Day 4 - side trip to Brussels, Belgium
Not a bad trip by train, but it was a little scary when we first got there. The central station is in a less-than-savory part of town, with an open-air market going on. I had already heard that pick-pockets were common, so we were prepared for that. It was a bit of a trek to the city center, and we couldn't figure out which way to go, so this helpful fellow offered to show us the way. We both had our guards up, but he turned out to be a nice guy, and walked us over to where you can see the spire of one of the buildings in the center that we could use as a landmark. Once we got there - WOW! First, we sat down at a cafe to take it all in, and have a real Belgian waffle. YUM!! I got mine with chocolate and strawberries, and it was outstanding!
The Grand Place is the old market square and it is surrounded by buildings from all eras. It is impossible to describe. The town hall - what everyone thinks is a cathedral - is the oldest, a gothic structure covered in ornate carvings. What is interesting about this building, is that the two halves don't match. You don't see it immediately, but it becomes obvious once someone tells you where to look. Apparently, when they started the building, they only had so much room because of some houses on the other side. When the houses were gone, they could add more to the structure, but it didn't match the original. There was no way to get a shot of the top of the spire, which has an image of St. Michael defeating the devil, but the theme was repeated elsewhere on the building. Other buildings have a Roman feel. Over one door is even an image of Romulus and Remus, the founders of Rome, as infants with the wolf that raised them. Many of the buildings have gilded elements, giving the square a very rich feel.
We decided to take a walking tour to get a better feel for the city, and it was well worth it. We saw one of the world's first indoor malls, the cathedral, the king's palace and various other landmarks. We saw the bar called Mort Subite - or Sudden Death. It was named after a game that was played there. The loser of the last round - the sudden death round - had to pay the tab for everyone. We saw Manneken Pis - the peeing boy of Brussels. He has over 900 costumes, but he was in his birthday suit this day. After the tour, we went back to Neuhaus, one of the best chocolate makers, to pick up some delicacies - some of the best chocolate I've ever had! We also found a lace shop still open so I could pick up a trinket. We found Delirium Tremens, a Pub with a very appropriate name, and the peeing girl of Brussels tucked away in a corner. After a nice meal in a cafe on the square, we headed back. We would have liked to see the place lit up at night, but the weather was getting rainy again, and we didn't know how late the trains ran on Sunday. Besides, we still had to walk back thru the bad part of town!
Day 5 - side trip to Cologne, Germany
I've always wanted to see Germany, and although we couldn't get to see much, we did get a nice introduction. We decided to drive to Cologne, since it was only about an hour by car and we were tired of trains and busses. Now, Barry's rental car was rather unique. It was the typical, European small car, except that it had suicide doors. I always thought the old Lincoln's with suicide doors were the coolest cars, but it was bizarre seeing a little throw-away Opel rental with them.
Anyway, we find a place to park, and from the top of the garage we can see the steeples of a couple of churches. Cologne has one of the tallest cathedrals in Europe - 516 feet to the top of the spire. For the most part, you can't see it as you walk thru the streets of the city center. It is a modern city, with lots of shops and cafes, but when you hit the center of town, an enormous gothic building comes into view. It is surreal to see this thing. The oldest church on the site dates from the 6th century, and parts of it can be seen in the basement where it has been excavated. The "new" cathedral was started during the 13th century, as a home for the earthly remains of the three kings, but not completed until the 1880's. Although it suffered many bomb blasts during WWII, it did not fall.
The cathedral is so big that it is almost impossible to get a picture that does it justice, so I focused more on details. The statues, gargoyles and other stone work outside are amazing, and every corner has something new. It would take years to discover the meaning behind all of those carvings. The stained glass is unbelievable. One of these windows was destroyed in WWII, and there was no template to recreate it. A modern artist, Gehard Richter, designed the new window which was unveiled in 2007. It looks like random, colored pixels on a computer screen. We didn't make it to the treasury, which holds some of the most valuable relics of the catholic religion. Amazing how much money goes into the business of religion!
As I mentioned, the cathedral is 516 ft. tall at the spire. For a mere 3 Euros, you will be granted the right to climb the tower. What was I thinking? 509 steps! It's a wonder Barry's knee held up. I thought my lungs would explode by the time we got to the belfry. It was a spiral staircase, and quite narrow, so passing people was not easy. Now, I have a fear of heights, so this was a challenge for me. But since there were no large openings to look out of, it was doable. From the belfry - the bells are enormous BTW, and rang while we were there (OUCH!)- it was up some metal stairs to another, narrower spiral staircase to the top. The view was dizzying! But we did it! By the time we got back down, my legs were trembling so bad I could hardly stand up!
After that, we needed food, and liquid. We had an excellent German meal, with equally excellent German beer at a local cafe. We did some shopping, and some more exploring, then headed home.
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