Brussels Part 2
Unsurprisingly, I was exhausted the next day. I set the alarm for 11:00 though because I wanted to get into Brussels time and see more of the city.
On my way to the center I bought an orange juice and stopped for yet another Belgian waffle. Though it was only a couple of blocks away from the Grand Place, somehow I had missed the Bourse, the city's old stock exchange. Studded with sculptures representing everything from Industry and Navigation to Asia and Africa, this building was one of my favorites in the city despite the ugly metal bars blocking the entrance. According to my guidebook, some of the sculptures were even designed by Auguste Rodin, my favorite sculptor.
Further away from the Grand Place, I made a point to visit the national botanical gardens. They were less than awe-inspiring in January, but it made for a nice walk and the indoor part of the garden gave me a chance to warm up and, hopefully, a preview of what spring will be like here.
On the side of the hill above the gardens, a gothic cathedral towers over the rest of the city. Construction was started on this beast in 1215, though it wasn't completed for another 300 years.
I spent the rest of that Sunday and the next day wandering the city. Here are a few of the highlights. By the way, don't let my few pictures of Brussels convince that there is not much worth seeing there. I took a lot more pictures, but my skills as a photographer leave quite a bit to be desired. I spared you the bad ones of which there are many.
This little street is just a few paces across but is loaded with restaurants. Brussels is full of cute little streets like this, and stumbling upon them makes wandering the city a real treat.
The interior of a large church. I'm not even sure which one. I ducked into numerous churches and was always rewarded with views of the high, vaulted ceilings, beautiful stained glass and even a few paintings and sculptures.
As a big fan of multilateralism, I had to visit the headquarters of the EU while I was in Brussels. Unfortunately, I missed the tour. I must say that the headquarters, though beautiful (in a modern sort of way) is almost impossible to take a photo of. The building itself is massive and it is surrounded by other EU buildings preventing anyone (or at least anyone with my resources and photography experience) from taking a good picture of it. But just to give you an idea, here's my best shot.
Still recovering from jetlag, I headed home early on my last night in Brussels. It was a nice visit and I'm sure I will return often while I'm living in Leuven. There is so much I didn't see, and it is only a 20 minute train ride from the city. Since a ticket costs less than 5 Euro, there's really no reason not to continue exploring.
On my way to the center I bought an orange juice and stopped for yet another Belgian waffle. Though it was only a couple of blocks away from the Grand Place, somehow I had missed the Bourse, the city's old stock exchange. Studded with sculptures representing everything from Industry and Navigation to Asia and Africa, this building was one of my favorites in the city despite the ugly metal bars blocking the entrance. According to my guidebook, some of the sculptures were even designed by Auguste Rodin, my favorite sculptor.
Further away from the Grand Place, I made a point to visit the national botanical gardens. They were less than awe-inspiring in January, but it made for a nice walk and the indoor part of the garden gave me a chance to warm up and, hopefully, a preview of what spring will be like here.On the side of the hill above the gardens, a gothic cathedral towers over the rest of the city. Construction was started on this beast in 1215, though it wasn't completed for another 300 years.
I spent the rest of that Sunday and the next day wandering the city. Here are a few of the highlights. By the way, don't let my few pictures of Brussels convince that there is not much worth seeing there. I took a lot more pictures, but my skills as a photographer leave quite a bit to be desired. I spared you the bad ones of which there are many.
This little street is just a few paces across but is loaded with restaurants. Brussels is full of cute little streets like this, and stumbling upon them makes wandering the city a real treat.
The interior of a large church. I'm not even sure which one. I ducked into numerous churches and was always rewarded with views of the high, vaulted ceilings, beautiful stained glass and even a few paintings and sculptures.
As a big fan of multilateralism, I had to visit the headquarters of the EU while I was in Brussels. Unfortunately, I missed the tour. I must say that the headquarters, though beautiful (in a modern sort of way) is almost impossible to take a photo of. The building itself is massive and it is surrounded by other EU buildings preventing anyone (or at least anyone with my resources and photography experience) from taking a good picture of it. But just to give you an idea, here's my best shot.
Still recovering from jetlag, I headed home early on my last night in Brussels. It was a nice visit and I'm sure I will return often while I'm living in Leuven. There is so much I didn't see, and it is only a 20 minute train ride from the city. Since a ticket costs less than 5 Euro, there's really no reason not to continue exploring.
posted by Matt @ 5:10 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home