9/16/21: Brussels' 'Grand' Place, Chocolates, Lace & the Atomium

Thank goodness, even at our somewhat advanced ages, Steven and I can still manage to huff and puff up several flights of very narrow stairs to our apartment here in Brussels. I must admit that we didn't demur, though, when the building super had offered to carry one of our duffle bags up by himself our first day!

The sculpture at Brussels' central station honored those heroes who died in both world wars.

I bet you thought, like I, that the cartoon character Smurf was an American invention - nope, he was created by a Belgian genius as were so many other comic characters you're likely also familiar with. We craned our heads to peer at the antics Smurf was getting into at famous Brussels landmarks on the ceiling of an arch just outside the station.

The magnificent Royal Saint-Hubert Galleries was the oldest still-operating glass-covered gallery built in Europe and was the inspiration for others in London, Paris, and elsewhere. The Galleries celebrated the country's new independence from the Netherlands when it was inaugurated in 1847 in the Italian Renaissance style. 

The Galleries had exquisite shops on the 233-yard long main level and elegant apartments above where French expats like Hugo, Dumas, and Baudelaire lived. The first Belgian motion pictures were shown at its two theaters. People still reside in the upstairs apartments. 

It was impossible not to gawk at the beautiful hand-crafted lace pieces in one shop.

I can't begin to count the locations around the world where Steven and I have spotted the iconic multi-hued LOVE statues. In the Galleries, however, there was a very different take as it was 'LOVE' on one side and 'HATE' on the other by German artist Mia Florentine Weiss. The steel ambigram structures reflected "the full ambiguity of modern life and encourage the one thing that the whole world needs right now."

Hometown singer-songwriter Jacques Brel dined on croquettes de crevettes (shrimp croquettes), tete de veau (calf's head), and other delicacies at the Taverne du Passage.

I popped into the flagship store of the famous chocolatier, Neuhaus, for a few moments looking for a couple chocolate caramels but there were none, tant pis - so sad! I read this is where Brussels natives buy their pralines that were invented in this shop in 1912.

In chocolate, of course, was a model bust of the store's founder, Jean Neuhaus. Yum, yum!

More of the divine Galleries in which, thankfully, there was no Gap, Foot Locker, or other mass-market stores:

Most European cities have a main square but it would be hard to find one 'grander' than Brussels' Grand Place. Though travel writer Rick Steves describes the city began in medieval days as a public market for a small village, the Grand Place has grown into a vast public space enclosed by Old World buildings with elegant gables. In the center of the square was the 300-ft. tall, skyscraping spire of the Town Hall. Topping it all was a golden statue of St. Michael slaying a devil. As the Belgian government requires all marriages to be initially performed in simple ceremonies, the Hotel de Ville hosts weddings.

Its peaceful courtyard:

Facing Town Hall was the equally impressive 800-year-old King's House that began as the medieval square's bread market. When it became the regional office for Charles V's vast Habsburg empire, it received its French name of Maison du Roi.

The smaller buildings around the square were former guild halls, now shops and restaurants whose stone facades were accented in gold, and gabled roofs were topped with more gold statues!

My eyes were drawn to the unique gables atop the guild halls

and Steven's to the gargoyles on another building.

To the left of the Town Hall was Swan House where a bar once housed Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels who met in 1848 to write their Communist Manifesto. Once their treatise ignited a socialist revolution around Europe, Belgium deported the two men.

As it was only mid-morning, we managed to stroll down the almost empty Rue des Bouchers that would be packed shortly at the lunch or dinner hours. I read that because of its proximity to major European cities, many visitors are day-trippers from the Netherlands, France, and Germany eager to feast on food that Belgium is famous for.

I couldn't resist gazing in awe at the gorgeous lace items in the Lace Palace window and inside the shop as Brussels is possibly the best-known city for traditional lacemaking. 

If you're a chocoholic, Brussels is heaven as there were chocolate shops almost on every corner!

I loved the motto at Elisabeth Chocolatier: "If you are what you eat ... then we're finger-licking sweet." As I mentioned in my previous post, I did regret that the establishment felt the need to have signage in English exclusively.

Across from Elisabeth's was the little Is it Raining Fountain?

The fountain was in front of De Witte Jewelers that had been built directly into the Church of St. Nicholas. A church had been on the same location since the 12th century and, when it was rebuilt 300 years ago, money was supplied by the town's jewelers.

The church was originally intended to be a market church dedicated to St. Nicholas, one of the merchant's favorite saints.

Even though it was nowhere near Christmas, there has been an extensive nativity scene in the church since 1994.

The gilded copper shrine in the church honored the Gorcum Martyrs, 18 Catholic clergy and I layperson, killed by thugs in 1572 during the Protestant revolution.

From the sublime to the ridiculous or ... at least yummy! By now, you know Belgium is famous for its lace, chocolate, and here we had waffles, too. The lure of melted chocolate drizzling on a hot waffle was just too much for me to resist!

