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Location: Blogs Simon and Melody's Blog |
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| Posted by: supersi |
Wednesday, February 14, 2007 |
Apparently first time visitors to Brussels are often confused with the long street names. Not sure what’s so confusing about “Place de la Vieille Halle aux Blés Oud Korenhuis,” but anyway, after the Czech Republic this is a walk in the Parc aux Bruxelles.
I started the morning by going to the Grand Place, considered by some to be the most beautiful square in the world. The esplanade is surrounded by Flemish Renaissance-baroque guild-houses from the 17th century, the neo-Gothic King’s House, and the 15th-century Gothic Town Hall. I don’t know all about those architecture styles, but believe me when I say it's a grand place! In the Grand Place there is a statue you can rub for fertility, which I stayed well clear of after what happened in Prague. We might end up with twins!
Next I paid a visit to Brussels’ oldest citizen, Manneken-Pis. This is a statue of a little boy, gleefully doing what little boys gotta do. So the “oldest citizen” is just a “wee lad,” actually. The statue has graced the city since the time of Philip the Good, who became Count of Flanders in 1419. Among the speculations about his origins is that he was a patriotic Belgian kid who sprinkled a hated Spanish sentry passing beneath his window.
I followed my map to the Palais de la Nation to see if I could spot any ‘Eurocrats’, but no luck. I walked through the adjacent Parc aux Bruxelles enroute to the Palais Royal to see the king, but he wasn’t there either (where *is* everyone??). Somewhere in the park I had dropped my map, and so I was left to wander the streets for a while.
On the way back to the hotel I tried to find some more of the landmarks we saw on our trip in 2001. I found the stock exchange, and recognized other places, too. It’s funny returning years later to somewhere you’ve visited – a lot of memories come back. So much has changed in the last 5-6 years.
Happy Valentine’s day! Belgian chocolate, anyone?
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