|
Post by anshjain97 on Aug 13, 2013 10:31:47 GMT
Grand Place looks stunning...reminds me of Marienplatz in Munich.
|
|
|
Post by bixaorellana on Feb 23, 2016 5:30:55 GMT
I feel as though I fell down the rabbit hole and came out in a true wonderland, not least because I never knew this thread existed!
Brussels owes you more than a bit of a debt for this report. I'd been looking at tourism sites on the internet and they all made Brussels seem big, gray, and boring except for a couple of pieces of fancy old architecture. What an eye-opening your eye-pleasing report is! What a great treat to give yourself, as well.
Have you been back since 2013? You say 22 hours wasn't enough. What would be a nice amount of time to spend there?
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Mar 27, 2016 15:16:22 GMT
I just went through this again to admire Brussels in happier times. I will definitely return this year.
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Apr 30, 2017 14:29:45 GMT
I took very few photos in Brussels this time. I was just there for the night and didn't feel like exploring much even though I was in a different part of town than usual. I have a closeup of this wall art, but I am pretty sure that Photobucket would censor it, so I'll try the farther shot. I took the metro a few times and thought about last year's events. There have been bombs in the Paris metro, too, but for some reason I don't think of them. This is the area where I stayed last time, near Place Rogier. The huge Sheraton Brussels, where I stayed once on a business trip, is now empty. It went bankrupt in December and had to evict customers from 250 of the 500 rooms. This spaceship on Place Rogier is apparently going to be a Starbucks. I actually got very close to the Grand' Place without going there. I had a very Belgian afternoon, because 7 different people asked me for directions. I was able to answer 2 of the questions. I was interested in seeing the (relatively) new pietonnier, which is what the greatly enlarged pedestrian zone is called. There is still a bit of controversy about it. A Korean woman asked me what this building was. One of the questions that I could answer! As night fell, I just looked out of the window of my very nice hotel on Chaussée de Charleroi. And then I channel surfed, remembering that French channels 1-2-3 are 4-5-6 on Brussels cable... Driving back into France the next morning, I saw that the "state of emergency" just means slowing down to 30km/h on the autoroute. Frankly, now I already want to return to Brussels but at a more leisurely pace -- at least 2 or 3 days. It has a very pleasant atmosphere quite different from Paris (which has a very pleasant atmosphere, too, in my opinion). I did notice that the central zone also has far more homeless (?) beggars than Paris. I don't know how this averages out, because in Paris I have the impression that we have the same proportion of homeless beggars in every part of the city -- tourist areas, business areas and residential areas. But I don't know enough about the various areas of Brussels to compare.
|
|
|
Post by breeze on Apr 30, 2017 15:42:03 GMT
It's good to see Brussels getting some attention from you again, kerouac. I never understand why people on travel websites put it down. The Grand Place is spectacular, the beer, moules, and frites are excellent, there is good and affordable chocolate (I'm talking Cote d'Or in the supermarkets), there are good museums, and when we were there we loved the Cinematheque which hopefully is still a going concern. The art nouveau Victor Horta house opened after we were there and that's a place I'd love to visit.
|
|
|
Post by lagatta on Apr 30, 2017 16:18:57 GMT
I really enjoyed my limited stay in Brussels, staying in Forest/Vorst. It is a very heterogenous neighbourhood, with some elegant housing up the hill, and some very depressing streets around the old industrial zone. Where I was staying was in-between in every sense. Strangely, the only supermarket nearby was an Aldi (or a Lidl, don't remember). Cheap and some very good items - and some horrors, but some obvious grocery items were missing. I had never been to an Aldi/Lidl before, so I found that strange. I managed to find some nice food items and a bottle of cheap but decent wine...
Brussels certainly lacks the harmony of Paris or Amsterdam (in that sense it is similar to Montréal) but I found it generally laid-back and pleasant, despite the chilly rain.
|
|
|
Post by bjd on Apr 30, 2017 19:18:16 GMT
I too don't understand why Brussels gets bad press on travel sites. I like it for the nice atmosphere, friendly people and some interesting areas.
