Chasing Amy-Lou

I visited Belgium in December 2013 and it was cold. Really cold. As the festive period was getting underway there were a lot of Christmas markets dotted about and various other seasonal offerings, similar to what you’d find in many other European cities at this time of year. I can’t give you tips on where to have a picnic in the sun (as there wasn’t any sun) and I can’t describe to you how peaceful and Venice-like it was to sail down the river in Ghent, while listening to an historical account of the city (as I was too busy trying to warm my hands), but I can tell you that Belgium is bursting with character. It is a fascinating place, a beautiful place, and it’s also really, really small.

Belgium is a country steeped in history. It also only covers 11,787 square miles, just over a ninth of the area of the UK and has a population of a mere 11 million people. It is a founding member of the EU and hosts the EUs headquarters (more on the EU District later), and has two major regions: Flanders in the North and Wallonia in the South. Unfortunately I didn’t manage to get to the South as I spent my four days in the North of the country, hopping between Brussels, Ghent and Bruges, However, I’ve been told, from a very reliable source (a Belgian friend) that it takes a very short time to traverse the length of the country and a train from Brussels to Luxembourg takes a short three hours! That’s less time then it takes to get from Manchester to London. Brilliant!

My trip to Belgium was not your conventional vacation, as vacations go. I did not spend time residing in any hostels or hotels but relied upon the hospitality of friends I had met on previous travels, namely in China. So apologies for not being able to provide you with any accommodation recommendations, you’ll have to find that yourself, soz.

Therefore I’ll begin in Brussels, where two days were spent on foot, meandering through the city’s cobbled streets:

Brussels

Brussels is big. And pretty grey. Those are the two major things I took away from my time here. Although the greyness may just have been a result of the time of year and the bitterly cold weather. The third being that it is very multi-cultural, housing several districts with a predominant majority of ethnicities such as the Turkish and Moroccan, each with their own customs, communities, languages and cuisines. The predominant language spoken in Brussels is French which suited me just fine, not because I speak French, oh no, but because my friend Myriam is French. Bonus.

On day one, Myriam took me on a guided walking tour of the city, from her humble apartment on Rue Capouillet Straat in the south of the city, close to the Saint Gilles area, we walked to the Palais De Justice, marvelling at its impressive intricacies and magnificent architecture. We continued north, passing the Notre-Dame Du Sablon and then on to the Notre-Dame de la Chapelle. From here we were in close proximity to the grand library and museum of modern art, both of which stood out and engulfed the landscape, towering above and beyond the surrounding buildings. Taking a turn east, we wandered into the grounds of the Royal Palace, a truly magnificent structure, awe inspiring and breathtaking in its stature.

We pottered on, stopping every now and then to marvel at the parks (still green despite being December), the statues surrounding the prominent sites and the differing styles of architecture. Moving back into the city centre we walked north up Blvd De L’Imperatrice and then settled in our tracks as we witnessed the stunning Cathedrale des Saints Michel et Gudule. Cue a few pictures a la the tourist I was trying not to be and we headed off.

Back into the city centre we came across the Grand Place and the Brussels city Museum, possibly one of the most regal pieces of architecture I’ve ever seen, rivaling the Rathaus in Hamburg and Kings Cross St Pancras in London. I was in absolute awe as the building took my breath away.

Brussels was a smorgasboad of delights, a city full to the brim with impressive buildings and stunning churches, more churches than I care to have seen in a long time, and I hadn’t even been to half of them. There was still the magnificent church of Saint-Catherine and the fabulous Royale Sainte-Marie, not to mention the quaint Saint Boniface in the south east of the city in the area of Ixelles. If I ever needed to confess, to pray or to convert, then Brussels, and Belgium in general was probably the place to do it. I felt almost bombarded with the ever presence of Christianity that I was tempted to purchase a set of rosary beads and spout a few Hail Marys.

Following our little religious expedition we took a walk to one of Brussels most famous monuments, the Manneken Pis. There are many stories regarding the history of the Manneken Pis but one more regularly told to tourists is that as legend has it, a wealthy merchant was visiting the city when his little boy went missing. A search party was ordered to scour every corner of the city, until the little boy was found, happily urinating in a small garden. The merchant had the fountain built as a sign of gratitude and to this day it attracts many tourists and the little boy can be seen dressed in various regalia depending on the time of year.

After a short diversion to a Turkish area of the city where we ate kebabs and drank flavoured tea, Myriam and I walked to a little tucked away puppet theatre bar called Theatre Royale De Toone and it’s here where I had my first official taste of real Belgian beer. I’ve gotta give it to those Belgians, not only do they do waffles and pancakes really well but my God, do they do beer well. Well and STRONG! Much stronger than any beer back home. In fact, I had a pint and almost felt a little tipsy..hic. And I don’t even drink beer!

To round off my first day in Brussels and perhaps to escape the cold and bitter air, we navigated away from the tourist traps in the city, away from the trinket shops filled with Belgian paraphernalia and the congregation of crowds around the nativity scenes, and Christmas markets with their enticing smells of food and mulled wine, and headed to a quaint little cinema (Cinematek) close to the Royal Palace. Here we watched a film starring Marlene Dietrich called The Devil Is A Woman. The Perfect and relaxing end to a lovely day exploring.

Day two was spent rather in the same vain as the first day except we travelled to the EU Quarter to take in another side of the city, a newer, more developed side of the city. We wandered around the EU Commission and took in the Council of the European Union as well as the European Parliament, before walking through the Parc Du Cinquantenaire with its impressive Triumphal Arc. If I were to sum up this area of Brussels I’d say it would have to be pretty boring. There are buildings that appear half-finished and unless you’re really into politics, are interested in the EU in any way shape or form then I’d skip a trip to this part of the city. Honestly, you’re not missing out on that much, ok, there are a few museums (Military museum and Art museum) and you can enter the the EU Parliament shop and have a look around the exhibitions but in truth, I found it quite tedious. This though, could’ve been a result of it being extremely fucking cold. Never before had I felt wind like it, and that’s coming from living in Glasgow for five years.

I think the next time I come to Belgium, I’ll definitely be doing it at the height of summer.

Brussels has a lot more to offer than just the churches and museums I’ve mentioned. It is home to the Comic Museum and is famous for comic books such as The Adventures of Tin Tin and of course, The Smurfs. Brussels also has a vibrant nightlife and a brilliant shopping area, with everything from designer shops to high street stores. The food in Brussels if extremely varied too as no cuisine is out of reach and the chocolate, well, naturally, this is Belgium, so the chocolate is the finest you could ever hope for.

Once back in the city centre Myriam and I made our way to Place Saint-Catherine in order to revel in the delights of a traditional Belgian Christmas Market. The festivities were in full swing, the food aromas were tempting and the gluwein was flowing nicely. Despite the icy temperatures, my heart and hands started to warm once I’d consumed almost my own body weight in tasty gluwein and hearty Belgian hotpot. Tempted by the ice skating rink, I then thought better of it as I reminisced back to the time in Edinburgh in 2012 when I was almost thrown off the ice due to severe intoxication. Drunken slips and ridiculous skating attempts would not be reoccurring that night. Instead, I chose to sip some more wine and look forward to the exploits of the next day…onwards to Ghent.

To be continued…