Brussels: Grand-Place (Entrée)

(Continued from Brussels: Grand-Place (Arrivée))

Featured Photo: “Hôtel de Ville, Grand-Place”  Brussels, Belgium—2007

In my introductory post, “Going Global: Discovering the World,” I commented on my very first visit to Belgium:

While preparing for this trip, I had no idea how many times I would travel to Brussels, or how many sights I might get to see there.

As it turned out, I was able to travel to Brussels several times, but my brief, initial two-hour tour around the Grand-Place allowed only a quick survey of the heart of the city—a visual “overture” of sights I would revisit and explore in more detail on subsequent trips. The weather that day in early June 2007 was cool and cloudy, with a threat of rain, but the sun occasionally shone through, if only briefly. (I think the gloomy weather was partly to blame for many of the photos I took appearing somewhat drab and gray themselves; certainly it was not the photographer’s fault!)

Emerging from Brussels’ Central Train Station, I was greeted by the clatter of cars and a rush of pedestrians marching confidently toward their destinations. I—on the other hand—tried in vain to orient myself, then nervously crossed over to a traffic circle where I pondered my next move. I spun around, weighing my options and chose a course, passing under a pedestrian bridge, which turned out to be roughly the right direction.

Beyond the overpass lay a calmer area, where I got my first glimpse of the Mary Magdalene Chapel, which I did not have time to enter. From the outside, the church struck me as somewhat modest and relatively new.

I was wrong on both counts. This Gothic chapel is one of Brussels’ oldest and most historically significant churches, originally built nearly 800 years ago. It is renowned for its architectural style, which features red brickwork typical of the 13th-century, grey stone arches surrounding the altar, ribbed vaults, and beautiful stained-glass windows.

I continued my search for the Grand-Place, turning onto a quiet street that sloped gently downhill, walking past several hotels, restaurants, and bars…

…along with small stands hawking pommes frites—it wouldn’t be right to call them French fries. These golden treats taste extra good since they’re deep-fried not just once, but twice, then served piping-hot, crispy, and salty with a big dollop of tangy mayonnaise—a much yummier condiment than ketchup, in my opinion.

Farther along, the street opened onto a small square—Place Agora—with the delightful statue of Charles Buls and his dog, resting by a fountain. Buls was an artist, scholar, and reformer, who served as Brussels’ mayor in the late 1800’s and is credited with restoring the grandeur to the Grand-Place.

Just beyond the statue, I arrived at the elegant Galeries Royales de Saint-Hubert, Europe’s oldest still-operating shopping mall—built in 1847—which has served as the glass-covered model for many other malls.

I ventured inside and soaked in the beautiful interior, with natural light flooding from the arched glass roof. The narrow space was lined with restaurants and specialty shops selling hats, canes, and umbrellas. I looked hungrily through the windows of two Brussels-based chocolate shops—Godiva, founded in 1926 and Neuhaus, which has sold chocolate from this flagship store since 1857. They each displayed their melt-in-your-mouth pralines with mathematical precision in chilled glass cases. I drooled whenever the doors opened allowing customers to exit, as the powdery-sweet perfume of cocoa wafted to where I was standing.

I tore myself away from the shops and returned to the street, still unsure how to reach the Grand-Place. I decided to follow the crowd, hoping they knew where they were going.

We walked together then turned in file down a short, narrow alleyway filled with souvenir stands, Belgian waffle shops, and more yummy chocolate stores. Our route opened onto the Grand-Place (in French) or Grote Markt (in Flemish)—the historic city center of Brussels. And as I previously wrote in my introductory post, this was the amazing view of the old guild houses that greeted me, when I arrived at that bustling place.

Brussels’ Grand-Place is well-deserving of its name. I spent the next half hour wandering wide-eyed on the cobblestoned market square, surrounded by dozens of extraordinary buildings topped with gabled roofs and golden statues. These guild houses once served as headquarters for Brussels’ various tradesmen, artisans, and merchants. Now they are mostly occupied by shops selling chocolate and lace, and cafés with vibrant red-and-green umbrellas adding a splash of color to the gray stone architecture.

My gaze was drawn to the magnificent Town Hall—the Hôtel de Ville—dating back to 1401, which was flying the flags of both Belgium and the European Union; its 300-foot-tall spire was too lofty for me to capture with my digital SLR camera and its inadequate 28-105 mm zoom lens.

Across from the Town Hall stood another grand building—the medieval-style Maison du Roi (in French) or Broodhuis (in Dutch).

No king ever lived there, as the French name suggests; it was instead built by the Hapsburg royalty for use as an administrative center. The Dutch moniker refers to the location’s origin, where a bread market once stood on Brussels’ central square in the 13th-century. Today the building serves as the City’s Museum.

I strolled just beyond the Hôtel de Ville’s corner and saw where the plain, less-imposing structures ended (to the left) and the larger, more-decorated guild houses began (to the right). The two statues visible in the photo (out of five total) adorn No. 7—Le Renard—once home to the haberdashers’ guild.

I continued past beautifully ornamented baroque buildings within the Grand-Place, including No. 5—La Louve—originally the guild house of the archers…

…before moving closer to the Town Hall’s arched entryway. I pointed my camera toward the corner of the Hôtel de Ville, where it visually intersected with three guild houses: Le Renard on the left, La Louve on the right, and No. 6— Le Cornet—between, with its gabled roof resembling the stern of a ship, identifying it as the boatmen’s guild house.

Turning toward Town Hall, I zoomed in on the intricate carvings, gargoyles, and statues crowding its façade…

…finally looking up to capture today’s Featured Photo, a dizzying view of the Hôtel de Ville with its elegant spire, topped by the barely visible—yet still nine-feet-tall—golden statue of St. Michael slaying a dragon.

I took a picture with a wider view of the Grand-Place, looking along the façade of the Hôtel de Ville…

…and then looked across the square toward the front of the Maison du Roi for another wide-angle photo.

A fellow traveler passed by, noticing my photographic fervor, and kindly offered to take my picture. I handed my camera to this stranger who got my photo as I posed before the main entrance to the Hôtel de Ville…

…with my bright-white sneakers and paper boarding pass—sticking prominently from my front shirt pocket—marking me unmistakably and eternally as a tourist. I was starting to get hungry but before eating, I set out to find the statue of a young boy: the unofficial mascot of Brussels.

(To be continued…)