A curious Swede in Brussels

A beautiful weekend filled with a lot of possibilities. Saturday started with a 20K walk/run along part 5-6 of the Green Walk around Brussels. My wife and I picked up where we left in blog week 24.

The Green Walk part 5-6

The buss 95 to Wiener and from there a couple of blocks walk to the start at Tournay Solvay park. It is recommended a quick tour through the park which is very nice with a large rose garden and this time some art was on display.

Plastic art

After this small detour, the walk will cross the railway into Forest De Soignes and follow a straight road through the beautiful beech trees for about 2,5K until Uccle is reached.

Forest de Soignes

This part of Brussels is mainly a residential area but has a lot of green parks and forest. Here you will find the National weather station and the deepest indoor pool in the world Nemo33. This is a multi-purpose diving instruction, recreational, and film production facility. How deep? 33 m and contains some underwater caves as well.

Uccle is green

The walk is on the outskirts of Brussels and partly countryside but soon turns into industrial areas. The Senne river can be seen just before the channel Brussels-Charleroi is reached.

Anderlecht lock

Now the walk enters Anderlecht and one of the channel locks can be studied. Anderlecht is known by many from their famous football team.  After a km along the channel the walk turns and we recognised IKEAs big sign and knew where we were. Soon Erasmus University campus is reached and here we finished and took the Metro back.

The channel Brussels Charleroi

This segment of the circular walk is mostly nice but there are some ugly backsides of Brussels and the industrial areas are not so pleasant to walk through but of course part of a large city like Brussels.

Wolf in Anderlecht?

We lived several years in UK and Sundays meant usually Sunday Times and a Sunday roast. There is an English bookshop, Waterstones at Boulevard Adolphe Max 71, which is opened on Sundays. Here you can buy the newspapers and books, so we set off. With the paper in hand the next thing was to find a pub that served a Sunday roast. The afternoon was planned for some sights around Avenue Louise and we found the right pub Michael Collins although it is an Irish Pub it had to do. We got a delicious chicken and a Kilkenny together with the paper, it was the perfect Sunday.

In October Brussels celebrates Art Nouveau-Art Deco and especially Victor Horta. It is 150 years since his birth which is a good opportunity to arrange different activities like opening up private homes for unique visit to Horta creations.

From Voir et Dire Bruxelles you can read the following about Victor Horta :

Horta was an exceptional architect, a leader of the Art Nouveau movement, who not only created a style of architecture which completely changed the distribution of interior spaces while using the highest-quality materials and finishes, but also used his great talent to create different sorts of buildings: private houses, a school and a department store. You will be able to enjoy discovering most of Horta’s remaining buildings in Brussels during the Biennial Art Nouveau Event, including the Tassel House, the Solvay House, the Max Hallet House, the Autrique House, the Frison House, Horta’s own house, offices and workshops, the Vinck House, the Winssinger House, the Van Eetvelde House, the Primary School in the Rue Saint Ghislain and the former Wolfers jewellery shop. These buildings are some of the 66 Art Nouveau and Art Deco buildings that are not usually open to the public that will be opening to the public during the weekends of the Biennial Art Nouveau Event.

Hotel Tassel

After the lunch break we decided to take a walk and have a closer look at some of the more famous architecture in the Avenue Louise area.

The Tassel house; was built for prof. Tassel in 1893-94 and is considered to be the first Art Nouveau house with its innovative design and use of materials and decorations. This town house together with three others was placed on UNESCOs World Heritage list in 2000.

Hotel Solway

The Solvay house; Also on UNESCOS list is the large town house which was commissioned by the son of the wealthy industrialist Ernest Solvay. Horta spent a fortune on expensive materials such as marble, onyx, bronze and tropic woods.

Ciamberlani house

Ciamberlani house ; A very nice building by architect Paul Hankar also in Art Nouveau style. The ironwork, bricks and natural stone shows great originality.

Not far from these quarters is the Horta Museum well worth a visit.

On the way back I stumbled into the Octoberfest at Place Jourdan. The square is covered by a big tent and imported German beer, music and all the trimmings that makes this special beer festival.

La Trappe Quadruple

German beer is not on my list but La Trappe is they also have a quadruple. This is the strongest (10%) beer of La Trappe with a nice amber colour. This is a complex taste, a little bit on the sweet side with a pleasantly dry and bitter finish. Part of the answer could be that La Trappe Quadruple is fermented in oak barrels. This is definitely one of the best beers that come from La Trappe.

