We spent the morning in Brussels at the Belgian Center of Comic Strips. We learned about the creation process and the many stages in the development. The expressionless Tintin who sees a lot of the world was a favorite. And the Smurfs (or Schumpfe) before they made it to American cartoons were fun mostly because they are familiar. Turns out the Smurfs are Belgian.
The Galeries St Hubert, which opened in 1847, have a mix of high end shopping and cafes. Wandering through the old arcades, we were drawn to the beautiful displays of stacked chocolates through the glass window of a fancy chocolatier. Belgians call the chocolates prailenes. Of course we bought a few to sample. The lady seemed surprised when we said that was all we were buying. The truffle was especially delicious.
The Galeries St Hubert, which opened in 1847, have a mix of high end shopping and cafes. Wandering through the old arcades, we were drawn to the beautiful displays of stacked chocolates through the glass window of a fancy chocolatier. Belgians call the chocolates prailenes. Of course we bought a few to sample. The lady seemed surprised when we said that was all we were buying. The truffle was especially delicious.
After wandering down narrow side alleys, we found ourselves standing in the center of a magnificent square, the Grand Place. It's Gothic style hotel (previously town hall) built orginally in the late 1400s and richly-colored antique guildhalls lining the square were enchanting. It seems like Neuhaus must be paying a fortune for the rental of their slice of space.
Then we followed the signs to see the infamous Manneken Pis fountain, a little boy cheerfully peeing into a pool. It was surprising to find crowds and flashing cameras gathered around the surprisingly small and, to us, insignificant statue.
We couldn't leave Brussels without admiring a showpiece example of Art Nouveau architecture, which we found at the Museum of Musical Instruments in the Old England building. The dark colors and iron work are classic Art Nouveau.
Just as we entered the Parc de Bruxelles, the threatening dark sky started to drizzle. And then rain. We hid under a large tree, but when it wouldn't let up decided to keep on. We knew it would stop later, and there would be time to dry. (which happened, luckily).
We then visited the EU parliament, with flags of member countries and men and women in black suits.
Lastly before catching the train to Antwerp, we toured a unique working brewery called Musee Bruxellois de la Gueze. It is interesting because it uses a similar fermentation process as wine (think 2-3 years and wooden barrels). There is an aerated bacteria that exists only in and around Brussels (we were told) that allows the fermentation process to happen spontaneously. It is the only brewery in the world producing beer by this method (also we were told), which gives the beer the sour taste. They also produce fruit-flavored beers, though more sour than sweet. We tasted the orginal Gueze and a raspberry beer blend.
We couldn't leave Brussels without admiring a showpiece example of Art Nouveau architecture, which we found at the Museum of Musical Instruments in the Old England building. The dark colors and iron work are classic Art Nouveau.
Just as we entered the Parc de Bruxelles, the threatening dark sky started to drizzle. And then rain. We hid under a large tree, but when it wouldn't let up decided to keep on. We knew it would stop later, and there would be time to dry. (which happened, luckily).
We then visited the EU parliament, with flags of member countries and men and women in black suits.
Lastly before catching the train to Antwerp, we toured a unique working brewery called Musee Bruxellois de la Gueze. It is interesting because it uses a similar fermentation process as wine (think 2-3 years and wooden barrels). There is an aerated bacteria that exists only in and around Brussels (we were told) that allows the fermentation process to happen spontaneously. It is the only brewery in the world producing beer by this method (also we were told), which gives the beer the sour taste. They also produce fruit-flavored beers, though more sour than sweet. We tasted the orginal Gueze and a raspberry beer blend.
Then we caught a train to Antwerp...
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