An Eye on Brussels

Another beautiful morning…and day, especially for our tour of the center of Brussels. The bus whisked us by and through the Centrum with just glimpses of the grandeur of the city; the grand palace, the cathedrals, art galleries and museums (they’ll be here for our next, more focused visit).

After Belgium declared its independence from the Netherlands, Brussels became the capital, and after WWII became the home of NATO, which brought wealth and influence to the city.

Our first stop was at the site of the 1958 World’s Fair and its central image (depicting one of the major themes of the day), the Atomium. It’s actually enormous with stairways between the electron shell observation spheres. We simply enjoyed the view and the glorious day.

We moved on into the Centrum, stopping to walk past busy cafes, 16th century houses, outdoor markets. Lots of contrasts in this city as you walk past beautiful art nouveau buildings and unremarkable construction from the 1970s.

We entered the Royal Galleries of Saint Hubert, rubbing the arm of the boy who sacrificed his life for the city (to ensure your return), and another boy who helped save the city from a devastating fire…the only way he could.

The Galleries had beautiful, immaculate designer shops and the best examples of the all important, chocolate, macaroons, frittes, and waffles!

Marsha had toppings of strawberries and Chantilly cream. Mine, chocolate and chopped nuts.

Bonnie and Steve were mesmerized by the macaroon displays, and basically tried one of each.

While chomping our waffles we noticed behind us the rather unremarkable brick building housing the Hotel Amigo (that we would have just ignored) until we were told it is Brussels’ only 5-star hotel!Royalty and celebrities stay there regularly. It was really made famous by a photo of The Rolling Stones Keith Richard’s waving from a window. A Mercedes Maybach standing by the entrance was our only clue as to the building’s lofty status.

We had great views of the Town Hall and Royal Palace, and other impressive architecture.

In the afternoon, Bonnie and Steve spent quality visiting and touring time with her dear old friend (a resident of Belgium, about an hour’s drive from the city) and her delightful family (we spent a bit of time with them and felt like we were related within minutes).

We decided to walk up a Main Street to find “The View” of Brussels Ferris Wheel – reminiscent of the London Eye. We were excited by the fact it was operating, so we got some spectacular views of the expanse of the City, including the Old Court House with its golden dome, one of if not the largest structure in Europe. We saw it looming over the city as we entered the day before. It is under intense and needed restoration that’s probably going to last the next 4 or 5 years.

We really were exhausted after our first (seven miles of walking) full day, so we ended with a light, Poke Bowl dinner, realizing (surprised) it was just about 10 pm (that’s when the sun sets in Brussels this time of year). So down for the night, hoping to erase some more of the jet lag. We have the morning tomorrow and an afternoon boarding of our ship (in Brussels — we were supposed to drive a couple of hours to Antwerp to board, but the ship had to be diverted to Brussels — nice for us).

So we’ll see you tomorrow as we set off toward the Netherlands, eventually to Amsterdam, with lots of stops on the way.