The Bus Ride
In order to reasonably afford a trip to Brussels to stay with our wonderful hosts, Heidi and Somerville, Maryle and I had purchased bus tickets. So, early Saturday morning, we awaited this said bus in Hannover. While listening to Maryle singing "bus" to such masterpieces as Tchaikovsky's 1812 Overture, we discovered that the bus (Eurolines, by the way, for travelers) was twenty-five minutes late, which didn't worry us too much. Of course, this was before we boarded the bus itself.
Suffice to say, our first bus drivers were kind of horrid. They were loud, rude, and crude at that, so much so that we decided to change our seats during our first break. After sarcastic remarks from our driver, we were relieved to see that a second driver boarded the bus, and our experience thereafter was better. Still, I will warn you future travelers: You get what you pay for. The bus is cheaper, yes, but I recommend the train. Yes.
There were some awesome aspects to the bus ride, however: 1.) two nuns boarded in Duesseldorf; 2.) the landscape was beautiful; and 3.) the second batch of drivers played The Fox and the Hound for us. So, while I don't particularly want to take the bus again anytime soon, there were some good things to balance out the situation.
Meeting Our Hosts: A Fun Weekend in Brugge
We arrived in Brussels about an hour after our scheduled arrival, but fortunately Maryle and I were greeted at Gare du Nord by Heidi and Somerville shorty after we got there. When I first talked to Heidi via phone on our way to Brussels, I knew we were in good hands, and my first impression had been correct. The couple are Alabama natives (a nice slice of home for me), and I had known Heidi's mother from high school, as she was my German teacher my sophomore and junior years. So, I did suspect that, seeing as Jill is a kind and benevolent person, Heidi and Somerville would be the same way. They found us at Gare du Nord, gave us big hugs, and gave us tram tickets to use throughout the entire trip. After a pleasant trip back to their apartment, getting to know each other and whatnot, Heidi, Maryle, and I went out to a nice Italian restaurant for my birthday dinner, which balanced the day's not-so-great start with very good (and very large) pizza. Plus, it was nice chatting with my friends, and I spent the rest of the night contacting family and friends.
Not having a set agenda, on Sunday we four decided to head over to the open market, which is open every weekend, for the best waffles in Brussels. We detoured through a beautiful sixteenth-century abbey on the way, along with a quaint park that made for nice, leisurely walking. The market was much like any other market I've seen in Europe, but I will say that the waffles were top-notch--and though Maryle and I shamelessly indulged in more waffles during our stay, I will admit that these were the best ones we sampled. Some brief shopping later, we decided that Brugge would make for a good Sunday jaunt.
Yup, I went there.
Brugge, by the way, is a beautiful place. Yes, it is a tourist spot, and yes, most of the shops are intended to lure away tourists' money from its warm home, the wallet. But, this doesn't matter. It's beautiful. The bright, blue sky and the ancient architecture made for a lovely walk, and the four of us took our time to take in the town's splendor. Heidi and Somerville, having lived in Brussels for two and a half years, had been to Brugge many times before, so it was helpful having a couple of tour guides lead us through the monuments and whatnot.
Look! I hang out with people! (Heidi, Maryle, and myself...in case you didn't know)
I will also add that there is a nice French fries stand at the square. I don't care if they were potentially made with horse lard. YOU CAN'T KILL MY DREAMS, HORSE LARD.Brussels: The Mutt
Monday and Tuesday consisted of Maryle's and my journey through Brussels's main attractions. Seeing as Heidi and Somerville had to work those days, we were left to our own devices, and we decided that we wanted to go to the city's center and walk around the Grote Markt. After some confusion about directions, we did stumble into the center, seeing the Grand Place, interesting little shops, Belgium's first McDonald's, and...Manneken Pis. Yes, the statue of a pissing boy. And a very small one, at that. On Monday, he wasn't wearing one of his costumes (there's a museum of his outfits near the Grand Place, by the way). On Tuesday...
...he was.
Don't ask. Even I don't know.
Going back to Monday, Maryle and I went to the BOZAR fine arts center to see its temporary exhibit of Frida Kahlo's last works, which was fascinating. Kahlo is not an artist whose works I would have gone out of my way to view, but the opportunity was there, and we jumped at the chance. I am quite glad we did so; Kahlo's works reflect what she wanted her audience to see of her life. And what a life that was. Her paintings reflect her attitudes of life and death, which are shown through her many self portraits, her depictions of her inability to give children, and her reflections on her perpetually ill health. Along with Mexican politics and her rocky marriage, Kahlo's use of bright colors, sometimes flat use of perception, and often dark subject matter make her works jump out at the viewer. Needless to say, I was impressed, and I found my five euros well spent.
As we walked around the city, Maryle and I concluded that this was decidedly a French vacation. Though Brussels is a smattering of Dutch and French (thus giving sense to my label of Europe's Lovable Mutt), it wants to be Paris (which it certainly is not). So, as any self-respecting Fulbright scholar would do, we came up with the brilliant idea of making paper mustaches and wearing them around Brussels on our Tuesday jaunt. What we came up with was...
...Genevieve Jerome-Louise Statonne.
