The weekend in Brussels happened pretty much by accident, as I had originally planned to take the train to Berlin from London, but due to DB’s timetable changes, that did not work. So, I ended up with a return ticket to Brussels that couldn’t be refunded and had to be used. Why not? I’ve passed through it a couple of times on the way to elsewhere on the continent, so I may as well take it in and see what the administrative capital of the European Union is like.
Truth be told, I’m uncertain as to whether it was the weather (the beginning of August was rather stormy), or I had simply mis-timed the break, but I never particularly felt that interested by the city during the 2.5 days I was there. This is admittedly a great shame, as much like London, Paris or any other grand European city, there were some objectively lovely architecture from the days of empires, along with some really rather quaint mews-like streets weaving through the city and it’s rich heritage. My biggest question was: have I reached such a position that having seen so many cities of particular types, they have simply started to merge into a mush? Whilst walking through Brussels I felt like I was seeing elements of Edinburgh, Amsterdam and Paris throughout, and found it curious, but most of all, unlike in Edinburgh, Amsterdam, and even Paris, Brussels felt claustrophobic, and disorientating. I’m chalking a lot of this up to this being my first visit, and very much feeling my way around.
A local resident surveying her subjects* (*at least, that was the amusing caption that popped into mind at the time)
Figurines of the Smurfs at the MOOF in Brussels
With all of that said, there were a couple of rather fun museums in Brussels that I would recommend for anyone with an interest (current or historic) in comics, cartoons, and their history: Centre Belge de la Bande Dessinée, and MOOF. The former is located in a beautiful Art Nouveau warehouse designed by Victor Horta (it is truly lovely inside, but alas I could not find any good angles to do it justice), and the latter is in the basement of what feels like an abandoned mall (but don’t be put off, it is still quite an amazing collection of figurines). One of the more amusing moments in the MOOF museum were the two miniture sets/scenes made out of figurines from the Smurfs, and Star Wars, respectively. I don’t know whether it was deliberate, but there is what I would consider to be an Easter Egg in the Star Wars scene (pictured in one of the two), I’ll leave you to guess as to what I am refering…
Another thing that struck me about Brussels were the shear number of churches and cathedrals – much like Krakow – however, I did not focus on them during this trip. I did also pay a visit to the European Parliament building, which is about as grand as I was expecting, although, I wasn’t particularly impressed by the architecture itself from the outside at least. It kinda felt like someone had taken a Jukebox and run with it (another example of that is One Embankment Place, but I prefer that to the parliament building).
Playing with reflections at the European Parliament
View looking West, down the Rue de la Loi, that has many critical EU institutions flanking it along it’s length.
Flags outside the Secretary General of the European Commission (I’m still cursing that it isn’t lined up perfectly)
On the other side of town though, I appreciated the recommendation from a friend to visit the Gare Maritime which was renovated and refurbished, and is now a mix of commercial units all done in timber. A vast space, and I completely appreciate why it is used for concerts/gigs as well.
I did also pay a visit to the Royal Museums of Fine Arts, that had a significant and diverse collection, however I wasn’t too impressed with the architecture of the place, apart from a couple of moments. One that showcased a diffuser and the subdivision of vertical space, and a second that was a small extension with an interesting architectural detail on the skylight.
Blacony & Facade detail of new UNStudio designed building on Avenue de la Toison d’Or
I’ll be honest, I don’t know whether I would revisit Brussels on its own, maybe loop Antwerp in if I decide to revisit Belgium. I am however, in hindsight, glad that I did give it a chance.