Today marks a small milestone for Carl and I; it was exactly six months ago that we first arrived in Brussels! We've definitely enjoyed our time here so far, but in some respects it doesn't seem like it's been that long. For instance, we don't really feel like we've discovered all of the city yet (that was obvious to me after writing my last post!), and we know for sure that we haven't yet learned enough French!! We are definitely making progress in both areas though, and having a great time in the process!
I'm sure the questions on everyone's minds are how much longer will we be staying here, and where are we headed next? Well the short answer is we haven't got the foggiest idea!!! :-) Now for the long answser: I think it's safe to say that we will be here until at least early to mid-June, but after that it's pretty up in the air. Carl doesn't really need to be here after his classes finish in April, so technically we could leave anytime after that. However, we plan to stay until either a job opportunity comes up or until our financial cushion begins to wear down, whichever happens first. We're both starting the process of looking for jobs, and we're willing to go pretty much anywhere for a good opportunity, so we'll have to wait and see what happens in the coming months. To sum it all up, this is an uncertain but very exciting time for us!
Saturday, February 23, 2008
Wednesday, February 20, 2008
Things to do and see in Brussels
It occurred to me the other day that other than some pictures I took the week we arrived and a description of our "Car Free Sunday" outing, I haven't really described what kinds of things there are to attract visitors to Brussels. We've been living here as "locals" and haven't had any visitors of our own yet, so I'm embarrassed to admit that there are quite a few attractions we have yet to see. Despite that, I'm going to give a run-down of what's on offer for visitors.
The obvious attractions which most people are familiar with are the Grand Place and the Mannekin Pis, both of which I've photographed and put onto the blog. Beyond that however, the attractions aren't quite as familiar. So to give you an idea, here's a little list:
1-The Atomium is a gigantic space-age looking structure that was built for the 1958 World's Fair, and replicates the atomic structure of an iron crystal, magnified 165 billion times! This is one of the things I have to admit I haven't seen yet, but I'll try to get there soon and get some pictures for you!
2-Museums: there are quite a few of course, but the best-known are the Royal Museum of Central Africa (the Belgians have a rather brutal colonial legacy in the Congo) and the Royal Museum of Fine Arts. There are also a few non-traditional museums of course - one is the Belgian Center for Comic Strip Art. That's not it of course; all told, there are more than 75 museums in the city according to Arthur Frommer's website. Oh, and of course we've been to NONE of these places!
3-The European Quarter and Parliament: there aren't any museums or beautiful old buildings here (although the huge Triumphal Arch is nearby with some great views), just modern skyscrapers erected to house the various offices of the European Parliament and related organizations. It is kind of neat to walk through this area though, and as one might expect the neighborhood is also home to a few excellent Irish pubs - remember how much we like those! :-)
4-Bars and beer...I've commented on this one before, but I have to reiterate that Belgium is truly a beer country! With names like "A la Morte Subite" ("Sudden Death"), and "Le Bier Circus" (I assume that needs no translation?), the pub culture in Brussels is unique, fun and most of all VARIED! There is also a museum dedicated to beer, the Belgian Brewers Museum. Their website is www.beerparadise.be - gotta love that!
5-Dining: again I have a confession for you - we haven't been to very many "Belgian" restaurants, but I can tell you that whatever the cuisine, Belgians know how to do good food! Thank goodness we do a lot of walking and have been busy training for the marathon, because otherwise I would think that we might have gained instead of lost weight since arriving here!
6-Shopping: given our current employment status we of course have been unable to indulge in this visitor's pastime, but believe me when I say that a shopaholic of just about any kind would have a field day in this city! The Avenue Louise shopping district just south of the city center has a plethora of designer stores (if you have to ask how much, you can't afford it!), and the city center has an interesting mix of kitschy souvenir stores, elegant boutiques, shops selling traditional Belgian goods such as lace, and of course dozens of CHOCOLATE shops! You can spend a fortune or a pittance (well maybe not exactly thanks to the belaguered US dollar), but spend you can!!
Well there you have it, a brief introduction to the city we've called home for the past several months. Overall I would sum it up by saying that it may not be full of famous sites like Paris or Rome, but Brussels has its own distinctive charm, and we are thrilled to have the opportunity to explore and discover its treasures!
The obvious attractions which most people are familiar with are the Grand Place and the Mannekin Pis, both of which I've photographed and put onto the blog. Beyond that however, the attractions aren't quite as familiar. So to give you an idea, here's a little list:
1-The Atomium is a gigantic space-age looking structure that was built for the 1958 World's Fair, and replicates the atomic structure of an iron crystal, magnified 165 billion times! This is one of the things I have to admit I haven't seen yet, but I'll try to get there soon and get some pictures for you!
2-Museums: there are quite a few of course, but the best-known are the Royal Museum of Central Africa (the Belgians have a rather brutal colonial legacy in the Congo) and the Royal Museum of Fine Arts. There are also a few non-traditional museums of course - one is the Belgian Center for Comic Strip Art. That's not it of course; all told, there are more than 75 museums in the city according to Arthur Frommer's website. Oh, and of course we've been to NONE of these places!
3-The European Quarter and Parliament: there aren't any museums or beautiful old buildings here (although the huge Triumphal Arch is nearby with some great views), just modern skyscrapers erected to house the various offices of the European Parliament and related organizations. It is kind of neat to walk through this area though, and as one might expect the neighborhood is also home to a few excellent Irish pubs - remember how much we like those! :-)
4-Bars and beer...I've commented on this one before, but I have to reiterate that Belgium is truly a beer country! With names like "A la Morte Subite" ("Sudden Death"), and "Le Bier Circus" (I assume that needs no translation?), the pub culture in Brussels is unique, fun and most of all VARIED! There is also a museum dedicated to beer, the Belgian Brewers Museum. Their website is www.beerparadise.be - gotta love that!
