Brussels October
October 5-14
The weather in Brussels was just perfect. For the weekend that Chris was with us it was fine and clear and invited us to go walking. For the rest of the week, while Pedro was at work, it was foggy and nippy, perfect for reading, taking the tram to town and spending time in FNAC or other shops under cover. Heating was on this week in the malls and shops. And for the last weekend, fine again.
Brussels is at the latitude of 50°50”, which in New Zealand terms is way down at the Auckland Islands. A quick look on the web tells me these are 465 km south of Bluff and uninhabited. And that the weather is some of the most ferocious on the planet. So Brussels has fantastic weather in comparison, even if somewhat cold, grey and foggy at times and with a latish sunrise at this time of the year.
Not entirely inactive, I did manage the walk from the city centre to home once (about an hour) and went to a couple of museums. We met up again with Alain, who was there for work, staying with Pierre. Pedro led us to a restaurant where we had an excellent North-African meal. As we came out into the rain afterwards, a bus came by, which took us right to the metro stop. Such are the joys of public transport in a big city.
One of the museums I visited was 15km out of town and needed TWO trams! The second tram track went through forests and was really pretty. Museum at the end of it was a bonus! This was the Royal Museum of Central Africa. It started out when bold Leopold II decided to show the Belgian people ‘his’ Congo at the turn of the century. (We won’t go into the politics and the massacres.) The building is fairly massive in its proportions and has been updated and renovated, seeking to better display the extensive collections. It is also a scientific establishment, with 75 scientists working on cultural anthropology, zoology, geology, history and agriculture and forest economy. There are vast collections of insects, displays of the flora and fauna, currently an exhibition on wood, amazing masks, collections of war spears and even the archives of
Stanley. They value the educational function and hold lots of workshops for children and adults, school classes and holiday programs. My teacher’s card got me into both the main museum and the special exhibition for free.
The other museum I stopped by to see is in the centre of
Brussels, in the Grand-Place. I’m not sure why I hadn’t been there before. It is a totally manageable museum and not expensive. Interesting videos complement the static displays and the models of
Brussels over the centuries help you visualise the growth.
Brussels was the centre of wall tapestry weaving in
Europe between the late 15
th and the 18
th century, the economic backbone providing employment for many inhabitants, and the museum displays some of these works. Other artwork is used to illustrate the history as well. Particularly effective are paintings of The Great Fire of Brussels, actually the torching of the Grand-Place by Louis XIV’s man, Villeroy, in 1695. 4000 buildings burned down in the city centre, including most of the Grand-Place. All were rebuilt remarkably quickly, testament to the wealth of the city at the time, I guess. The third floor has a section displaying models of the Manneken Pis, wearing costumes from all over the world. I read that he has a wardrobe of over 600 outfits.
The photos I have chosen include Pedro, Chris and Alain, for those of you who know them, images of the city itself, and a few from the
museum of
Central Africa. The deal with the curtain in front of the Opera is that there is at present a ‘trail’ of art by young people from each EU country around the centre of
Brussels. This one is meant to bring the theatre stage right out into the people.
Happy viewing.
Photos at
The weather in 
One of the museums I visited was 15km out of town and needed TWO trams! The second tram track went through forests and was really pretty. Museum at the end of it was a bonus! This was the Royal Museum of Central 
The other museum I stopped by to see is in the centre of 
The photos I have chosen include Pedro, Chris and Alain, for those of you who know them, images of the city itself, and a few from the 