Brussels, Chocolate, Belgian TV

Lo and I headed in to Brussels today for a little excursion. If I had to summarize, I'd say the following about Brussels, at least the touristy, old town bits:
-It's a charming city, and doesn't feel that big and overwhelming.
-As the ubiquitous Starbucks is to SF, NYC, and many other cities, so are chocolate shops to Brussels. Each major chain seemed to have an outlet every few blocks.
-Its art museum was a pretty big disappointment, though I did see a few highlights that I'm glad I had the chance to see. I really like Breugel's Landscape With the Fall of Icarus.
-The peeing-boy statue is tiny, and it is baffling to me why it's such a big hit.

That said, here's a video of the Grand Place (weather was chilly and windy today), and a few photo highlights of the day:

Flowers for sale right on the Grand Place.

Lo being a dork in Neuhas, one of the top chocolate shops. Every shop was completely decked out for Easter.

Lo joined the joggers at the main city park for a few moments. Kudos to this gentleman for posing so nicely.

I don't even know the price, but so fancy! Little mini macarons all around. I hope it tastes as good as whatever it costs.

The obligatory photo with the Mannekin Pis.

We stopped in at the 4 top chocolate shops and bought the same type of chocolate at each one. We had plans for a blind taste test tonight.

Prepping for the test.

Something about feeding someone things while their eyes are closed struck us all as very funny and, soon after this picture was taken, Kate laughed so hard she, um, lost some of what she was testing. On my hand.

Stasia's turn.

In the end, we all picked the two most expensive chocolates, Godiva and Neuhaus, as our top two picks. In this case, quality really did seem to match slightly increased prices. The hazelnut milk chocolate from Godiva was so delicious. Good thing I can just buy it at Bay St. when I get home. :)

And I'll sign off with this little gem, brought to you by Anna, Kayla, and Belgian television:

"Wait, where is this bus going?"

I'll start the blog post where we started our day - on the train. Today the Reeds, Lo, and I headed about an hour away from Leuven to visit Ghent. From our extremely cursory research, it seemed that Ghent was famous, touristically at least, for a church, a castle, pretty canals, and a cone-shaped raspberry jelly-filled snack. We had loose plans to experience 4 of 4.

But first, the train. Between playing my new game Fluxx, old games like BS and gin rummy, and electronic devices, we were quite entertained. And though we tried to be appropriately hushed in the proper European train manner, at one point we looked up and realized that we were the only ones left in the whole car. We told ourselves that this was simply because all the commuters had disembarked in Brussels. Then we told ourselves that again for extra reinforcement.


We even broke out snacks on the train. Anna volunteered to try the vegetable leather my mom sent along with me. It wasn't (too) bad.
Once we hopped off in Ghent we realized it was quite a walk to the center of town. It was a pleasant enough, but nonetheless we made plans to figure out how to take public transit back later that day. We lunched and headed for the castle, but on the way we stopped to try the special raspberry Ghent "noses". (that's what the guy who sold them to us called them.) Loretta didn't like them so much. Neither did most of our group, though Wes, Kate, and I gamely ate two.

Kate and I stopped to pose for pictures at the canal, and I was trying to get the perfect shot with just her and the peaceful background. I didn't succeed, but I kind of like this picture better anyway:
As castles go, it was remarkably well-reconstructed, if a bit short on informational history signs along the way. Instead, it had a rather dark emphasis on the history of torture in the castle. Kate and Bora took a moment to ponder this:

In keeping with the torture theme, we soon found a model guillotine, complete with original blade, and Anna of course pretended to be its victim. (Note sticking out tongue).

We finished the castle tour with a stroll around the ramparts, watched some Belgian school children dressed like knights on a field trip, and headed out to sit by the sunny canal and have some chocolate.


While sitting, we saw boats loading up for tours, and on a whim decided to hop in. The price was good, the scenery was great.

