Beautiful Brussels

There are still several place in Europe we visited that we have yet to blog about, and we've been looking forward to sharing about Brussels, Belgium, since we left the place! Before we left for Brussels, we had read that if you only have a few days in Belgium you shout hit Brugges or Ghent for their Middle Ages charm, but we disagree! We found Brussels to be clean, multi-cultural, charming, and full of great places and historical sites.

Brussels is the capital of Europe, and hosts the main institutions of the EU and NATO, so you are bound to see people from all across Europe there, even if they are just working. You will also hear many languages when you are there! Even the locals can't decide, and both Dutch and French are needed to get by (mainly French according to our friend from Brussels, David).

Architecture

Brussels, like most major cities in Europe, has seen its fair share of destruction and war. In 1695, French troops bombarded Brussels with artillery. Together with the resulting fire, it was most destructive event in the entire history of Brussels. The Grand Place was destroyed, along with 4,000 buildings. The reconstruction of the city center, effected during subsequent years, profoundly changed the appearance of the city and left numerous traces still visible today. It was also bombed by the German Luftwaffe between 1940 and 1945.

It has obviously rebuilt some extremely wonderful buildings, and we enjoyed the wide span of design the buildings represented. From medieval to modern, we loved this city!

Grand Place (above)
Guild Houses
and the city center


The King's House (above)
Het Broodhuis


Hotel de Ville (above)
Town Hall
Stadhuis


St. Michael and Gudula Cathedral


Royal Palace


Cinquantenaire triumphal arc


A view from the top of the arc


Cinquantenaire park
We loved this picturesque park


Atomium
built for the 1958 World Fair
We didn't make it to this site in person, but it was visible from the top of the Arch

EU Headquarters

Food 'n Fun

Manneken Pis
A whimsical symbol of the city

Of course our stop in Brussels was not just for its superb art museums, parks, and other field-trip-friendly qualities (which we cannot say enough about! Brussels was right up our alley in terms of art, history, and culture). Brussels is also known for its local waffle, its chocolate, its french fries and its numerous types of beers. As you can probably guess, the Brussel sprout was first cultivated in Brussels, hence its name.

Between my love of quality chocolate and James' love of quality beer, as we were admiring all of these gorgeous sites we did it with chocolate in mouth or beer in hand! Warning: Brussels is not a tourist destination for those looking to lose weight--or maintain it--and they will suffer immensely should they visit this haven of gastronomical delights. Luckily our goal was to gain weight, because that meant we were getting our fill of chocolate or beer. Or waffles. Or fries.

This must be what heaven looks like

It is worth mentioning that Délirium Café is located in Brussels. The signature beer is the Delirium Tremens, which is where the bar derived its name. The Délirium Café is notable because it offers a beer list of over 2,000 beers, a Guiness world record! We were not disappointed. When we visited, the place was packed and there was a local band rocking out -- in French! It was a great cultural moment--smoky, but cultural.


Of all the traditional and unique Belgian-style beers, I also discovered the kriek ("creek") beer. It's fermented with sour cherries, and it is (warning, pun ahead) berry beery!

A Framboise Beer
Similar to the kriek, but with raspberries

Ghent & the Summer Festival

Beth and I are still blogging here and there about our trip to Europe this summer. This post is about my favorite city, Ghent, Belgium.

July 26, 27
After spending two fun days in Brussels (later blog), we took a 45-minute train ride to the nearby town of Ghent. From our understanding, most tourists go to Brugges when looking for a smaller city experience to Brussels. Luckily, we had the personal tip to visit Ghent from two teachers at Beth's school who lived in Brussels for 12 or so years. They thought Brugges was too touristy and Ghent was still relatively undiscovered. We're so glad we took their advice as it turned out to be a highlight of our trip.

Our timing to visit Ghent couldn't have been better as it coincided with their annual summer festival. This festival is actually the largest open-air festival in Europe, drawing 1.5 million people. Ironically, this time of the year makes it very touristy, but the festival just added to our experience of Ghent being a lively city. During the week, there are numerous musical performances throughout the city center (from hip hop to soul to rock to r&b and on) going on at all times, street perfomers of all types (mimes, break dancers, solo and group musicians, artists, comedians, magicians), carnival rides, and loads of good food and beer tents. Best of all, all the entertainment is free! We watched an incredible concert late one night of a local Ghent girl who has become a famous soul singer with a seven-piece big band. There was a huge crowd of people watching the performance which went on past midnight. Beth and I were amazed each night as we headed off to bed (1:30 a.m. or so) how many thousands upon thousands of people still going strong. The festival really never stops.

Super talented and fun Gypsy band

Ghent looks great at night!

The old castle

During the days we enjoyed exploring the city, marvelling at the 17th century architecture and the 8th century castle (which warded off vikings!), meandering through the miriad of interesting shops and galleries, touring the massive and beautiful churches, taking a Duvel boat ride (drink a Duvel while you travel!) throughout the city along it's two rivers (which divide up the city center and give it a lot of character, much like the canals of Amsterdam), stopping off at various tents for snacks and drinks to people-watch, and discovering all kinds of entertainments scattered about.

There's a big carnival ride jutting up in front of the churches.

Typical city streets near the center

At one point during our boat ride, we passed underneath a live concert!

The festival really made the experience for us in Ghent, but I think it would still be a great city to spend a few days in any other time of the year. We really hope to go back one day.

Some especially memorable buildings

Post-Four Germany

Where to start when you only have a few moments to blog? We have not even had time to go into the details of our trips to Berlin, Prague, Munich Brussels, and the city of Giessen. For another day with pictures, perhaps! Needless to say, each trip consisted of endless comments like, ''Wow!'' and ''That looks delicious!'' and ''Maybe just one more...'' and ''Which one of us smells'' and "'Who's the boss?" (Angela or Tony?.....or Mona?.....)

After saying goodbye to Rob and Linden in Germany, the fearless foursome was split up, and James and I were down to just us two for the next week. While we were sad to say goodbye, we were also looking forward to a week of meeting new people, seeing different countries, and experiencing more of the good life of Euro-culture (aka: Belgian fries, beers, and waffles!)

We spent two days in Brussels, which was suprisingly quaint with lots to do! The people were incredibly friendly and laid back, and it certainly didn't feel like a capital city of1.2 million. We loved the giant parks the best, I think. People will sometimes tell you to skip Brussels and head for Brugges or Ghent (smaller, more picturesque towns) but Brussels was worth the visit.

Next, we went to Ghent and fell into great luck because right now the town is in the middle of an annual 10-day festival in which the entire town (500,000) turns out to jam out, indulge, socialize, and shop. It is customary to stay out the entire night, and the city does not close down until about 8am or so...we lasted until a little before 2am before fighting our way through the thongs of people (pretty much all locals!) to turn in for the night.

Tomorrow morning we head off for the last leg of our trip, Amsterdam. We'll spend 2 days there before heading back to good ole' Guate.

Blog Easter Egg: A short, gentle mohawk combined with a short, gentle mullet is a dapper 'do these days, and in German they call the mohawk `Euro Cheese`! We prefer the combo-terms "Mulhawk" or ''Mollet." Post comments on other suggested terms for this weirdly popular hairstyle!