Vappu/Wappen in Brussels

We spent the previous weekend in Brussels, a weekend that most of our friends spent in Finland, celebrating the traditional Vappu (Wappen). The journey started nicely, because we had been upgraded to Business class on Blue1 and enjoyed champagne, roast beef - and proper knives & forks. Arriving to the hotel wasn't that bad either. We had a room high up on the executive floor, and enjoyed some free champagne (Nicholas Feuillette) and snacks there every day. And the view wasn't bad, either. Palais de Justice to the right, I believe. Sirpa liked other things at the hotel, too.


We spent most of the time in the Lower Town, just a few blocks walk from our hotel. Great old houses, statues, winding streets, cafes, great old buildings and cathedrals, and of course yummy chocolate and waffles. The only annoying thing was that we heard Finnish several times in the streets :-) When it comes to language, no problem managing in English, allthough street names and restaurant menues are mostly in French or Flamish.


We spent some time in the Cathedrale Sts Michel et Gudule, the national church of Belgium. Work on it began in 1225, but continued over 300 years. The Last Jurgement Window is famous, but I was even more impressed by the Baroque Pulpit, but the cathedral was filled with beautiful details.


We also walked around the Galerie St-Hubert, a "mall" with exclusive shops and cafes. And some funny details outside of it. We continued to Rue De Bouchers, a street filled with restaurants with seafood as speciality - and very affordable prices. It looked so touristy that we didn't try out any of them, though.


We actually walked for 6 hours the first day, so we had to take a break every now and then. We found a very nice cafe on Rue Neuve. A very small place with narrow stairs, very cozy, and great capuccino. So good that it was finished very quickly. To be honets, we found out that the capuccino was great everywhere... Here's another great place, with a cat that doesn't like tourists, but a great atmosphere - and great cappuccino. Yes, I know it's not Belgium-specific. I just happen to like cappuccino.


The Grand Place is another "must" area with great buildings all around you, in a square. Very impressive, and lots of details, a choir, etc.. Around that place there was all kinds of tourist shops, and all kinds of cute stuff. There were of course lots of places with one of the things Belgium is famous for - the beer. But since we're not beer-drinkers we have no idea how great they are.


But there's another thing that Belgium is famous for, and that's the chocolate. There was chocolate and other yummy stuff everywhere. It seems that everything that you can eat is great in this country. I read that there's more Michelin class restaurants in Belgium than in France, and the class of the food we had was really high, everywhere. Oh, and we even headed to a chocolate museum (which wasn't that impressive, BTW).


Next great-teasting stuff - the waffles! You could buy them everywhere, and they tasted just lovely! Take a look at the one I had, not bad, eh? And Sirpa's choice wasn't too bad, either. You could have anything in the street, like seafood snacks from a bowl. And I loved that, too. There was everything in the streets nearby, and lots of tourists (like the busses filled with people from Asia, but let's not get in to that here). Nearby we met Vincent Van Gogh, first Sirpa, and then me. We tourists? Nooot :-)


If you're a tourist in Brussels there's another must-see, the Manneken Pis. It's actually much smaller than you'd think. No, I don't mean that, but the statue itself :-) According to our guidebook in the 12th centure the some of a duke was caught urinating against a tree in the midst of a battle an dwas this commemorated in bronze as symbol of the country's military courage. I'd heard another story about the son being lost and found urinating against a tree. Oh, well, the statue is there, anyway.


There was of course all sorts of fresh seafood available in the restaurants, too, and what variety! like in Le Jardin de Catherine there was oysters, and you could choose from which part of the country (or if they came from abroad) they originated from. But my most memorable dish was still this dessert at La Belle Marraichere; usually the desserts are quite heavy, and after a proper entree and main course that can be too much. But this was fresh fruit, no (or very little) sugar, but so tasty!


I especially liked the building with cartoons on them, you could see them all over the place. Also some strange statues. And a very interesting way to move your furniture, but I guess it has to do with the fact that the stairs are so narrow in the houses that there's no other choice than going outside. Talking about strange, I found a strange small door in the toilet. Above it there was a sign saying "Shoe Box". Opening it and quessing a little we believe that you could put your shoes there, the cleaning woman would pick them (from outside your room) and have them cleaned. Other stuff at the hotel.


I was told by somebody accompaning me that the city is also great for shopping. Well, it has to be true, because even I bought something, and that's rare. What else, we tested the tram, experienced a hail shower (it got quite cold), saw one place greater than the other, and once again. A great place to visit, Brussels!