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Apr 30, 2017 21:18:09 GMT
I noticed that some of our casual visitors want to know more about Brussels just from the fact that this thread has had more than 8000 visitors, which isn't bad.
|
|
|
Post by whatagain on May 1, 2017 21:35:18 GMT
Pics are nice - I didn't recongnize many places but the global atmosphere reeks of Bruxelles.
|
|
|
Post by lagatta on May 1, 2017 22:29:14 GMT
You are right. Also looking at the pictures of small crowds, there is something "Belgian" about the way a lot of people dress and hold themselves, not all, obviously. Just a wee bit different from either the French or the Dutch.
|
|
|
Post by amboseli on May 4, 2017 11:05:24 GMT
Now you made me curious, lagatta. How do Belgian people dress compared to the French or the Dutch? Nice photos, kerouac2. The wall art - this specific painting and a few more of the same style - has been quite an issue in the Belgian media. Should or should it not be removed? Apparently it's still there.
|
|
|
Post by lagatta on May 4, 2017 13:05:14 GMT
I really can't put my finger on it; will try to be more specific.
|
|
|
Post by whatagain on May 7, 2017 9:53:35 GMT
But theer is indeed a difference. I'm in Paris everyday and people are more 'uptight' and will use scarves (not as much as the Experts on forums say, but still, higher heels, things like that.
|
|
|
Post by bixaorellana on May 7, 2017 17:41:25 GMT
That grafting of one period of architecture onto a much earlier one in reply #33 is impressive in its own way.
Brussels does seem to be quite charming, although I was shocked that a Sheraton would go out of business in a major city. Was it because of lack of trade or because of poor management? In either case, I'm sure that the demographics for that Starbucks with its generous outdoor roofing must indicate that it's a financially good idea.
The comic book art and the interest in creating so much pedestrian area suggests a sense of fun in the populace. Love the "water man" (?) statue!
|
|
|
Post by amboseli on May 7, 2017 18:01:26 GMT
But theer is indeed a difference. I'm in Paris everyday and people are more 'uptight' and will use scarves (not as much as the Experts on forums say, but still, higher heels, things like that. Oh yes, I can tell the difference between Parisiennes or Italian women and women from northern Europe but I didn't realize our Belgian clothing was much different from Dutch or German. That's why I asked. Belgian women aren't particularly elegant IMO, but neither are Dutch or German women.
|
|
|
Post by bjd on May 7, 2017 18:19:19 GMT
I think much is a matter of colour. The Dutch and Germans will wear more colourful clothes than the French. But in the pictures posted above, the people on the street could easily be on the street in France.
|
|
|
Post by whatagain on Sept 29, 2021 14:48:41 GMT
A park in ... err... somewhere in Bruxelles. Used to be a graveyard. You walk on some gravestones or like here, you play egyptian mummy in an old 'caveau'. Beautiful weather in the park, so beer is not far to be found. Close to gare centeale, a remnant of the ild wall. The building next to it houses a bowling, and if my memory is ok, the toilets have the a wall from medieval time. This is where we buy our musical instruments. Open since 1919, close to Grand Place. In front of the old wall, just to show how we park in Bruxelles. My rear bumper is actuslly on the front bumper of the car behind and i have about 10 cm in the front. Tsken 5 m from my car, a skate park with a view on the 'tour des pensions' (retirement tower) in gare du midi. Close to Grand place. Waiting to be repaired. You see the small guy in the corner ? That is Manneken Pus, who got a new costumes, from the carnival devils from Ath. Le grand Jacques... He has a foundation.
