I visited the Belgian capital, also widely regarded as the European capital, back in 2014 on a weekend getaway from Stuttgart. I had been planning about it for sometime, as the idea of the city I had in my mind always held a great appeal for me and I wasn’t disappointed. Having booked accommodation at a hostel and a Eurolines bus beforehand, one fine day in late October, I set out for Brussels.
DAY 1
Having left Stuttgart on a Friday evening, the bus arrived in Brussels in the wee hours of the next morning. The bus stop is near Gare du Nord Station, which is near the red light area of Brussels covering Rue d’Aerschot, Rue Linne and Rue du Brabant. I had read many accounts of people getting down at the bus station, accidentally venturing into the adjacent red light area without knowing that they have, sometimes getting into something they’d actually not planned on, in the first place in the process.
Anyway, I’d studied the maps in detail beforehand and took a slightly different route to get to my intended hostel. So, I took the Rue du Progres and walked along, in the early hours of dawn. It was kind of creepy, with it being relatively dark and the barren streets. Not a single building seemed alive. Like something out of a Stephen King novel. I briefly paused to verify directions with a motel receptionist, somewhere along the way who seemed to be the only one awake. But with some figuring out, I was able to reach my hostel.
The only person awake, was the receptionist who showed me to my room. I would be sharing it with a couple who were already there and some others, who would arrive later in the day. Regarding my accommodation carefully, I made some conversation with the other occupants. Shortly afterwards, I got hold of a map of the city and set off. I decided traveling by train to get to some far off places would be most advisable, it being a big city. The rest I would cover by walk. DAY 1 was supposed to be all places near the Central Station which were quite walkable.
Places Covered:
Church of St. Michael: This was a grand looking Gothic church, not far from the central station. White in facade, apparently existing since around 1250. Slightly damaged by French shellings of 1695, it has been recovered and is quite beautiful in appearance. It is also known for a golden statue of Mother Mary holding the cathedral in her hand.
Galeries St. Hubert: This is at walking distance from the church and not very far from the main square either. It is supposed to be one the first shopping arcades in Europe, built in 1847 with a skylight glass roof. Nice place to just walk through and apparently a nice place for shopping antiquities, clothing and decoratives. Also an eatery or 2 inside, if I’m not mistaken.
Grand Place(Grote Market): This is the main square, very close to one of the ends of Galeries St. Hubert. This houses a lot of important buildings and it also hosts several functions at most times of the year. Something or the other is always going on there, attracting large crowds. There is some treasure or the other at every corner and turn here, would be a nice way to put it.
One can explore the Home of Karl Marx, Statue of Everardt Serclaes and a Chocolate Museum in addition to the City museum and Royal Palace.
Touching the Statue of Everardt Serclaes is supposed to bring good luck and the Chocolate Museum houses some interesting things, a naked belly dancer (made of chocolate) included. The Home of Karl Marx is now essentially a restaurant.
Mannekin Pis:This a bronze fountain statue of a naked little boy urinating in the fountain’s basin. It is very famous in Brussels. Very close to the Town Hall in Grote Market.
Residents consider this a symbol of the city. Associated with some touching and jocular history. One story says, it is in remembrance of a boy (a spy) who tried to foil the ploy of bombings in the city by peeing on the explosives. Another story goes that a father tried to find his lost boy and upon finding him with the people’s help, he gifted the statue to them. Nevertheless, it makes for good viewing and it is typically a good spot for taking pictures alongside the urinating boy.;)
City Museum: Brussels is a city having a large French speaking and Dutch speaking community (Flemish). In fact, any important institution here would have writings in Flemish, French and English. This museum was no different in this regard.
It traces the origins of the city, people and ways of people from the Middle Ages. When, which community settled here. How they lived and circumstances under which they lived etc. It spans all of 3 floors and is quite interesting. It also has several Mannekin Pis costumes which were used to dress up the naked boy, over the years on different occasions. Fun to watch.
The Flemish call the City Museum, the ’Bread House’ and the French call it the ’King’s House’. But neither name is related to its actual significance.
Town Hall: This is another beautiful structure at the Grote Market which makes for great viewing. The "Gothic Hotel de Ville" is a centre of civic government and exists since 1402. It is 96 m high with arched windows, towers and embellished with sculptures. Attractive building with the main feature being a sculpture of St. Michael attacking a she-devil.
Jeanneke Pis: In the 80s, another girl urinating in a fountain statue was erected, located in an alley, not far from Mannekin’s location. But the reasons for this are unknown. In fact, the statue itself is not very known. Anyway, I did find it. Maybe it was supposed to keep Mannekin company?:D
In between all this, I briefly stopped somewhere to munch some Liege Waffles with chocolate sauce.
Next I had a walk through Roue de Boucher, with stepped gables, decorated doorways, restaurants and cafes and a whole lot of interesting shops. Lives up to its reputation as being one of the best walking places in Brussels.
I also had Boeren Worst with apple compote and ‘stoemp’ at Chez Leon’s Moules Frites with Pomme Frites for lunch, somewhere here.
Royal Palace: After all this, I made my way from the Grote Market to the Royal Palace. Walkable. A large modernish building, supposedly a product of neo-classical architecture overlooking Brussels Park. Home of the Belgian king. Nice place to sit and just while away some time, taking in the events around you.