5-Dining: again I have a confession for you - we haven't been to very many "Belgian" restaurants, but I can tell you that whatever the cuisine, Belgians know how to do good food! Thank goodness we do a lot of walking and have been busy training for the marathon, because otherwise I would think that we might have gained instead of lost weight since arriving here!
6-Shopping: given our current employment status we of course have been unable to indulge in this visitor's pastime, but believe me when I say that a shopaholic of just about any kind would have a field day in this city! The Avenue Louise shopping district just south of the city center has a plethora of designer stores (if you have to ask how much, you can't afford it!), and the city center has an interesting mix of kitschy souvenir stores, elegant boutiques, shops selling traditional Belgian goods such as lace, and of course dozens of CHOCOLATE shops! You can spend a fortune or a pittance (well maybe not exactly thanks to the belaguered US dollar), but spend you can!!
Well there you have it, a brief introduction to the city we've called home for the past several months. Overall I would sum it up by saying that it may not be full of famous sites like Paris or Rome, but Brussels has its own distinctive charm, and we are thrilled to have the opportunity to explore and discover its treasures!
Thursday, February 14, 2008
Happy Valentine's and Travel update
So it turns out that the ubiquitous "holiday of love", Valentine's Day, is celebrated in Europe as well. However, it doesn't seem to be quite as big of a deal over here, and we are happy to not be constantly bombarded with jewelry, flower and chocolate advertisements. We're spending a quiet evening and dinner at home, but we've got a busy weekend coming up, with friends hosting a party Friday night, dinner plans with another couple on Saturday, and - what else? - a 16 mile training run on Sunday. This one is definitely going to be a challenge, but we're feeling great so far (no injuries, knock on wood!), and if we can both successfully finish this run it will do a lot for our confidence going into the last few weeks of training.
I also have an update on our travel plans. We've booked another mini-trip, this time to Barcelona, Spain. We'll fly there the morning of March 6th, and will return the 9th, so it's only for a long weekend. Still, that should be a perfect amount of time to see the city, and enjoy the warm weather (fingers crossed!), good food and good wine for which Spain is famous! I will of course take pictures and write a trip report, as always!
I also have an update on our travel plans. We've booked another mini-trip, this time to Barcelona, Spain. We'll fly there the morning of March 6th, and will return the 9th, so it's only for a long weekend. Still, that should be a perfect amount of time to see the city, and enjoy the warm weather (fingers crossed!), good food and good wine for which Spain is famous! I will of course take pictures and write a trip report, as always!
Sunday, February 10, 2008
Ghent - Round Two
The past few days have produced some of the nicest weather we've had in months, so yesterday we decided on a whim to take a daytrip to Ghent. I went there last Fall with our friend Johanna while Carl was back in the U.S., so this was my second visit, his first. The weather was absolutely gorgeous all day long - in the low to mid 50's F, no wind and not a cloud in the sky! It made for some really nice photos compared to what I got last Fall, so I decided to post a few despite the fact that you've already seen some pictures of Ghent.
Ghent is quickly becoming my favorite place in Belgium...it's attractive, historical and friendly, but not too touristy. One thing that did disappoint this time: the canal cruise. When Johanna and I did one last September it was in a small, open-air boat and was excellent, but probably because it's winter now they weren't running those boats (even though the weather was MUCH nicer than it was in September!). The one we ended up on was enclosed and had about three times as many people on it. At times it was so loud that we could barely hear the captain's commentary, and it's hard to take good pictures through glass. Based on the three canal cruises I've now taken (two in Ghent, one in Amsterdam), I would HIGHLY recommend the smaller, open boats over the larger enclosed ones if you have the choice!
Photo #1: canal view in the old city. Right in the center you can see the canal cruise boat we took - to be avoided if possible!
Photo #2: a kayaker and his trusty companion paddling one of the canals - too cute!
Photo #3: a great little pub that I've now enjoyed on both of my visits. This is also the spot where the "good" canal cruises depart when they're running - note the covered open-air boat at the bottom of the frame.
Ghent is quickly becoming my favorite place in Belgium...it's attractive, historical and friendly, but not too touristy. One thing that did disappoint this time: the canal cruise. When Johanna and I did one last September it was in a small, open-air boat and was excellent, but probably because it's winter now they weren't running those boats (even though the weather was MUCH nicer than it was in September!). The one we ended up on was enclosed and had about three times as many people on it. At times it was so loud that we could barely hear the captain's commentary, and it's hard to take good pictures through glass. Based on the three canal cruises I've now taken (two in Ghent, one in Amsterdam), I would HIGHLY recommend the smaller, open boats over the larger enclosed ones if you have the choice!
Photo #1: canal view in the old city. Right in the center you can see the canal cruise boat we took - to be avoided if possible!
Photo #2: a kayaker and his trusty companion paddling one of the canals - too cute!
Photo #3: a great little pub that I've now enjoyed on both of my visits. This is also the spot where the "good" canal cruises depart when they're running - note the covered open-air boat at the bottom of the frame.
Monday, February 4, 2008
Le Super Bowl - en français bien sûr!
We've stayed up late tonight to watch the Super Bowl - it got underway at about 12:30 AM here. We actually do get a broadcast of it at our apartment, via one of the French stations. It's entirely in French of course, and we see none of the commercials (geez, why else would you watch??), so given that and the fact that it's late, we're going to have a hard time staying awake till the end! It is pretty funny to listen to commentary of this most American of sports in another language, so I decided to record a short clip of it to share with you. Sorry it's not of the highest quality, but you should be able to clearly hear one of the commentators say "C'est magnifique!" right at the end when the Giants complete a pass. Too funny!!!
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