Even though the French claim fries as their own, Belgian fries are well known to potato lovers. Though we're no connoisseurs of frites, these ones we tasted didn't match up with the best we've tasted elsewhere. They were a good treat, though, and got us through the day!

The mural depicted the favorite Belgian comic book hero, Tintin, a wavy-haired boy who gets involved with lots of adventures while accompanied by his faithful dog, Snowy, and friend, Captain Haddock, who always keeps an eye out for Tintin.

One of the most famous sights in all of Brussels was, I kid you not, the small Mannequin-Pis, a two-foot-tall peeing boy! Made in 1617, to provide safe drinking water to residents of the neighborhood, French soldiers had to salute the constantly pissing boy after the occupying King Louis VX knighted the statue. 

As visiting VIPS customarily bring an outfit for the statue, the boy has more clothes than you can shake a stick at. He dresses up for special occasions, too - on Elvis Presley's birthday, for example, he's dressed as an Elvis impersonator. The statue has such a collection of costumes from the past three centuries, an entire museum is devoted to them nearby.

It was fun to see the city's residents take such a light-hearted approach to life in Brussels. A sign by the statue showed the boy's day's outfits. When we were there, he would be dressed for a few hours each as a Catalan shepherd, and in honor of Mexican, and Costa Rican holidays!!

While Steven wandered around for a bit, I visited the Fashion and Lace Museum that was definitely more up my alley than his.

Guess who?!!

Some of the centuries-old lace was so intricate, I was glad for the additional help!

Many ancient pieces were kept in drawers that could be pulled out. These were from the Louis VIX era, 1643-1744.

This was created during the French (?) Second Empire, the period from 1852-1870.

I wondered what Belgian babe would have worn these gorgeous outfits!

Upstairs, there was a room devoted to the 'little black dress' and black dress attire from an earlier age by noted designers such as Chanel, Galliano, and Schiaparelli.

I enjoyed learning a brief history of wearing black: During the Middle Ages and the Renaissance, black clothing was very uncommon because it was expensive to dye and thus was reserved for the elite. In the 16th century, it became the color in European courts but it was adopted by Protestants as a symbol of sobriety in contrast to bright, Catholic outfits. When the trend was reversed in the second half of the 17th century, light and cheerful colors came into fashion. The wearing of black was reserved for those in mourning until the 19th century and during the Industrial Revolution when smoke-filled towns made wearing black more practical. 

WW I helped to popularize the color when many women were in mourning and wore black on a daily basis. That was when simpler cute and more comfortable black dresses were designed. Black evening gowns were highly fashionable throughout the 1920s with silk and silver threads added. When the little black dress became an essential fashion item, fashion designers and stylists began to create their own version of the iconic piece.

We didn't see why there was such a prominent Don Quixote sculpture here in Brussels. 

One of Europe's classic Gothic churches was St. Michael's Cathedral that had been built between 1200 and 1500 and was the country's most important church in the largely Catholic country where about 80 percent of the country identify as Catholic.

In the entrance were photos of the royal family whose weddings and funerals took place at St. Michael's.

Another English-language sign!

The highlight in the church was the marvelous carved pulpit located midway down the nave. It depicted Adam and Eve supporting the preacher. 

On top was St. Michael slaying a serpent.

I was so accustomed to seeing very dark stained-glass windows in churches that these much lighter ones caught me by surprise. I immediately relished the bright colors and the contrasting white background.

One of the more unusual roundabouts I've ever seen!

As we knew Belgians were as proud of their chocolates, lace, and Stella Artois beer as of their comics, we wanted to make a quick visit to the Comic Strip Museum to see some of the world's most popular comic characters. The museum was located in a big Art Nouveau-style fabric wholesale business that was designed in 1906 by Victor Horta, the master of Art Nouveau, at the peak of his career.

Of the six big stores Horta designed, this was the only one that survived. After the store closed, the building was abandoned and was nearly destroyed. But, fortunately, it was reconverted and has, since 1989, celebrated two typically Belgian artistic movements: Art Nouveau and comic strips.

Another cute addition to my collection of bathroom signs from around the world, don't you think, Janina?!

A bust of the mask-clad Tintin as created by Herge, the Belgian cartoonist:

As we walked to the metro, we noticed the Covid-testing bus was thankfully doing a fairly brisk business.

We had about a twenty-minute ride on the metro en route to our final stop of the day so had a chance to observe some interesting metro stations.

The Atomium was a giant, silvery scale model of a steel molecule, complete with stairs and escalators connecting the various 'atoms' that was built for the 1958 World's Fair.

I don't think we minded too, too much discovering on arrival that it was no longer open on Thursdays as there were 80 steps to climb up and 167 steps to get down! Even though it was a longish trek out there, it was one of the neatest structures we remembered coming across and it was fun just seeing it from the ground.

Next post: Touring the EU Parliament & Matonge - Brussels' African neighborhood.

Posted on September 18th, 2021, after shortly coming back from a long travel day visiting nearby Waterloo. I think we've both had enough of the Duke of Wellington and Napoleon Bonaparte to last us each a while!