Belgian Comic Strip Center: This was the next and the last stop for the day. Again, quite walkable from the Royal Palace. It is housed in the Wacquez Warehouse, designed by art noveau architect, Victor Horta. It has over 500 original drawings and has the work of over 670 cartoonists. Cartoons being a particular Belgian passion. Supposedly, Belgium has more comic strips cartoonists / square kilometre than anywhere else. Having a look around the museum, one may believe so. It covers topics like what are comic strips, different methodologies of the same and showcases different works and how they evolved over the years including that of Tintin, attributed to Belgian cartoonist Herge. A separate section exists for Tintin. It’s a lovely experience going through all that is on display. Spans 3 floors and feels quite comprehensive.
Following this, I returned to my hostel which had a lot of people in the evening. I indulged in conversation with a few. For dinner, I had Chicken Potentina with Rice by local hostel cook Carla. There was also some musical evening programme going on that day.
Now, the room / dorm had several occupants. There were some people from the U.S.A., Australia and Brazil. I chatted with them for while before hitting the sack.
DAY 2
After early breakfast, it was time to set off again.
This day I had to cover areas further apart, so I took the 1 day free transport pass at the nearest metro station. Cost 7 euros. Only coins worked for me at the ticket machines, no card or notes.
Museum of Natural Sciences: It is known for Europe’s largest exhibition on dinosaurs. Whereas that aspect of it is lovely, it also has a great section of evolution of mankind, insects, stones (even of an extraterrestrial nature), minerals, whales and animals in general. There are audio and visual aids in place to make things more interesting at places. Great, varied and detailed collection. I was fully absorbed in all of this while I was there. Some parts reminded me of the Natural Museum of History and Sciences I’d visited in Stuttgart. But this was way bigger. More grand in my opinion.
I had traveled by Metro to Maelbeek / Trone stop from Gare Central.
European Parliament: This was just another huge building at walking distance from the Museum of Natural Sciences. But obviously being what it was, the significance was immense.
Petit and Grand Sablon: I took a train from Troene to Louise and from there, tram 92/93 to Sablon.
Place du Grand Sablon, a great square, located on a slope is known for being the demarcation point that divides Brussels in 2 halves. It has a host of cafes, bars, restaurants, boutiques but is most known for the open air antique markets, which are not so open. I spent some time here gazing at various instances of the same. This is best visited somewhat earlier in the day.
Not far from it, at walkable distance is another nice square, Petit Sablon. One sees a church on the way to it. It is just a flower garden today, a nice park with some good to look at stone statues. Each of those however, represents some art or trade of importance to Brussels. This used to be a horse market at one point of time.
Sacred Heart Basilica: I took the metro to stop Simonis to get there. It is supposed to be fifth largest church in the world. No doubt, the appearance was big, supposedly 89 m high and 167 m long. It overlooks Park Elizabeth. There is a series of greenery on the way from metro stop Simonis to this church, and the church appears to get bigger at the end of each green stretch till you get there. This was also modeled on the Sacre Coeur church in Paris. This however is made of concrete, sand stone and redbrick and not of Travertine stone. Nice looking, large church. Nowhere near as beautiful as Sacre Coeur though.
Atomium: Next stop was metro stop Heysel. Heysel Park, is very known there, for recreation and leisure. I didn’t spend much time there, however. I directly made my way to the Atomium, the highlight of Heysel Park. About 102 m high, it is made of chrome and steel, built by André Waterkeyn. It is supposed to represent unit cell structure of an iron crystal magnified 165 billion times. It has 9 18 m diameter spheres connected to each other. It was first erected as a symbol of the new "atomic age". It has exhibits inside. There is a lift that takes you to the top in 23 seconds. Views are no less breathtaking there, as compared to the outside. I was there till the evening wore on, so I got to see it in a lighted state as well.
At the entry, there was also someone dressed up as Tintin and one had the option of getting a pic clicked with him.:) I spent quite a bit of time there, gazing at the enormity and beauty of the structure. On my way back, I met a couple who wanted some directions, but eventually decided to accompany me instead, back to the station.
Old Brussels Stock Exchange: After getting down at metro stop Rogier, I took a tram 3/4/31/32/33 to stop Beuers. It’s a 18th century building, which is architecturally quite significant. It also houses art by some known figures.
It was around 7.30 p.m. I returned to my hostel where I bid everyone goodbye. I had dinner at a nearby Turkish shop (Bicky Menu) and after taking my belongings, walked to Euro Lines terminal to take a bus back to Stuttgart. There was this weird statue of a couple close to my hostel, and there were always some fun lovers poking fun with it. Bid them goodbye too.
I was lucky enough to find good company on the bus. Some woman from Italy, doing something in Brussels and going somewhere in France, I think. Complicated history. We chatted for a while, before falling off to sleep, early morning. Soon, it was morning and I was back in Stuttgart.
As one travels across the city of Brussels, one can also make out which area is of which type and the different communities living in the same. I also recall seeing an awesome lookalike of French actress Lea Seydoux at one of the metro stations. The resemblance was so good that I stared for a while. Seemed exactly like her!:)
In conclusion, I’d say that in my experience, Brussels proved to be a very diverse city with different communities living in it and it has a varied gamut of things to offer, with a lot of museums and places of historical importance, among others. I recommend it those with similar interests.