June 19 - Around Brussels

Free day in Brussels - cloudy with a bit of drizzle, but warm enough to not need a jacket.

Today is all about architecture & statues.  Oh yeah, a couple of waffles & some chocolates well.


My first stop is the Grand Place, the large square in the centre.  Beautiful buildings all around.


























The square is dominated by the Town Hall, much larger than the rest with the incredible steeple.






A covered shopping mall.  It's still early, so not busy yet.















Away from the square is the Cathedral of Saint Michael & Saint Gudula.










Inside the cathedral,  Note how the organ is suspended on the columns over the left side of the Nave.











And the pulpit on the other side.

A group of stained glass windows in an area referred to as the Treasure.











Enough architecture.  A couple of bike pix.  Here's a two young child in the front seat version.













On the wall of this cycle shop are 9 folding bikes.  The tires are about 16 inches diameter (my bike has 27 inch), and the whole bike folds up nicely.  Not a bad choice for traveling or taking on a bus or up to the office to prevent theft.  








Statue department.  My vote for the ugly statue(s) award.












This guy is called Manneken-Pis.  First put in place in 1618, it is (apparently one of the best known symbols of Brussels).

And here is Het Zinneke, the piddling dog.  He is relatively new, having been installed in 1998.

According to Wikipedia, he was hit by a car in 2015, and re-installed by the sculptor.








Lunch rime and a crepe and a waffle (both Belgian food groups).  The crepe had chocolate sauce & ice cream.  The waffle had strawberries (I asked for no cream as I'm on a diet).

After lunch I went further afield using the subway, the destination being The Cinquantenaire Arch in the park of the same name.  Erected in 1905 to celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of Belgium's independence.

Notice some smoke near the base of the arch.








Close-up of the statue at the top of the arch.













So, what was with the smoke?  Turns out to be filming in progress.  A group of people, dressed as peasants are hauling a flag draped carriage under the arch.  Lots of shouting and yelling, and many takes while I was there.








There are two buildings attached to the arch, one each side.  One is the Art and History Museum, the other the Royal Military Museum. I had time for a quick tour of one of them.. Guess which one I chose? (sorry, Julie).  

A couple of photos to end this piece.  A WWI tank and a Triplane.















We're back on the bikes tomorrow.  110 km to Breda

June 18 - Bruges to Brussels

First - check back into my June 17 post as I added some more photos.


Onto June 18 - it was a dark & stormy looking morning; not as much tailwind as the day before and drizzle / light rain a few times.  Flat countryside, so we can make good time.

A good part of the trip is alongside the canals.  Here's one of their freight barges,






The city of Gent is on the way.  A view as we enter it.












One of the churches in Gent













 This style was typical of a number of buildings.












 A beautiful clock tower with flying buttresses.













The local trams.  Negotiating cycles over the tracks is second nature for the locals, but us "foreigners"  need to pay lots of attention to avoid getting caught.

Many more beautiful sights in Gent, but time to move on.

One of two traditional windmills seen today.  No doubt more to come.
















A lot of the roads in town & out have dedicated cycleways.  Also, many Belgian flags hanging from balconies.  Patriotic Belgians?  Maybe.  Perhaps the fact that Belgium as playing their first World Cup game later on had something to do about it.


Mary, one of the faster cyclists, was having problems with her (skinny) tires, so I gave her a hand, and then we scooted into Brussels.  As usual, no photos on the way in due to traffic mayhem and me staring at F.R.E.D.  in an attempt to navigate.

We got settled in a hotel near the centre of town (Marivaux).  Out for some nice Belgian beer with Judy from New Zealand.

This is at 'A la Mort Subite.











My photo inside the pub didn't turn out so I stole one off the web.

Off to another bar (Delerium Taphouse), watching Brussels win their game and then dinner.












Later on we were in The Grand Place watching some street performers.  The skies became completely clear and the evening sun made for a nice photo.

Encouraging some of the audience to participate.


June 19 now - a day off and it's still early.  Time to do a little more bathtub laundry and then out for a wander.  Possibly a Belgian Waffle & some chocolate  .........