It might have just been a few days since I arrived in Brussels, but it is now time to say good buy as I head onwards to Copenhagen. I might have been staying in Brussels, but I end up seeing a lot less of the city than I expected. Mainly due to side trips to visit Bruges and Antwerp. So today I will share with you just a little bit of what I did get to see around Brussels.
Exploring Brussels
My visit to Brussels took an entirely different direction to many other cities I have visited. The time I spent looking around was mostly with a friend who lives here, and there was no plan what so ever. For a little bit I did point out interesting looking area’s on the map, and we headed in that general direction. However, in general, we just took random turns and found some interesting spots.
The map that I had with me was one my friend insisted we go to find by www.use-it.be. They are excellent maps that instead of focusing on the details of the streets, they give you the gist and concentrate on the important attractions. The map is double sided, and each side is the same but highlights different areas by day or night.
Churches
Like many cities I have visited, I seem to find the churches in a city, of course, this was no different in Brussels. But there appears to be a much different approach to showing churches here. While there is the occasional church that is freely open to the public, many do not open except for services. Plus there were a couple that charged for general access outside of services.
Big Beautiful Buildings
Brussels has quite some rather lovely large older buildings. These are buildings that have some real character and an air of grandeur to them. One such building is the Courts of Justice building. Even though it is a huge building and looks rather beautiful on the outside, much of it is not in use. The problem is that much of the building is in disrepair and cannot be used.
Another large and beautiful building I just got to visit the outside is the Royal Palace. It is a building that holds a dominant position and is surround by some rather lovely gardens.
Brussels Views
I had wanted to get a photograph over the city, but there seemed to be rather few spots to do this. Below appears to be the best place that I could find for the moment.
Night Photography
Something that I love to do when I get the chance is to head out and take some photos at night. In Europe at this time of year though that is not the easiest thing to do with the sun not setting until around 8.30pm. But somewhere around 9.30pm I headed out to a square near to the hotel and was able to get the photo below.
The Things You Find
Sometimes when you are wandering the streets of a city, you come across some random stuff. In one case I was walking around Brussels with a friend, and we came across the scene below. There were some cars painted all yellow and full of plants. The road around the area was painted yellow, and so was a bunch of the sidewalk. Upon doing some research, it seems to be for a project called “Walking Madou” to create pedestrian space. Not something you see every day and the installation was only in place for around five months I believe.
I am leaving Brussels and Belgium for that matter rather happy. I have made excellent use of my time here getting to see parts of three beautiful cities. Having spread myself a little thin in seeing so many different cities while I have been here. It leaves me in a position that I will happily return in the future. I would be happy to spend more time in any of the three cities and explore a little more.
