Subtitle: Toto, we aren’t in Japan anymore. Mechelen, a charming little town just north of Brussels. “Punches above its weight” Claude says. Today we decided to head that way. Tram to train station, train to Mechelen. No biggie. So, the tram was good. First tram ride. No fussing with tickets. Tap our phone to pay…
Battle Dress
Yesterday morning we tried to understand how the European Union worked. Then we had a gourmet lunch that was low on everything that was supposed to be bad for our bodies. It was in a restaurant that was part of swank health club. Just exiting the building I felt I was brimming with health. That didn’t mean…
Yet more Brussels pics
Eew!
Or, if you’re more cultivated, go ahead and say, “E U”, either way we know you’re talking about the European Union. I’ve always imagined the EU to be some abbreviated code for a select group of European bankers who meet periodically behind barrels of distilled spirits in some dank rathskeller to determine the exchange rate…
How To Make Out Like A Bandit In Brussels
Thanks to the many wars that have been fought on its turf, Belgium has been called the “European battlefield”. If one wanted to take this to the economic level and make a killing in Brussels all they would need to do is land a hot air balloon hauling a load of chocolate treats smack in the…
More Brussels flavors
On the walk down to the Parliamentarium, some interesting pics. And lunch. I’d checked in with Claude to ask what might be of interest near the European Parliament. Parc du Cinquantenaire and a nearby cafe called Seven was on the list. Who could resist eating at a place called Seven which turned out to be…
The European Union
Brussels is a hub of European activity, so what better place to learn more about the European Union. What is it exactly? How is it governed? How do you get in? And…well, Britain showed us how to exit. The Parliamentarium answered those and many more questions. The Parliamentarium is what they call the Visitor’s Center…
The Kid’s A Pisser
As example of “zwanze” or bratty Belgian humor there’s Mannikin Pis, the little boy fountain that is located in the heart of Mont des Arts. It was easy to come across; we just funneled down one of the narrow cobbled streets towards the crowd of tourists clogging the corner where the jokey statue is arcing his…
Mont des arts
Yesterday (Thursday)we trekked to the Royal museum complex and Mont des Arts area. Where our neighborhood, Saint-Gilles, can be described as “vibrant bohemian”, the Royal museums quarter was filled with tourists and school groups. A whole different flavor of Brussels. I enjoyed rediscovering Magritte at the Magritte museum. I had forgotten his light-hearted and playful…
Magritte & the Old Masters
The goal of this morning’s trek was to get to the Magritte Musée by ten-thirty. That was the time on electronic the ticket I purchased in January that let us in to the Magritte museum and the Old Masters museum next door. Wait—did I say “ticket”? When we arrived at the building with the large green…
Moules-frites
Mussels with fried potatoes. A cornerstone of Belgian cuisine. This was today’s lunch. Mussels are a plentiful and cheap food, easily harvested along the coast of the North Sea. Although the prized catch comes from Schelde, a shallow river connecting western Belgium to the Netherlands and the North Sea, most mussels used in Belgium these…
Bonjour, Poirot!
Outside of inching across runways in Albuquerque and Chicago to experience lumbering jet choreography in the age of LAL (Living At Airports) where when the pilot announces to the stewards, “Prepare for landing,” it should be followed, once you land, with, “Please have patience while while we crawl. If you’re wondering whether you will make…
Long story short
Yesterday, once we’d made our way to our apartment and dropped the luggage off, we wandered our neighborhood in the dream state of arrival, ambled to the Ixelles Pond hangout, wandered into the venues for the Belgian Short Film festival, bypassed the French fry shack, loitered in a graphic novel book shop (Grubb can amuse…
Gridlock on the tarmac
It was like the 405 at rush hour. The taxiways at Chicago’s Ohare airport. We’d been delayed leaving Albuquerque, eating into our tight connection time in Chicago. Still, things were looking good until touch down at Ohare. As we barreled down onto the runway I noticed long lines of planes lining the taxiways. As soon…
Land of waffles and french fries
It’s been a year since we’ve traveled out of the country. Last year, Japan. Shinto, Buddhism, beauty, politeness. This time, Belgium. Population: Close to 12 million people, densely packed. Home of the famous waffle. Birthplace of French fries (yep, according to Belgians, it wasn’t France), headquarters of the European Union and NATO (Brussels), a constitutional…