A curious Swede in Brussels

“Museum Night Fever” was back on Saturday 3 March 2012, featuring museums as you’ve never seen them before! Check it out at: http://www.museumnightfever.be/en/  and save the date for next year.

Museum Night Fever

No fewer than 24 Brussels museums stayed open until the wee hours of the morning for an offbeat program of events; a sparkling winter cocktail of exhibitions, concerts, performances, video, workshops and DJs!  Free shuttle busses from STIB operated three different routes.

Scary

When the museums closed their doors at 1am,  the night was only just beginning for all the young people and those with a fair amount of stamina…the time had come to exteriorize on the dance floor all the impressions from the museums. In two different venues: the Fuse (techno), recently voted the best Belgian club of all time, and the You Night Club (commercial/house), the dancing heart of Brussels huge after parties where prearranged.

Culture and museums are not all that Brussels has to offer. The city is also greener than you may think, with over 8,000 hectares of green spaces. They take the form of parks, woodlands, and the Foret de Soignes, covering half the region in total. Green areas are distributed unequally around the Brussels-Capital Region; 70% of them are in the outer suburbs, while only 10% is found in the city center.

Park Woluwe

This week we would like to recommend a four hour cycling route that covers most of the “Greenland”. The trail starts at Flagey in Ixelles, tackles small roads until the Boulevard du Triomphe, continues on miner roads parallel to the Chaussee de Wavre until the Parc de Woluwe is reached.

Tervuren bike tour 40K

Here you may take a break and visit the Musée du Tram, www.trammuseumbrussels.be/ Then, like on rails, (tram 44 runs alongside) the cycle lane continues on the Avenue de Tervueren all the way to the Kolonienpaleis in Duisburg. The Palace is part of the Royal Museum for Central Africa, www.africamuseum.be/ .

Africa Museum

Take another well deserved break if it tickle your fancy. Additionally, well worth exploring  are the surrounding parkland and many ponds. Circle the entire park; from here on the adventure really starts. Lustful greenery surrounds the track back through a spectacularly beautiful arboretum (www.arboretum–tervuren.be/ ) and the vast forest woodland, the Sonian Forest. The woods consist mainly of beeches and oaks; several trees are more than 200 years old, very wide and towering.

Sonian Forrest

Alongside bridleways huge copper beeches form lovely forest curtains. The Sonian Forest served for a long period as an exclusive hunting ground for the nobility, however is today open to the general public, criss crossed by paths for pedestrians, cyclists and riders.

Easy enjoyable biking

Forest de Soigne

Set out in a north western direction and you will all too soon reach Bois La Cambre just south of the Ixelles ponds and the finish line at Flagey.

Ixelles ponds and Flagey

Treat yourself to a pint at the Irish pub de Valera´s and if it´s a weekend maybe also a well-deserved Sunday Roast.

Gulden Draak

I also got time to taste a really strong beer this week the Gulden Draak (Triple dark 10,5 %) which owes its name to the gilded statue on top of the Belfry in Ghent. This was kind of a special beer with a sweet carmel and malty taste. It also had some bitterness and the alcohol comes in the end and hit you, take care. The design of the bottle is awesome.

Facts of the week;

Drink; Gulden Draak 10,5% Dark Triple

Location; Tervuren 40K on bike

POI: Museum Night Fever (once a year a must)

Last week was Valentine when flowers, cards and presents was sent to celebrate the day of Love. Saint Valentine, in one of many legends, was a priest in Rome who secretly married lovers. Before he was killed he wrote a love letter to the daughter of the prison guard and signed it your Valentine.  The tradition to celebrate your loved one on February the 14^th started during the 19^thcentury in US and rapidly became a huge successaround the globe.

Valentine couple, better a kiss in the woods then ten on your hand!

However I missed it due to travel but on the other hand, in my opinion, Valentine and New Year’s Eve for that matter is for amateurs.

Ground squirrel

In the forrest here in Belgium we see this little animals running all over the place. In UK we saw mostly the Gray Squirrels (originally from North America) and in Sweden we still have the Red Squirrel or European Squirrel.

Breugel route in Pajottenland

We took out the bikes this weekend and went for a longer (45 km) tour along the Beugelroute in the Pajottenland (West of Brussels, part of Flemish Brabant province). It is primarily farmland, quite flat and famous for its many Lambic Breweries like Timermanns, Girardin, de Troch, Lindemans, de Neve and Eylenbosch.