|
|
|
Post by whatagain on Sept 29, 2021 15:00:29 GMT
One corner away from the Grand Place. Toilets don't date from middle age. Iove this house. Used to be a bank, nearly got a job there. Den vos means the fox. There was somethimg happening... The hotel de ville. A nice urban legend has that the architect who built it miscalculated and had the door not aligned with the tower and committed suicide. In reality the building was supposed to gave only one aisle. The second was added after the door had been built but before first floor, and the side had to be enlarged to allow the second aisle. The belfry. Telephone was holding a concert that evening. Just superb. Close up of the top of a house. Kerouac made a close up of the swan. This is the mist recent side of the square. Xviii or Xix. You could spend days looking at all the details of the statues. At a corner. The guy is renowned, but i forgot who he is. If you caress his arm or legs, you will be lucky for a while. The guy is just behind the temporary fence (Covid ?) So you can't access him. And to finish, a close up of our manneken. He has close to 2000 costumes in a museum.
|
|
|
Post by kerouac2 on Sept 29, 2021 15:13:34 GMT
It is always nice to see new pictures of Brussels. I have been wanting to return for another brief visit, but there are still a few other places where I need to go before then, for example the family cemetery, where I haven't been for more than 2 years. I will bring cleaning supplies and maybe a few potted plants.
|
|
|
Post by lagatta on Sept 29, 2021 21:32:39 GMT
"That is Manneken Pus" ... has our wee pisser come down with a social disease? I've never seen him the times I was in Brussels.
|
|
|
Post by bixaorellana on Sept 29, 2021 23:44:49 GMT
has our wee pisser come down with a social disease? " style="max-width: 100%;"] LaGatta! This is a fun look at Brussels, Whatagain & I love your captions. The cemetery picture proves that the Whatagain apples don't fall far from the tree. That's a great photo of the park. If I squint my eyes, it looks like an Impressionist painting. This is where we buy our musical instruments. Open since 1919, close to Grand Place. You casually tossed that out! Who plays, & what instrument(s)? So many impressive and really elaborate buildings in Brussels.
|
|
|
Post by whatagain on Sept 30, 2021 6:50:30 GMT
Hi Bixa My wife plays the piano, and all our children have learnt it.
However nr 1 prefers the guitar,nr 2 sticks to the piano and nr 3 learns the violin.
I play nothing.
Do you too ?
|
|
|
Post by bixaorellana on Sept 30, 2021 14:29:43 GMT
Whatagain, I am not making this up -- the only musical instrument I play is the castanets. I did take guitar as a teenager, which showed me that I have no real musical aptitude. My mother plays the piano & always told me that I would regret not learning to play. I'm still waiting for the regret to kick in.
|
|
|
Post by whatagain on Sept 30, 2021 15:16:51 GMT
🤣
|
|
|
Post by fumobici on Sept 30, 2021 18:31:34 GMT
Nice job freshening this old thread up whatagain. The old town looks charming and very elegant. Makes the poshest Parisian boulevard look like a South Phoenix strip mall I've been in Brussels numerous times but have never left the train, I need to do a walkabout. I was surprised to see the instrument dealers signage in English.
|
|
|
Post by kerouac2 on Sept 30, 2021 18:33:48 GMT
English is the lingua franca of Brussels for signage to avoid national controversy.
|
|
|
Post by whatagain on Sept 30, 2021 18:50:54 GMT
English is the lingua franca of Brussels for signage to avoid national controversy. Unfortunately true. You stay neutral towards both communities.
|
|
|
Post by lugg on Sept 30, 2021 19:28:21 GMT
Great addition to your thread Whatagain . And to finish, a close up of our manneken. He has close to 2000 costumes in a museum Of course I had to do a google ... fascinating
|
|
|
Post by tod2 on Oct 1, 2021 11:14:42 GMT
Wonderful photos Whatagain. I have never been to Brussels but Mr. has when he was 21. I wonder how much has changed since then.
|
|
|
Post by whatagain on Oct 2, 2021 15:21:04 GMT
The last 10 years ? Not much.
The city is much cleaner, less polluted, some old ugly buildings have disappeared and not so many ugly ones have been built.
It has also become a nightmare for cars, but nit a major issue for most foreigners.
It is qtill a very nice city, vibrant, and, well, cool.
|
|