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; La Trappe Quadrupel 10%

Location: Michael Collins Irish Pub at Rue du Bailli 1 (off Avenue Louise)

POI :

Horta Museum, Rue Américaine 25

Hotel Tassel, Rue Paul Emile Janson 6

Hotel Solway, Avenue Louise 224

Maison Ciamberlani, Rue Defacqz 48

Another warm and sunny Saturday and I decided to take a trip to the Botanic Gardens, just outside Brussels. This is a large park (92 acres) and contains the historic Castle of Bouchout, with its square 14th century tower.

Castle of Bouchout

The Park, with its age-old trees, ponds and broad lawns, offers numerous walks and lead you through exquisite open-air collections of medicinal plants, herbaceous plants, shrubs, trees, and conifers.

Another world is revealed in the Plant Palace, an enormous glasshouse covering 2,5 acres with more than 10,000 plant species, an ideal location to introduce you to unusual tropical and subtropical plants from America, Africa, Asia, New Zealand and Australia.

Close to my apartment is Place Jourdan and I decided to check out an Indian restaurant Le Shimla. It is a little bit on the pricey side, nice atmosphere and the food was OK but I had much better. After a couple of years in London and also several trips to India it is always difficult to find good Indian food when you come to a new place. I will continue to search for something better because I love Indian food.

Mont des Cats

Earlier this summer there were some rumours regarding a new Trappist beer no 8. Some research lead me to Mont des Cats  and the Abbaye du Ste-Marie Mont des Cats, in Northern France known as French Flanders.  I also found the beer at Beermania in Brussels it is named ‘bière trappiste” on labels and product statements. No, there is no longer a brewery there (it closed early in the last century because the monk brewer died.) There are no plans to install a brewery, and the brothers of Mont des Cats have just their abbey and no money.

Cheese as well

The Amber beer is instead brewed in the Chimay brewery (Abbey of Notre Dame de Scourmont). The Alcohol percentage is 7.6% and the beer is well-hopped. Like other trappist beers it is refermented in the bottle. You will taste herbs, and the Chimay-lover will recognize some hints from the Chimay-Trappist beer. The beer goes perfectly together with cheese (the monks of Mont des Cats is supposed to produce excellent cheese!) and meat. A bit too bitter or should I say too dry. Sorry not even close to a decent Abbey or Trappist beer. Like the other Abbey/Trappist beers it hides the alcohol quite well.

During my research I also picked up rumours from the Netherlands that there might be the 8^th Trappist after all coming up. The Trappist monks of the Abbey of ‘Maria Toevlucht’ in Zundert have plans to start a brewery between the walls of their Abbey. This would mean that the Abbey of Zundert, instead of Mont des Cats, could carry the logo and be the 8th official Trappist Beer. If everything goes well, the first beer will be brewed in the end of 2012.

Monastic beers like Abbey and Trappist beers, unique in the world and even legally protected, offer premium products, with a wide range of flavours and colours, without compromising the quality and dedication, which is central to the way of life of these religious communities.

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; Mont De Cats 7,6%

Location: Indian restaurant Le Shimla, Place Jourdan

Point of Interest : Botanic Gardens

So it finally came, the last real weekend of the summer and by that also end of vacation. However it turned out to be an amazing weekend with temperatures close to 30 degrees. This must have been one of the hottest days this year.

Hop at Grand Place

Timing was superb with Brussels annual Beer Festival, what more can you wish for? Brussels and Grand Place were bustling with people and activities.

Silly beers at the Beer Festival

The Festival opened on Friday; first you buy some beer capsules which you then use for payment in the beer tents. You have a superb choice from Westvleteren to some beers you not even heard of.

The offical Beer chart

Here you have the full selection, if you can read without a magnifying glas.

There was also a lot of music and people were singing and dancing in the streets. Every outdoor establishment was completely packed not only around Grand Place but also all over Brussels.

On a typical weekday evening people usually gather for an after work drink at some of the many squares around Brussels. On Wednesday’s the place to be and to meet people is Place du Châtelain (Kasteleinsplein) with its afternoon market (14-19). Especially when the market closes the atmosphere is high. The area is crowded with small bars and restaurants of course you could also take something to eat from one of the many food stands in the market. They serve different small dishes including white wine and oysters. The square is just off Avenue Louise not far from the Ixelles ponds.

Biking in The Soignes Forest

The weather this week was mostly very nice, so one warm evening my wife and I took out the bikes and cycled down to the Aboretum in Groenendaal. It is a small arboretum in the Soignes Forest about 20K from Brussels centre.

