Belgium to Bulgaria
After seeing so much of Western Europe we longed for the kind of simplicity and, well, change in culture that we thought Eastern Europe might bring. We were ready to see something new, something really unlike the culture we grew up in. So we chose a spot, made our plans and headed off to Bulgaria! Our ultimate destination was a retreat in rural Voditsa run by a lovely British ex-pat woman aiming to be self-sustaining and helping the locals improve their aging village. We were looking forward to helping her! But first we had to get there.
The best priced tickets we could find were out of Brussels, Belgium, and amazingly when we told this to Kim and Wim, they enthusiastically offered to drive us from their house into the heart of Brussels – a two hour car ride – just out of the goodness of their hearts. What a blessing, we saved so much in travel, time, money and hassle – not to mention gaining a nice farewell road-trip with our splendid hosts! We gratefully accepted and on a Friday evening, while finishing up a staircase-painting project, packed our stuff into their car, said our goodbyes to the lovely village of Broekhouzenvorst and headed off to lively Brussels. We were a bit sad to be leaving such quaint and beautiful countryside. To cap off our stay there. Kim and Wim were really generous with us and Kim even brought us along to visit her 5th/6th grade class in a nearby village where her father is the head master. We spoke English with her kids who were really wonderful and later that evening we shared a lovely meal at her parents house and admired her mother’s artwork and their amazing stories. It was nice to connect with our parents’ generation of a slightly different cultural history.
goodbye Netherlands from Kim and Wim’s bathroom.
We’d arranged through couchsurfing.com a stay with a great guy, Rishab, who had an apartment dead center in the heart of Brussels…we couldn’t have asked for a better location. That evening we got in, Rishab, who may hold a secret Master’s Degree in beer, took us out for some local beer tasting and a few impromptu lessons on the art of appreciating the ancient local tradition of Belgium beer. Not that a layperson couldn’t have appreciated it just for the variety, depth and sheer deliciousness of the beers but Rishab took it to a new level and we got a kick out of all that we learned (and the ever increasing reasons for trying just one more variety – these reasons come in handy).
The next morning, our walking tour started out in one of the most beautiful town squares in Europe, if not in the world. French-speakers refer to it as the ‘Grand-Place’, whereas in Dutch it is called ‘de grote Markt’ (since Belgium is officially bi-lingual, all the signs are in French and Dutch). No matter what it’s called, it is breathtaking and as I later read, the tourists of the 20th century are not alone in their admiration. Archduchess Isabella, daughter of Filip II of Spain, wrote about the square during her visit to Brussels on September the 5th 1599: “Never have I seen something so beautiful and exquisite as the town square of the city where the town hall rises up into the sky. The decoration of the houses is most remarkable.”
During the early middle ages small wooden houses were scattered around the market, but from the 14th century rich and powerful patrician families built stone mansions there. Gradually the market turned into the main commercial and administrative center of the city. In 1402 the construction of the town hall started and by then the square had become the political center where meetings were held, where executions took place and where dukes, kings and emperors where officially received. In the following centuries most wooden houses where replaced with beautifully decorated stone ones, and most of those were owned by the Brussels guilds. It was bombed to smithereens in the 16th century, then rebuilt in the 18th and 19th centuries. It’s worth noting that most of the elaborate and ornate buildings in the Grand Place (with the exception of the guild houses) were funded by King Leopold II’s genocidal expeditions in the Congo, which robbed great wealth from central Africa with enormous casualties for the Africans.Today it is as it was: beautiful.
As is all of Brussels…beautiful. The architecture is different, very decorative and flamboyant compared to the austere and quiet architecture of the Netherlands. The cobblestone streets wind their way around the square and there is not much in the way of traditional city planning – one street will kind of end into another which will lean into another which will dip into another, all seemingly accidental.
There were lovely covered gallerias to walk through, this one was especially nice. The Royal Galleries of St Hubert was designed by a young architect and opened June 7, 1847. Under its motto “Omnibus omnia” (Everything for everybody), displayed on the front of its palace-like façade, the Passage Saint-Hubert attracted people of fashion (read: the wealthy).
Brilliantly lit and the first of its kind, it offered the luxury of outdoor cafés in Brussels’ inclement climate, in an ambiance of luxury retailers that brought to Brussels the true feel of a European capital. Not much has changed…I couldn’t afford to buy anything in the luxury shops nor would I want to. But it was pretty to walk through!
We continued on and made our way to a beautiful cathedral bearing the only co-sainthood sponsorship I’ve ever heard of (resulting in quite a lengthy name): The Saint Michael and Saint Gudula Cathedral.
Architecturally speaking this was a fascinating structure, having been started out in the 11th century in a Romanesque style but then transformed in gothic style from the 13th century. Today, the foundations of the first church can still be seen under the crypt of the gothic cathedral which we paid 1 euro to go check out and it was indeed very interesting. The gothic choir was constructed between 1226 and 1276, nave and transept in the middle of the 15th century.
The western facade, completed between 1450 and 1490, follows the example of the French gothic facades. So in total it encompasses a variety of styles and flairs and, given the sheer enormity of the structure, is tremendously impressive.
After taking in so much of the city and seeing so many sights we had to stop…for some CHOCOLATE! (it is Belgium after all). We went to a sweet shop that looked so typically Brussels – all fancy and schmancy – and put ourselves together a little grab bag of goodies…
…when we got to the counter to pay, however, the sales girl rang us up and we confusedly looked at the total price of over 10 euros. For our bag of sweets? 10 euros?! Oops, hadn’t expected it to be quite that dear. We swallowed the embarrassment that comes with looking like tourists who don’t know what’s up and we apologized and walked out of the store leaving the sales girl looking very annoyed. We got back to Rishab’s apartment and he gave us the insider’s lowdown, that the best chocolatier was not to be had in tourist central but was just a bit outside and was quite professional and it was there that we should spend our 10 euros…where each coco bean is hand picked and caressed lovingly before being made into rich and decedent high quality chocolate. If you would like to experience this outer stratosphere of chocolate love you can order directly from www.marcolini.be, and may we personally recommend the champagne truffels.
Our time in Brussels was fantastic, we enjoyed the few days we were there and wished for more time but it was not a cheap city to visit and so we made our way out to the distant airport by bus and, after passing a very thorough baggage check in security, boarded our flight to Sofia, Bulgaria!
Tags: August 2008, Tag Index
seeingspain
September 6th, 2008 at 9:53 pm
I love hearing about your adventures! It sounds like you are having quite an amazing trip. I will be curious to hear about E. Europe. When I traveled there years ago, I really loved Slovakia. Here’s to continuing to enjoy the journey…
September 15th, 2008 at 4:57 am
Happy Birthday Christy,
Have a great day…wherever you are!
Love,
Jen and Ryan
September 16th, 2008 at 11:48 pm
on the move love you guys If you get to slovadkia look up uncle stew til then God Bless your journey
September 18th, 2008 at 2:01 am
Wow mom, I had no idea we had relatives in Slovakia! Any idea where/how to get in touch with him? Is he there permanently? Cool!
Love you mom!