Brussels, Belgium

From Feb 20-22 Becky and I visited my cousin Susan who is studying in Brussels for the semester. The Eurostar made this an easy trip; we arrived in under two hours and avoided any airport hassles. 

On Saturday we explored Brugge. Unfortunately, the Groeninge Museum which we wanted to see was closed. Instead we visited the Basilica of the Holy Blood that features a huge gaudy silver reliquary which they claim contains a vial of Jesus' blood (ahem, vampires?) and the Onze Lieve Vrouwkerk that boasts a Madonna by Michaelangelo. Despite the celebrity sculpture, we were more intrigued by the excavated 13th and 14th century tombs with rough drawings and graffiti on the inside. We didn't stay for long though since the church was so cold we could see our breath. We walked the narrow cobbled streets and found the courtyard of the monastery (peaceful) and the museum devoted to "friet" (freaky). Brugge itself was reminiscent of Cambridge with old stone buildings perched along a small river (which is which?) although they have horse drawn carriage rides in addition to boat tours which doubles the number of shills hawking tourist transportation.

In Brussels the Grote Markt is the central plaza but we were surprised to find it almost empty in the morning. Since the city lacks that blockbuster attractions of some other European capitals, I suspect it doesn't draw the same size crowds and they're not clustering around a small set of highlights. We visited the huge collection on display at the Royal Museum of Fine Arts of Belgium including David's Death of Marat, a smattering of modern masterpieces (Magritte, Picasso, Chagall), and a special exhibition featuring Reubens paintings of an intimidating scale. We also paid a visit to the Mannekin Pis, the Cathedral in Brussels, the EU Quarter, and the Science Museum. 

The food was a highlight throughout the trip. The first night Becky ordered what must qualify as a "bucketful" of mussels at Aux Armes de Bruxelles and the second night we ate at a good bistro-esque place called Les Brassins. I'm not usually one to rave about beers but the Trappist beer and kreik (cherry beer) were great. Other food stops included the original Pan Quotidian (sandwich of beef carpaccio) and a midday break for a Belgian Waffle (of course).

Overall, highlights were getting to catch up with Susan and the Reubens exhibition at the art museum. Lowlight was Becky bruising her heel while walking in Brugge.