Going back to Monday, Maryle and I went to the BOZAR fine arts center to see its temporary exhibit of Frida Kahlo's last works, which was fascinating. Kahlo is not an artist whose works I would have gone out of my way to view, but the opportunity was there, and we jumped at the chance. I am quite glad we did so; Kahlo's works reflect what she wanted her audience to see of her life. And what a life that was. Her paintings reflect her attitudes of life and death, which are shown through her many self portraits, her depictions of her inability to give children, and her reflections on her perpetually ill health. Along with Mexican politics and her rocky marriage, Kahlo's use of bright colors, sometimes flat use of perception, and often dark subject matter make her works jump out at the viewer. Needless to say, I was impressed, and I found my five euros well spent.
As we walked around the city, Maryle and I concluded that this was decidedly a French vacation. Though Brussels is a smattering of Dutch and French (thus giving sense to my label of Europe's Lovable Mutt), it wants to be Paris (which it certainly is not). So, as any self-respecting Fulbright scholar would do, we came up with the brilliant idea of making paper mustaches and wearing them around Brussels on our Tuesday jaunt. What we came up with was...
...Genevieve Jerome-Louise Statonne.And you thought Fulbright scholars were stuffy and boring. No, that's only my writing.
So, much of Tuesday was spent with mustache mischief, going once again to Manneken Pis and the Grote Markt to shoot funny pictures. We also visited the Museum of Ancient Art, which was fairly impressive. It featured works by van der Weyden, Bosch, Brueggel, Rubens (it does house the largest Flemish collection in Europe), van Dyck, and David. Indeed, the main reason I wanted to visit this museum was for David's Death of Marat, yet another piece that I had studied in art history. Oh, David, your initial charisma concerning the French Revolution was so dramatic, and I love you for it.
Upon exiting the museum and finally viewing the Palais Royale, Maryle and I headed back to the apartment for some chilling out with the Evanses, which is what we had been doing for the past few nights. I'm an old person in a young'un's body; I have no problem just sitting back and relaxing at night, and it was quite fun watching such shows as What Not to Wear with Heidi and Somerville. In fact, just hanging out with those two was relaxing, and I am extremely grateful to the both of them for being so hospitable to Maryle and me. It has most likely been the most comfortable I have been since I've moved here back in September. And that's saying a lot.
Oh, and do you want to know what one of the most delightful aspects of the trip was? Here:
PUPPY.
So, much of Tuesday was spent with mustache mischief, going once again to Manneken Pis and the Grote Markt to shoot funny pictures. We also visited the Museum of Ancient Art, which was fairly impressive. It featured works by van der Weyden, Bosch, Brueggel, Rubens (it does house the largest Flemish collection in Europe), van Dyck, and David. Indeed, the main reason I wanted to visit this museum was for David's Death of Marat, yet another piece that I had studied in art history. Oh, David, your initial charisma concerning the French Revolution was so dramatic, and I love you for it.
Upon exiting the museum and finally viewing the Palais Royale, Maryle and I headed back to the apartment for some chilling out with the Evanses, which is what we had been doing for the past few nights. I'm an old person in a young'un's body; I have no problem just sitting back and relaxing at night, and it was quite fun watching such shows as What Not to Wear with Heidi and Somerville. In fact, just hanging out with those two was relaxing, and I am extremely grateful to the both of them for being so hospitable to Maryle and me. It has most likely been the most comfortable I have been since I've moved here back in September. And that's saying a lot.
Oh, and do you want to know what one of the most delightful aspects of the trip was? Here:
PUPPY.That's Douglas MacArthur Evans right there. He was frickin' adorable. Look at the picture and tell me otherwise. I dare you. He is one of the sweetest dogs I've ever met, and I seriously wanted to take him home with me.
After discovering that school was canceled in Celle for Wednesday because of snow and ice, Maryle and I decided not to chance it and took the train home. Needless to say, I'm glad we did. It was a nice end to a very good and relaxing vacation, and I also made new friends out of it, to boot. Successful journey? I think so. I know so.
Okay, now to curl up under some covers and hope this cold abates sooner rather than later. I'm sick of having a stubbed ub nothes.
After discovering that school was canceled in Celle for Wednesday because of snow and ice, Maryle and I decided not to chance it and took the train home. Needless to say, I'm glad we did. It was a nice end to a very good and relaxing vacation, and I also made new friends out of it, to boot. Successful journey? I think so. I know so.
Okay, now to curl up under some covers and hope this cold abates sooner rather than later. I'm sick of having a stubbed ub nothes.
I love Brussels. It's one of the cities I would like to live for a few years. And it's a short train ride to so many fascinating places!!!
ReplyDeleteDana, we have got to hang out when I come back and talk about everywhere we've been. I think that would be really fun.
ReplyDelete(I've also just read your journal entry about the Birmingham Museum of Art, but I can't comment on your page: I have never been, and I think this should be rectified this summer. I may ask you to accompany me.)
That would be awesome. We must do that.
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure why you can't post. My cousin can't either. I will have to figure out what's going on.
I may have fixed the commenting. For some reason it is not letting me put embedded posting boxes, so I now have it set up to open in a pop-up box. Hopefully that will work for now until I figure out why it isn't letting me do the embedded.
ReplyDelete