I go to Brussels – again!

Last week I went to Brussels. No, not primarily for the chocolate or the museums or the mannequin pis, but to vote. Some of my Belgian acquaintances were interested to know that  although we must register, we don’t have to vote in NZ. (It is compulsory to vote in Belgium.) ‘Why would I want to do that if I had a choice not to?’  I expect that they are a little politically fatigued here as they are now over 500 days without a government. (They have agreed on the four regions but the major sticking point is the budget).

Grand Place

 I actually went to Brussels for the first time in the one-week holiday at Toussaint. It’s an hour to an hour and a half from here depending on whether you get the train that stops twice or the one that stops everywhere. I had read up on Brussels on the internet and I also had a copy of Lonely Planet.

 Arriving at the Central Railway Station, I followed the majority of people who were exiting the station. I was tempted to check the Lonely Planet to make sure I knew where I was, but because I had been warned about pickpockets and didn’t want to make myself an obvious target, I didn’t get out the book or the map. That was a shame because after 10 minutes of walking I hadn’t reached the Grand Place. Finally, I asked someone where it was and he pointed me in the opposite direction (I spoke to him in French but he answered me in perfect American accented English!).

When you know what you’re looking for , finding the Grand Place is easy – the town hall which is situated in Grand Place has a grand tower and you can see this tower from most places.Grand Place is surrounded by beautiful buildings – some gilt edged. Apart from the town hall, these buildings are occupied by shops (mostly chocolateries) and cafes and there’s also a museum on one side.  The Mannekin pis is close by and easy to find – you just follow all the other tourists! The statue itself is rather petite but directly opposite there was a larger replica in chocolate. Much as I love chocolate, there are some things I prefer not to eat!

Mannekin pis

Mannekin pis au chocolat

 Following this, I had a quick scout around the older part of the city and browsed the galleries which were full of expensive shops, some cafes and wonderful chocolateries: Galler, Neuhaus, Corne and especially the aptly named ‘Mary’. Naturally, I had to check out the Mary chocolate shop. I must point out that it had the most understated of the shop windows which were brimming with tempting chocolates.  I tried some of their fresh cream chocolates – delicious -  and brought a few home for Granny. The saleswoman told me that the King of Belgium buys his chocolates from Mary’s – obviously he has good taste!

Has to be the best choc shop in Brussels!

After all that chocolate eating, I wandered round a little, up and down Rue des Bouchers looking for Mannekin Pis’s little sister but, failing to find her, I went instead to the Musee des Beaux Arts. I must say I was never a huge fan of the 14-16^th Century Flemish painters but perhaps something of Belgium is rubbing off on me as I saw Brueghel’s  Apocalyptic  and Peasant paintings with fresh eyes. After a couple of hours there, I popped next door to the Margritte Museum for a lesson in surrealism.

Macarons et chocolat at Jean-Philippe Darcis

I tried to return to Brussels the following week but alas, there was a train strike and I was unable to get there. So, last Tuesday I set off to vote. It was a slow start as the first two trains didn’t go (one broke down but I’m not sure what happened to the second one).

 Finally, I arrived in Brussels and exited the train station full of confidence. 25 minutes later, I arrived at Rue Des Nerviens . I entered the building but couldn’t open the next door. It had a sign ‘tirez’ on it which I understood was French for ‘pull’ ( I was reminded for a moment of that Gary Larsen cartoon  card ‘School for the Mentally Gifted’ which shows a person attempting to push a door open with the sign ‘pull’). Thankfully,   a young woman arrived and told me I needed to press the no. 7 button for the NZ Embassy. A voice inquired as to why I was there and after I had replied satisfactorily, the door automatically opened. I would point out that there were no instructions as to pushing this button so I wonder how other people get on who try to visit the NZ Embassy?

The display at Neuhaus for St Nicolas (Dec 6)

 On the 7^th Floor, I was ushered in to a small room with some voting papers and a NZ official arrived to oversee the process. He told me he had been on a couple of immersion courses – six weeks each time but he didn’t often speak French and it was too easy to speak English in Brussels. I have to say that I was a little disappointed with the  reception at the Embassy, I was rather hoping for a cup of tea ( with real milk) and  a biccy – ok so the biccy was a bit optimistic - but no it was all very official and staid! Never mind, I had done my duty and voted!

 Soon I was back in a little street off the Grand Place sampling speculoos at Dandoy’s. ‘The original speculoos maker’. They are a spiced biscuit far superior to the factory-produced ones. As Granny had directed me to this delicious place, I took some speculoos home for her. There was another trip to Mary’s to taste a few more chocolates and then, this time, I found the Mannekin Pis’ sister along with a school group who were also taking lots of pictures.

Jenneke sister of Mannikin!

 I ended my trip with a visit to the Museum of Musical Instruments – really to see the panoramic view of Brussels from the top floor but actually, I found the instruments from all over the world, some more than a thousand years old, very interesting. You can plug in earphones at various points and hear the weird and wonderful instruments being played. Finally, it was time to return to Liege but there will be another trip to Brussels as I want to go to the Atomium  and the Comic Strip Museum.

A view of Brussels from outside the Museum of Musical Instruments