This weekend was fantastic, nice and warm. My wife and I we decided to take a walk around the city looking at some of the many cartoon mural drawings that are covering part of Brussels buildings.
Daltons
This is a very nice stroll and will take the wanderer through some lovely parts of Brussels. It is about 4-5K and along the way you will see other sights of Brussels, some already mentioned in this blog. Later I will publish a map to help you find the way. You can download it with details of the walk including gps information. Now and next week I will give you the highlights of this inspiring walk.
Rue Blaes
I suggest you start at Place Sablon by the grand church, the Église Notre Dame du Sablon (Church of Our Lady of Sablon) a Late Gothic church, is hovering over the antique market on the weekends. The area is known for its many small antique shops but also bars, restaurants and chocolate shops. Go down the pedestrian street between the Leffe café and Godiva chocolate shop, Rollebeek street. This street is full with cafés and small restaurants, if you prefer you can start with a bite or maybe a beer.
Follow this short street and on the left you will pass Le Estrille one of the oldest inns in Brussels from 1587. I haven’t been there yet so it is on the list for a review later.
Le Estrille
Take a left directly over a square and follow Blaes street straight on. This street is full of fantastic shops with all kind of stuff mostly old things. This walk will take you right to the flea market I mentioned last week at Place du Jeu de Balle.
Here you will find the first mural and after a couple of blocks you will see this nice Asterix drawing together with the well-known Daltons.
Asterix
Mural
The walk continues and soon you will be at the famous Spinnekoppeke restaurant. During week days you can grab a nice dinner here, a little bit on the expensive side though. It serves as a bar before lunch and between 3-6 pm after that it is a dinner restaurant; closed on Sundays. This is now also on my list for future review.
Halles Saint Géry
Let me stop there and suggest a lunch at Place Saint-Géry, a wonderful corner with several small bars and restaurants with international cuisine and extensive outdoors seating perfect for after-work. The area is also known for its trendy night-life. It also houses the old market Halles Saint-Géry that holds art events during the day and the bar is open all night with music. This is also the zero point of Brussels where everything is measured from. Originally this place was an island in the Senne river but in the 1870 the river was covered and the covered market hall was built on the site.
The beer this week is a standard Belgian lager. The Maes pils is brewed by Alken-Maes nowadays owned by Heineken. With Jupiler, it is one of the two best-selling lagers in Belgium. In 2009 they changed recipe and raised the percentage to 5,2% together with rebranding new logo and embossed bottle.
Maes Pils
Honestly a very basic lager reminds me of the watery American style of beers. Okay together with a simple meal but there was no fun and no exiting taste in this bottle.
Coming weeks:
- Mural walk continues
- EU continued
- In search for the best beer (an on-going quest for the perfect pint)
- More seafood
- Cheese
- Parks
- Culture
- Markets
- Politics
Facts of the week;
Drink; Maes pils, 5,2% easy to forget
Location; Place Saint-Géry
Point Of Interest; Place Sablon
