyone was shown lot of historic and other places of interest. Frankly I don’t remember half the names due to a brain freeze.
The first stop I got off was at the Atomium. This structure was built in 1958 as part of the World Fair. It symbolizes an atom by the scale magnified to 165 billion times. There were escalators connecting the spheres (particles) of the huge Atomium. Each of these ‘particles’ had pretty interesting informative observatories and museums in them. There was also a quaint little restaurant in one of the ‘particles’. Pretty kewl concept , eh?

Adjacent to the mesmerizing Atomium is a park called ‘Mini-Europe’. This has the reproductions of the most attractive monuments in the European Union. One fascinating thing was that there are numerous live action models like trains, mills, boats, and cars. The downside is that it was like 12 Euro per person entrance fee. I got a small guide pamphlet which gave the details on all the tiny dazzling miniature models. But it was worth it.

Put in a different perspective, I can say this was a very unique visit. You are standing at the Atomium which is an enlarged depiction of an atom and the right next to it is Mini-Europe which has miniature models of all the famous landmarks of Europe. Now I know how Gulliver felt during his travels… 😊

So anyway after spending a considerable amount of time at the Atomium and Mini-Europe I headed back to the hotel as temperature had dipped.
Later in the evening, bundled up in layers of clothing, I scrunched across the icy pavements to some more Christmas markets. I came across a totally crazy looking carousel. This carousel unlike the mundane horses, had rides of dinosaurs, puffed fish, cycles, rockets, gigantic insects like beetles. Totally hilarious. Another innovative concept by some genius.

The next day, the first thing on my agenda was the ‘Centre Belge de la Bande Dessinee’, or the Belgian Center for Comic Strip Art.
I was stunned to learn that Belgium is the home of one of my favorite cartoon characters. Tintin by the famous cartoonist Herge. The museum apart from Tintin displayed an enormous variety of other famous cartoonists and comic strips like Asterix , Smurfs etc and the influence of history upon comic strip evolution. Unfortunately most of the comic strips being Belgium and French origin were not in English language. hence it was difficult to understand them but yes, it was nice to look at them.

After the Comic museum, I hopped back on the ‘Hop-on Hop off’ bus and completed the sightseeing of Brussels. It was really cold that day so I preferred not to get off at any stop but rather stay on the bus and click photos whilst listening to the audio guide. We passed the Zavel district which had many antique stores. As we continued past the Zavel District , I passed the elegant Sablon Square park which is surrounded by 48 little statues representing the medieval guilds of Brussels. Soon after the tour bus made a stop at the impressive Court of Justice, another architectural wonder. I further continued towards the stately Place Royale and then the Jubelpark. The Jubelpark or Parc du Cinquantenaire is a horse-shoe shaped building complex with a grand triumphal arch in the center. This structure according to one of the brochures was built in iron, glass and stone, symbolizing the economic and industrial performance of Belgium. The complex was surrounded by museums and huge parks.

As I left this spectacular place I came to the heart beat of Europe: the headquarters of the European Union Commission. The commission is housed in the Berlaymont building. According to the audio guide, the architecture is quite unique constructed in a cruciform shape. Also it is said that the building has the strictest environmental standards. The façade has a curtain wall with mobile glass screens that adapt to weather conditions and reduce glare while still allowing light in. The windows automatically cut off the air conditioning when opened to prevent wasted energy. Pretty neat idea, I must say. I think this should be implemented everywhere.

The tour bus finally returned to the Brussels Centraal Station late in the afternoon. Wow, that was one freezing ride. I decided to call it a day and went back to the hotel and took it easy for the remainder of the day. The next day was going to be a long long one.

Saturday morning, the 27th of December, 6:30 a.m, I was back on the train speeding away towards Schipol Airport in Amsterdam to catch the flight to London.

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Photos

The lights at the Grand Place
Superb, ain't it?

Grote Markt
Check out the architecture

Building scaffolding
Just to cover up the construction

The Grand Place
Another spectacular view of the Grand Place

Comments

[Aai]

Bruswsels seems exciting and you make it sound so Architecture is beautiful Would you have enjoyed it more if it was not freezing?