Timmermans Brewery

Along the route there is also small villages and some castles. The route can be reached around 15 km from the center of Brussels. It is most likely possible to use the train to get an easier logistic with the bikes.

We didn’t make the full tour and plan to get back when it is a little bit warmer. More info can be found here: Breugelroute pdf

Lambs, means that spring is not so far away

We have started to learn a little bit of French. How difficult can it be? As Alexander Dumas once said English is badly spoken French. With over 60% of the vocabulary in English coming from French, my wife and I are now having a go at it (self-studies with Michel Thomas). As the second most studied language after English it is spoken around the globe in many countries like Switzerland, Quebec in Canada and some places in Africa like Algiers and Gabon. It is the official language in 29 countries including the official language of UN and some other international organizations. In Belgium 40% of the population is native French speaking but many of the Flemish speaking people also have French as a second language. This means that about 65% of the people in Belgium speaks and understand the language and hopefully we will be among those.

Semla- fastlagsbulle

It is now the Lent period and the coming week with Fat Tuesday (Shrove Tuesday) means that it is Mardi Gras festival time here in Belgium. One of the most well-known is the Carnival of Binche this year 19^th -21^st of February.

Fat Tuesday is also the official Day of the Semla in Sweden when people eat a lot of these buns filled with marzipan and whipped cream.

Bon secours Blond

The beer this week comes from Caulier Brewery in Péruwelz southwest of Brussels close to the French border. Bon Secours 8% is a bottle conditioned blonde beer. It is sweet, malty beer with some spicy taste. It is a decent beer.

Coming weeks:

• EU continued
• In search for the best beer (an on-going quest for the perfect pint)
• More seafood
• Cheese
• Parks
• Culture, Comics
• Markets
• Politics

Facts of the week;

Drink; Bon Secours 8%

Location;  Bruegelroute, 45 K bike tour in Pajottenland

POI: Lambic breweries in Pajottenland

After a solid English cooked breakfast we headed off for Antwerp, the capital of Flanders. The city is only 45 min away by train from Brussels but feels like a different country alltogether. We arrived by train to the impressive Central Station. Inside we found two monumental neo-baroque facades, a large metal- and glass dome with a gold-plated and marble interior.

Central Station in Antwerp

Antwerp Zoo is just behind the station and was founded in 1843. It is one of the oldest Zoo’s in the world and well-known for of its high level of research and conservation. However it was far too cold for a visit this time.

The main shopping street, the Meir starts not far from the station, which takes the visitor to the historic old town. This street, partly pedestrian, is one of the nicest shopping streets I have seen so far here in Belgium. It is spacious with all the shops you need for your Saturday shopping spree.

Boerentoren

On the way up to the old town you will pass the oldest skyscraper in Europe, the Boerentoren also called KBC tower, a 26 storey building build in 1932.

Belgium is famous for its remarkable Grand Place-like squares. Grote Markt in Antwerpen is also impressive with a town hall in Renaissance-style.

Town Hall, Grote Markt Antwerp

In front is the legendary hero Brabo who defeated the giant that was guarding the crossing of the river Scheldt. If the traveller didn’t pay toll, he cut of their hand. Instead Brabo crushed the giant and cut off his hand and through it into the river, hence the name Antwerpen, from Dutch hand werpen.

Cathedral of Our Lady in Antwerp

Around the corner from the square is the Cathedral of Our Lady, a stunning gothic cathedral with a grandiose exterior and large interior with works by Rubens such as The Raising of the Cross, The Descent from the Cross, The Resurrection and The Assumption.

Grote Markt in Antwerp

There are a couple of other churches to look at as well, like St James’ Church that contains the tomb of Rubens and the church of St Paul close by.

Steen, Antwerp Castle

No far away, down by the river stands Antwerp Castle. Built at a time when most castles and other dwellings were normally constructed of wood, the stone edifice of Antwerp Castle was a striking landmark. Known as  ‘t Steen (The Stone) it stands by the river and once formed part of the town’s fortifications.  A hot drink was now needed so we found an interesting little café, La Lombardia or Ginger Love (http://www.gingerlove.be/tour/) a vegetarian place with a lot of exiting drinks and snacks.