Old and majestic trees

The road out of the city is very beautiful and most of the time perfect for cycling.

The forest is green, the hills inviting and they give you a relaxing and enjoyable ride.

Sunset on the way back

One thing I got curious about is the different number plates on the cars here in Belgium. I found out that they normally are linked to the person not the car. So you actually take your plate with you when you change car and that is the reason why you can see old and dirty plates on new cars. The number plate has a white background with red numbers and letters. In November 2010 Belgium introduced the standard European format as one of the last EU member states to do so. Of course there was a lot of hassle before there was a decision to preserve the red-on-white colour although a darker shade of red instead of EU standard black and white. Over the years there have been different variations like 5 characters: one letter and four numbers or two letters and three numbers. Later plates used a combination of three letters followed by three numbers: “AAA-111”. In June 2008 a new pattern was introduced with the numbers in front: “111-AAA”. Confusing? okay I better leave it there.

Open house at the Royal Palace

The Royal Castle, mentioned in earlier blog, open its doors a couple of weeks each summer. This was the last weekend it was opened to the public so I decided to pay the monarchs’ home a visit. You can walk around the rooms, corridors and monumental staircases and admire the priceless collections and decorative art originating from every continent. Obviously special attention goes to the party hall and the throne room. For several years this event has been the perfect occasion for His and Her Majesty to promote art, culture and sciences. This year an exhibition on chemistry and art is held in the ‘Grande Galerie’.

I found a silly beer at the Beer Festival which I haven’t seen before. It comes from Silly a village lying in the Ath, Enghien and Soignies triangle and is crossed by the Sylle, the river from which the village takes its name. Silly possesses a brewery that was founded in 1850 as Cense de la Tour, and that is today operated by the 5th generation.

Abbey de Forest

De Silly beer Abbey de Forest 6,5 % was a good choice. This is a triple style top fermentation beer fermented again in bottles. It is lightly scented aroma followed by a subtly bitter taste.  I would say a very nice beer and not so sweet as some other Abbey beers usually are.

Soignes Forest

Coming weeks:

• 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; Abbey de Forest 6,5 %

Point of Interest: Aboretum in Groenendaal

Location: Place du Châtelain (Kasteleinsplein)

This weekend we took, for the first time, an excursion up to the Ardennes. We programmed the gps for Dinant. This town means two things, at least, Sex and Beer! Sorry Sax and Beer.

Saxophones all over this place

No clues? If I mention Leffe and the Saxophone, does it ring any bells? The small town is situated by the river Meuse in the province of Namur (just an hour’s drive from Brussels). It is the hometown of Adolphe Sax. Sax invented the saxophone, among other instruments, which was patented in 1846.

In Dinant you will also find the abbey Notre Dame de Leffe which was founded in 1152. As many other monasteries they brewed beer. They  had some rough times over the years and the monastery was destroyed by flooding, fires, war and it was also completely deserted during the French revolution. The monks didn’t give up, they came back  and rebuilt the premises and in 1902 it was up and running again. Today the Leffe beer is brewed at the Stella Artois brewery in Leuven by the owners Anheuser-Busch InBev (one of the largest breweries in the world). Already in 1952 an agreement was signed, which is supposed to be the first of its kind, between the Leffe Abbey and the brewery to pay royalty for using the name Leffe. Together with the name Abbey beers a new category of beers was born. Today Affligem, Grimbergen and Corsendonk has similar agreements with the respective Abbeys.

Collegiate Church of Notre-Dame and the Citadel in Dinant

The city’s landmark is the Collegiate Church of Notre-Dame. It was rebuilt in Gothic Style on its old foundations after falling rocks from the adjacent cliff partially destroyed the former Romanesque style church in 1227.

Above the church you can see the fortified Citadel that was first built in the 11th century to control the Meuse valley. A cable car is available during the high season to take visitors from the Collegiate Church of Notre-Dame to the top of the Citadel.

We had lunch at Café Leffe, one of the many Leffe bars & restaurants you find around Belgium. It is situated in a nice location overlooking the river. Good food and service made it a nice break before we hit the road and started an 8 K walk around the surroundings. The weather was very unreliable this Saturday. Between sun and hail storm we managed to find our way back to the car, very wet. Besides a lot of water we also saw some Belgian “Blues”, a fishing competition in the Leffe river (we didn’t stay to find out who won).

