19th Nov - Belgium, Grand Squares and Canals, Superb Chocolate
We've just come back from a 3-day side trip to Belgium, just south of Netherlands. On Wednesday, we picked up the car again and managed to navigate ourselves to Brussels about 2.5 hrs away. After driving through some very serious rain showers, we arrived in Brussels' Grand Place, a truly amazing market square which has been voted one of the the Best, if not actually The Best Square in the world for architecture, grandure and opulence of the 15th C buildings (guild halls), still intact.
Mark took this amazing panoramic photo but it's hard to do justice to it. We photographed it in the afternoon and again that night and you can see different details coming to the fore.
Too many pictures of the Grand Place (I have many more)
After standing in the Grand Place for quite a while, we simply wandered around the alleyways, small streets and boulevards of Brussels. It has a faster pace and a lot more tourists than some of the other places we've visited, given it's off-season. After a late lunch in Rue de Bouchers (3pm), we marvelled at all the Chocolate, Confectionery and Laceware stores. It was extremely hard to avoid entering the chocolate shops.
We discovered some beautiful palaces which are not on the main tourist path - such as Charles de Lorraine, and also discovered that there was a Faberge Russian Egg exhibition on in town. We just found the building and entered before another really bad rain front came through. Except we managed to get there about 10 mins after a huge group of elderly tourists arrived and they took an inordinately long time to look at each item, which meant there were about 40 people waiting at every viewing case (a bit like a premium jewellers window on a High Street). For some strange reason the lighting was down extremely low, so there was also confusion about direction of the exhibition etc.
Charles de Lorraine Palace
By the time we left, we were ready for a drink and the rain had eased so we found what seemed like a really cool bar (from the street) and entered the warmth, grabbing a 2.50 Euro wine/ beer each (very cheap). What we didn't realise till we'd been there for a few mins was that it was a Gay bar (bot that there's anything wrong with that as Sienfeld would say). Very understated though and we stayed there about 45 mins, before strolling out again. That night we found a great Thai place (Reves d'Asie) and had a lovely meal.
The following morning was just beautiful (full blue sky, scudding white cumulus clouds) and we set off for Bruges (Brugge), only an hour away. Luckily the rains held out for most of the day, so we got to explore more than expected.
Bruges was certainly stunningly preserved (12th to 15th C architecture) and amazing grand canals. It's called the Venice of the North and you can understand why. It had apparently been blocked off for nearly 200 years before being re-born in the late 1700's which accounts for it's beautifully maintained condition now.
Bruge buildings
Bruge building (second picture was atken at sunset when the building was lit up by the sun)
We found the 'vibe' really wonderful and welcoming. Less frenetic than Brussels and very serene. During the day, we wandered into the Chocolate Museum (a must for me) and discovered the history of the Aztecs, Mayans, cocoa plantations, slavery and the development of Bakelite (by a Belgian). The Bakelite was important as the moulds for chocolate shapes were prepared in Bakelite pans. It was quite well put together but we only got one tiny piece of chocolate each.
Tam and a big chocolate egg.
Afterwards we went to a traditional Belgian 'salon' and premium chocolate producer. I had a fantastic hot chocolate, receiving a cup of hot milk and a small bowl of premium chocolate shavings to blend in myself to my taste. They also provided the cutest little whisk. Mark ordered a chocolate milkshake and it was one of the best he's had.
It started raining heavily towards the end of the day, so we headed back to the hotel and had a bath to warm ourselves through, my first for ages. That night we went to a Bruges institution - Curiosa which is a restaurant situated downstairs in the cellar of a 16th C monastry. It had a beautiful atmosphere and ceilings, although could have been a little warmer! We both had Flemish/Belgian specialties - Mark had a scampi dish and I had a beef stew which was very nice.
The final day of our travels, we changed our minds from visiting Antwerp and instead travelled up the fishing coast from Bruges, through Knock Heiste, Breskens and into the Frisian Islands of Netherlands and finally Gouda. We then cut inland to head back for 'home' (Amsterdam).
Gouda Town Hall and Knock Heiste beach Belgium
Mark took this amazing panoramic photo but it's hard to do justice to it. We photographed it in the afternoon and again that night and you can see different details coming to the fore.