One of many Madonnas

Antwerp is also the home town of the great Flemish Baroque painter Peter Paul Rubens so don’t miss out on the cultural opportunities like the Royal Museum of Fine Arts with the old masters Rubens, Van Dyck, Titian. The former home of Rubens the Rubenshuis is now a museum. The Plantin-Moretus Museum contains an exceptional collection of printing material. Not only does it house the two oldest surviving printing presses in the world and complete sets of dies and matrices, it also has an extensive library, a richly decorated interior and the entire archives of the Plantin business, which were inscribed on UNESCO’s world heritage list in 2001 in recognition of their historical significance could be well worth a visit.

de Koninck

There is also beer brewed in Antwerp, the Brouwerij De Koninck (Duvel-Moortgat) and I took a glass of de Koninck 5% Belgian Ale. Not much to talk about. It is a decent pilsner like beer, however better than both Jupiler and Stella.

Het Elfde Gebod , Kathedraalcafé

Before heading back to Brussels we had dinner at and old restaurant Het Kathedraalcafé (Torfbrug 10) also known as the Het Elfde Gebod (the 11th commandment) with a nice range of Trappist beers and Flemish food. The interior was sure different. The food was good although it was a crowded Saturday afternoon the services was acceptable.

Coming weeks:

• EU continued
• In search for the best beer (an on-going quest for the perfect pint)
• More seafood
• Cheese
• Parks
• Culture, Comics
• Markets
• Politics

Facts of the week;

Drink; de Koninck 5%, Belgian Ale

Location; La Lombardia/Ginger Love, Het Kathedraalcafé  

POI: Antwerp (see above)

What is in Leuven?
A/ The region’s largest and oldest university (Katholieke Universiteit Leuven)
B/ The world’s largest brewery group (Anheuser-Busch InBev)
C/ UNESCO world heritage site (The Grand Béguinage of Leuven)

Walk in Begijnhof

Just a short (30 km) drive north east of Brussels is the capital of the province of Flemish Brabant in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is an old city mentioned already 891 when the Vikings were around the area. In the 18th century Leuven became even more important as a result of the flourishing of the brewery now named AB InBev, and whose flagship beer, Stella Artois, is brewed in Leuven.

The city was heavily damaged during both world wars but was re-build by different charities.

Town Hall in Leuven

There is a lot to see like the Town hall at Grote Markt with the monumental St Peter’s Church just opposite. Voirste Huys (front house) is the well-known front of the Town hall and was completed in 1469 and bears some influence from Brussels. It was damaged during the wars but was re-built.

St Peter's Church in Leuven

Today Leuven is a student city with a very lively bar scenes including Belgium’s longest bar and the smallest one. 37,00 students with more than 5,000 international ones and with a staff of 10,000 people it is a big university. Of course the University buildings (some from 1425) are also a dominating part of the city.

One of many university buildings

Another interesting part of the city is The Grand Béguinage of Leuven (Groot Begijnhof). It is a well preserved and completely restored historical quarter containing a dozen of streets in the south of downtown Leuven.

Begijnhof

With some 300 apartments in almost 100 houses, it is one of the largest still existing béguinages in the Low Countries. The béguinage stretches on both sides of the river Dijle, which splits into two canals inside the béguinage, thus forming an island. Three bridges connect the parts of the béguinage.

Begijnhof and river Dijle

The complete béguinage is owned by the University of Leuven and used as a campus, especially for housing students and academic guests. It was built around 1232 and is today a UNESCO World Heritage site.

As explained in an earlier blog (from Bruges) the Beguines was not really a religious order but a society of women whom due to wars and other problems turned themselves away from the world and devoted themselves to live in humility where God had his place. There were also mystical ingredients with ecstasy and visions during their services.

Beer: Stella Artois 5,2% is today brewed in over one billion liters per year. During 2007, the “reassuringly expensive” slogan was dropped, and the word “Stella” has been avoided in the advertisements.

Stella Artois

This has been seen as a reaction to the lager’s perceived connection with aggression and binge-drinking in the United Kingdom, where it is nicknamed “wife beater”.

Stella Artois is one of the world’s best-selling beers and is available in more than 80 countries. It is a typical lager well suited to a basic meal. Nothing special but still one of the best everyday beers.

Coming weeks:
•    EU continued
•    In search for the best beer (an on-going quest for the perfect pint)
•    More seafood
•    Cheese
•    Parks
•    Culture, Comics
•    Markets
•    Politics

Facts of the week;
Drink; Stella Artois 5,2%
Location; Leuven
Poi: Grand Béguinage of Leuven