Brussels: Days 2 & 3

Friday, Sept. 4th - Saturday, Sept. 5th

The "to-do" list here in Brussels is a bit ambitious, but the main goal is to have a variety of activities to keep us awake while we try to acclimate to the nine-hour time difference. In an ideal world, I will have slept all night on the flight from Dulles to Belgium and will be ready to start the day. However, realistic expectations indicate that we might walk around like zombies most of Friday, just waiting until we can collapse into bed. Our beds, by the way, will be plush and right in the heart of the Grand-Place. Apparently, weekends in Brussels are slow with the business crowd vacating, so a lot of the fancy-pants hotels put their rooms up at an insane discount (our normally €200/night room worked out to be €60/night for our stay). We will be able to step out the door of our hotel with Brussels at our fingertips:

The Grand-Place: is the heart of the Lower Town of Brussels and arguably one of the best places to begin exploring the city. Within the Grand-Place is the Hôtel de Ville (town hall) surrounded by seventeenth-century guildhouses. Historically, the area was marshland, which was drained in the twelfth century. By 1350 the area was a hopping marketplace, due in part to the economic boom spurred by a flourishing cloth industry. The area solidified as a place of economic power when the various guilds built their headquarters here. Unfortunately for Brussels, a French artillery bombardment pretty much leveled the town in 1695 and only two guildhouses and portions of the Hotel de Ville survived. After the attack, the guildsmen quickly rebuilt and what survives today is an awesome show of Baroque flamboyance.

11th Annual Belgian Beer Weekend: When we booked our trip to Belgium and Germany way back in March, I had no idea that it would coincide with a Belgian beer festival. This happy accident has us touching down in Brussels the very day that the festival begins. Literally right around the corner from our hotel will be hundreds of beers to sample. I haven't even bothered to count the number of breweries participating, the list is that insane.

Art Nouveau Walking Tour: Brussels is known for its Art Nouveau architecture and several neighborhoods are hot spots for soaking in all of the splendor. Potential stops include the Horta Museum (architect Victor Horta's former house and studio), strolling down rue Defacqz (not a typo) and avenue Louise, or the Cauchie House, which happens to be open only on the first weekend of each month! Another happy coincidence!

Cantillon Museum of Gueuze: The brewery is renown for producing amazing Gueuze beer, that consists of old and new lambics (sour beer) blended and bottled for a second spontaneous fermentation. The result is usually a very dry, tart (almost cidery) beer that in some guides has been associated with descriptors such as "chicory," "leathery," "barnyard-like," "horse blanket." Believe me, I've tasted several Gueuze that definitely are an acquired taste, but others have been quite pleasant and I'd gladly take them over the more mundane varieties of Belgian ales. Also, lambics are the base for kriek beer (fermented with cherries), which is probably on my top 3 list of favorite Belgian-style beverages.

Musée d'Art Ancien: has a great collection of early (15th through 18th century) Flemish artwork. Some of the most vivid images that I remember from my art history courses in college involve early Flemish painters, such as Hieronymus Bosch who painted fantastic (and somewhat futuristic and gory) murals illustrating religious and moral stories. He's like the Salvator Dali of 15th and 16th century Flanders. One of my favorites of his works (and probably his most well known) is the Garden of Earthly Delights triptych. I know this is supposed to be a vacation, but I feel it would be very sad to be in the same city with all of this great artwork and not stop in at least for a few minutes.

Leonidas Chocolates: I was told by a German family friend that Leonidas is the best chocolate money can buy. I was also instructed to try at least three different kinds. Judging from the online menu, I may have to try more than three. It's a good thing that we'll only be in Brussels for a short period of time!

Moules Frites (Mussels & Fries): As I've read, in Belgium, mussels are prepared in a variety of ways, but most commonly (and in my opinion, most deliciously) with fresh herbs and flavorful vegetables with a wine-based stock. According to one of my favorite beer guides, Good Beer Guide Belgium, "Belgian frites are better than British chips or American fries and, yes, myocardial masochists do coat them with commercial mayonnaise from a tin." (As a side note totally unrelated to Belgium or mussels, Tim Webb has a wicked sense of humor and made me want to actually read his guide book from cover to cover. I laughed aloud at his insight and snark.)