Too many pictures of the Grand Place (I have many more)
After standing in the Grand Place for quite a while, we simply wandered around the alleyways, small streets and boulevards of Brussels. It has a faster pace and a lot more tourists than some of the other places we've visited, given it's off-season. After a late lunch in Rue de Bouchers (3pm), we marvelled at all the Chocolate, Confectionery and Laceware stores. It was extremely hard to avoid entering the chocolate shops.
We discovered some beautiful palaces which are not on the main tourist path - such as Charles de Lorraine, and also discovered that there was a Faberge Russian Egg exhibition on in town. We just found the building and entered before another really bad rain front came through. Except we managed to get there about 10 mins after a huge group of elderly tourists arrived and they took an inordinately long time to look at each item, which meant there were about 40 people waiting at every viewing case (a bit like a premium jewellers window on a High Street). For some strange reason the lighting was down extremely low, so there was also confusion about direction of the exhibition etc.
Charles de Lorraine Palace
By the time we left, we were ready for a drink and the rain had eased so we found what seemed like a really cool bar (from the street) and entered the warmth, grabbing a 2.50 Euro wine/ beer each (very cheap). What we didn't realise till we'd been there for a few mins was that it was a Gay bar (bot that there's anything wrong with that as Sienfeld would say). Very understated though and we stayed there about 45 mins, before strolling out again. That night we found a great Thai place (Reves d'Asie) and had a lovely meal.
The following morning was just beautiful (full blue sky, scudding white cumulus clouds) and we set off for Bruges (Brugge), only an hour away. Luckily the rains held out for most of the day, so we got to explore more than expected.
Bruges was certainly stunningly preserved (12th to 15th C architecture) and amazing grand canals. It's called the Venice of the North and you can understand why. It had apparently been blocked off for nearly 200 years before being re-born in the late 1700's which accounts for it's beautifully maintained condition now.
Bruge buildings
Bruge building (second picture was atken at sunset when the building was lit up by the sun)
We found the 'vibe' really wonderful and welcoming. Less frenetic than Brussels and very serene. During the day, we wandered into the Chocolate Museum (a must for me) and discovered the history of the Aztecs, Mayans, cocoa plantations, slavery and the development of Bakelite (by a Belgian). The Bakelite was important as the moulds for chocolate shapes were prepared in Bakelite pans. It was quite well put together but we only got one tiny piece of chocolate each.
Tam and a big chocolate egg.
Afterwards we went to a traditional Belgian 'salon' and premium chocolate producer. I had a fantastic hot chocolate, receiving a cup of hot milk and a small bowl of premium chocolate shavings to blend in myself to my taste. They also provided the cutest little whisk. Mark ordered a chocolate milkshake and it was one of the best he's had.
It started raining heavily towards the end of the day, so we headed back to the hotel and had a bath to warm ourselves through, my first for ages. That night we went to a Bruges institution - Curiosa which is a restaurant situated downstairs in the cellar of a 16th C monastry. It had a beautiful atmosphere and ceilings, although could have been a little warmer! We both had Flemish/Belgian specialties - Mark had a scampi dish and I had a beef stew which was very nice.
The final day of our travels, we changed our minds from visiting Antwerp and instead travelled up the fishing coast from Bruges, through Knock Heiste, Breskens and into the Frisian Islands of Netherlands and finally Gouda. We then cut inland to head back for 'home' (Amsterdam).
Gouda Town Hall and Knock Heiste beach Belgium
posted by Most Liveable at 7:48 PM
4 Comments:
What a stunning panoramic shot!! Brings back great memories - we're really glad you enjoyed all of Belgium as we loved it too! Love the idea of the 'make-your-own-strength' hot chocolate...too cute!!
I love the architecture of Brussels, Bruges and Gouda. I just figured out that by clicking on each picture I can magnify it! That Gouda town hall is really something. Did you also taste the cheese? How big is the egg and how much does it weigh? Speak to you soon.
who votes in the Best Square in the World competition?
The voting of 'best sqaure in Europe' has been completed by a panel of two, Mark & tam and our decision is final.............or until we see a better square
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