The Green Walk part two

On Sunday we continued our mission to walk around Brussels along the Green Walk. The following part of the route was altogether almost 12K (it said 8.5K in the leaflet). As suspected a much greener path compared with the one from last week. The walk/run took us through several parks Parc de Ruddebeek, Parc Malou,  Parc de Wolouwe, Parc Seny, Parc Ten Reuken, Foret de Soignes and we finished in the Etangs de Boitsfort.

The Green Walk part two

A couple of things to think about if you plan to do the Green Walk; sometimes the route splits up, one for walkers and one for bikers.  You can miss some interesting sights by doing so. In this section follow the route for bikes otherwise you will miss the windmill Moulin Brulé Hof Ter Musschen  (see walk 18).

We soon joined the wellknown old railroad (Brussels-Tervuren) which we followed for several kilometres. When we reached Tervuren Avenue we saw the Tram Museum (which we still haven’t visited yet). We passed a couple of restaurants along the way (suggest that you get the official leaflet/map for the Green Walk, can also be downloaded also from their site use link in last weeks blog).

We passed this old water mill again, maybe someone recognise it from another walk (week 18), Le Moulin de Lindekemale – now a restaurant.

Le Moulin de Lindekemale

Leffe Radieuse

Leffe Radieuse 8,5%. The beer has a very nice red colour and a sweet taste, spicy with some bitterness. It might be one of the better Leffe  beers, not too bad but still well behind the top beers.

Anders takes a rest

Thanks, that is all for this week.

Coming weeks:

• 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; Leffe Radieuse 8,5%

Location; Cafe Leffe, Dinant

Point of Interest: Dinant, the Ardennes

Yes, back in Brussels after the longest vacation ever and one of the most amazing so far. I did the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu, something that has been on our list for many years. If anyone is interested check the photos here:

Views from Peru

This week, we decided to check out La Promenade Verte/De Groene Wandeling, a green route for walking or biking around Brussels in total 60km and each section is between 5-10 km. You will find more info here: La Promenade Verte

Green Route

We took the Metro to Houba-Brugmann ( close to Heysel/Atomium) and started the walk towards Atomium where the first section of the walk begins. At first it was quite nice with all the parks surrounding the Heysel area but soon the walk continues into the residential area in parallel to the large Royal Greenhouses of Laeken (only open during spring). The path is properly marked by this type of sign:

The Green Route

Now the walk is not so nice anymore and goes down to the Charleroi Canal (almost 50km long and consists of 14 locks).

Over the canal and the path heads for the Schaerbeek Railway Station.

Scharbeek Railway Station

The municipality has a bad reputation for several reasons. It has a large number of immigrants although it seems to slowly be changing with more people moving in due to its approximaty to the financial district and the airport. Next municipality is Evere. Here we walked pass some old garden allotments close to the railway and a small park area before reaching the lunch restaurant (marked on the map).  In this municipality we found Brussels large cementary and the NATO HQ among other things. Charles Lindberg flew the Spirit of St. Louis to Evere Airfield after his historic 1927 transatlantic flight to Paris.

At Jan de Paduwa Place we made one more drink stop before reaching the end of the Green Walk.  We took a bus back to to the center (Schuman). The two sections were 12 km altogether. However my suggestion would be to use the bike for this part of the green route. Next part of the route looks much more interesting and also greener. We will enter Woluwe-Saint-Lambert municipality where we already have made a very nice walk (see an earlier blog).

I am not sure yet how many of the 19 municipalities we will encounter during this quite interesting walk.

Green Route part 1+2

We also had time to check out one of Brussels landmarks Porte de Hal, this fairytale monument is more than 600 years old! and a remarkable witness of the medieval past of Brussels.

Hallepoort

The building is a city gate and a remaining part of the second surrounding wall of Brussels (build in 1381). Although a lot of the gateways and defensive walls have been destroyed it subsisted and has been used as prison, customs house and a church. Now it contains a small museum inside.

Brussels hit 27 degrees this Sunday so a cold beer is always refreshing.

So this week I went for the label and choose one with a refreshing Santa on?. This meant La Chouffe 8%, an unfiltered blonde beer refermented in the bottle and in the keg as well.

La Chouffe

Little bit fruity and spiced with koriander (not my favourite herb but ok) and light hop taste. It was quite nice and it didn’t taste very strong. It comes from Achouffe brewery deep in the Ardennes (planned trip for next weekend). They also got a darker version of this ale.

So back on track, but for now on we includes my daughter Mina, just arrived to Brussels looking for new opportunities.

Coming weeks:

• 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; La Chouffe, 8% blond ale

Location: First part of the Green Route around Brussels

Point of Interest: Hallepoort