We have never travelled before so close to Christmas, but we soon discovered it's a great time to visit cities - especially European cities where they also celebrate Christmas. The buildings are all decorated with lights, there are Christmas markets and street performers, and people are out shopping, visiting, and taking in the sights. There is generally a festive feeling everywhere.
Looking out the window as the train came into Brussels, I noticed narrow buildings with steeply pitched roofs all attached to one another. This architectural style was common throughout the city and countryside. Sometimes, in the country, a single house standing alone would have the same narrow shape - almost as if anticipating other houses would be added on in the future.
Another thing I noticed was that some houses had Santa climbing up the front of them. If you click on the photo above to enlarge it, you will see two Santas: one on the pink house third from the left and another on the brown house on the right.
Santa is easier to see in the photo below.
Chocolate is a big item in Belgium - and it is everywhere! When we checked into the hotel, there was chocolate on the counter, there for the taking. Chocolate was handed out by the restaurant with our coffee after dinner. Every block in the downtown areas of both cities had a minimum of two chocolate shops; often they would hand out free samples when you entered the store. (One store sold chocolate in the shape of two breasts - life size.)
I loved the chocolate! It was delicious!
Beer is the other product that Belgium boasts about. Our tour guide in Brussels showed us the restaurant (Delirium [Tremens] Cafe) that was in the Guinness book of records for having 2004 different types of beers for sale in the year 2004. Each beer type also has its own glass. Carl tried out a few different brands during our stay - and liked them all.
Lace was also a big item for sale everywhere - as well as tapestries. (I purchased a tapestry for us - to be hung in the bedroom of our flat for now.)
Finally, I must mention the Belgian waffles. We tasted them - and they were good -- but we concentrated most on the sumptuous pastries that were plentiful in both cities. (Don't go to Belgium if you're on a diet.)
We learned from our tour guide that Belgium was formed as a separate country only in 1830, after it broke away from the Dutch. Before then, though, the area had been occupied at one time or another by the French, Spanish, and Germans. In fact, today there are two separate areas in Belgium. Brussels is in one of them, where they speak French predominantly, and Bruges is in the other area, where they speak mostly Flemish. Most everyone speaks some amount of English.
When we were in Brussels, the prime minister of the country resigned, stating he did not want to have to deal with the current economic problems, and the country's King Albert was searching around for someone else to fill the position. It sounds as if the government of Belgium is a very loose association of different groups. The television news reporter stated that Belgians were getting used to living their lives with no government at all.
Brussels is the location of the head of the European Union, and the city is growing rapidly. We spent our time mostly in the old section, but on the tour, we saw there were many newer areas that seemed to be booming. (One area in Brussels with new high rise buildings is named Manhattan.)
The guide showed us the Atomium - the symbol developed for Brussels for the 1958 World Expo. It was recently restored so it will continue to be on display in the city. It represents the unit cell of an iron crystal. There is a restaurant on top.
The markets and squares in the older sections of both towns were fun to browse through. The small square shown below is what was visible from our hotel room in Brussels.
The Grand Place was filled with beautiful buildings -- most of them Guild Houses that have since been converted for other uses. According to the guide, the earliest people in Belgium were merchants and craftsmen, so the main square of Brussels is filled with large buildings dedicated to specific trades. This large square also had a manger and a tall Christmas tree in the middle, with special lights in the center that became part of a musical light show for the public every evening.
Below are daytime views of the ornately carved buildings ringing the center. (If you click on the pictures, they will enlarge and give you a better feeling for the square.)
In the center of the square, there was also a life-size manger display.
The photos below show what that same square looked like at night.
For someone who loves old beautiful buildings, the light show with these buildings as a background presents a breathtaking scene.
On other streets in Brussels, we saw street musicians.
I assumed this was an old-fashioned instrument -- similar to a guitar; I did not know its name.
Brussels even had a very nice shopping mall. ("The first indoor mall in Europe", according to our guide.)
Down the street from the mall was an area filled with restaurants. Many of them featured sea food. We had a delicious dinner at one restaurant recommended by the guide. The only thing I didn't like is how diners are squeezed into tables lined up side by side to one another. This is a very common practice at restaurants in Europe. I much prefer having more space and privacy that is offered by tables that stand alone and apart from others.
Each restaurant displayed their foods to tempt customers. These attractive displays were almost like works of art.
Brussels also had Christmas markets around town - with a skating rink, and with rides. That seems to be the tradition here. I like it. (I was trying to figure out how we could set up a skating rink and a small number of Christmas markets at home in Weston.)
These pictures are pretty - and they give you some idea of how it was - but they leave out a lot too. You don't smell the aroma of hot wine for sale, or of warm pastries and waffles being made. You also don't hear the music playing in the background, or the sound of people's voices. At times, you can hear people speaking English - with U.S. or U.K. accents - or French or German and sometimes Spanish. In Brussels, people mostly spoke French; in Bruges, they spoke mainly Flemish. You also don't hear the laughter of folks enjoying each other's company.
In the ancient city of Bruges, one of the sounds you hear is the clippity clop of horseshoes on cobblestones as the horse-drawn carriages take tourists around.
You also can hear the sound of the music coming from the organ grinder's box.
Bruges also has a skating rink in the old town center -- along with Christmas markets selling crafts and food.
The main square in Bruges has even more beautiful buildings....
...along with a clock tower that was featured in the movie "Bruges"...
.... and some good-looking guys.
At nightime, these buildings are lit up like a set in Disney World.
All over town, are more beautiful old buildings.
This restaurant in the day time......
..is all lit up for Christmas at night.
Below is a night view of a canal that was only a block from our hotel.
In the winter, it is hard to see differences in local plants and trees, but there was something I did notice about some trees in both Brussels and in Bruges. In some locations, the top branches of trees had been trained to follow lines from one tree to another in a row. My guess is that when they are in bloom, these trees form a hedge-like border along the tops of the trees. Interesting.
Carl and I chose Belgium because we decided to go on this trip at the last minute, and Belgium was a convenient location to reach by train. I knew nothing at all about the country. Having been there, though, I would now most definitely recommend it as an interesting place to visit. The architecture was outstanding. The Grand Place in Brussels was one of the most beautiful squares we've seen, and the entire city of Bruges was filled with old, interesting buildings. The food everywhere was excellent. There was a lot of seafood offered, cooked in delicious dishes-- and the desserts were wonderful.
I used to think that Belgium was more German than anything else, but I soon learned that is not true. There is a large French influence - which I suppose could account for the superior food. I did not miss the sausages and wursts that we found at the German Christmas markets. The other element, of course, is Flemish (from Flanders). I am still not sure about the relationship between them and the Dutch. Frankly, it is a little confusing. One thing I do know, though, is that they do not consider themselves to be German - or part German. Our tour guide spoke French, and said he originally came from France. When I asked him if Belgium was more a combination of French and German, he said, "Oh no, no, no! Don't ever say that Belgians are German. That will make them angry. They do not like that." Okay.
P.S. One of our favorite fictional sleuths is a Belgian -- Agatha Christie's Hercule Poirot.
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