Also, the guide's voice and the thrumming engine were peaceful and relaxing enough that Bora and I both did this for at least a little while:


Since we'd added in the boat tour, we had to skip the church in order to hop a tram for the train station and make it to our 2:24 pm train back to Leuven. That all went without a hitch, and in an hour, we were right back at the Leuven bus station where we'd started. We rushed over the number 8 bus which we knew would take us back to the Hansens'.

But it was strange. At first things seemed familiar, then they didn't so much. Then they REALLY didn't, but we kept hoping that the bus was just taking a slightly different route to the stop we were expecting. Then I saw the road sign with "Leuven" and a red slash through the name, meaning we were officially out of town. A kind young woman in front of us couldn't help but overhear our increasingly confused conversation about where we might be and where we'd end up, and so we told her and asked for help. She made an "oh dear, you're wanting to be where?" face, and told us we needed to just hop off, wait by the other side of the road for the next bus, and ride all they way back to the station and start again. Mind you, we were in a very rural-feeling village by now, so we sheepishly (ha!) thanked her and hopped off. Bora called JJ to let her know we'd be very late, everyone tried to look on the bright side (it's beautiful out here! what a nice ride we had!), and I took a picture of the group:

Yep, those are fields out there behind us.

Finally we made our way back, Bora and I stopped off for a nice visit at the hospital with Bruce, and Lo made her enchiladas, and all was well. We've learned from our mistake, and next time we promise to listen to what JJ told us and wait at the correct platform, no matter how much of a rush we're in.

Arrial in Leuven

'Twas a long, rather uneventful journey - SFO to Atlanta, Atlanta to Brussels, short train ride from Brussels to Leuven. I can't think of a single interesting anecdote about the journey here, so I'll just put a photo Lo took of me in my window seat and we'll move on, shall we?

Leuven is a university town of about 90,000 people, and the Hansen family lives on the grounds of the seminary where Bruce teaches. Lo and I are staying in a little dorm room in a building right next to the Hansens, and walking down the hall to shower brings back fond-ish memories of freshman year in college, as does the room itself, actually. Although JJ bought us fresh tulips for the windowsill, and I'm certain I never had that in college, so that's different. The flowers here are abundant and inexpensive, and beautiful.

We visited Bruce in the hospital - a 20 minute walk from their flat - and took advantage of the nice day to go outside on the grounds and chat. It was so good to see him and hear his voice.

Afterward, we hopped on the bus to the center of town for a little shopping, walking, and a snack, in that order.

So many folks were out enjoying the unseasonable weather.

Chocolate croissant and a cappucino were a much-needed pick me up in the afternoon right when I was starting to have that delirious, sleepwalking jet lag feeling.

Today the weather was back to normal, sadly - cloudy, overcast, and tons of rain in the early hours of this morning. We did cozy and homey things together, including baking cookies (my peanut butter mini pb cup ones), playing card games (successfully taught Anna to play cribbage), and watching My Fair Lady (man do they sing a lot in that movie).

Kate, Stasia and I headed into town for a little mini-TSM, Euro edition dinner together. Belgian beef stew and beer for me. Yum. Tomorrow there are plans for a day trip to Gent, and Lo's making homemade enchiladas for dinner. It's been very low key so far, not touristy, almost like being at home, if several of my close friends all stopped work for several days and we gathered at someone's house to cook together and play games all the time. Good stuff.

Prague, Final Days, Part 2

I said goodbye to Donica this morning at 5:45 am - and promptly went back to sleep until 9. When I went down to breakfast, I didn't really have an agenda for the day, but my hostess gave me some ideas that sounded good. They involved walking and taking the tram up to a monastery above Prague Castle, close to where we were yesterday. Apparently, in the gardens, there was a set of fun-house type mirrors in a maze, or maybe a labyrinth. I'm not quite clear, because I never actually found it. But I had a good time trying.

First, a walk back across Charles Bridge with its many statues

I visited the library of the monastery, which was full of very old and beautiful books, including some illuminated manuscripts. It also had a natural history section, which included boxes of butterflies, dried sea animals, elephant trunks, and lots of other oddities. No pictures allowed.

I walked across the way to an even odder spot - the Museum of Miniatures, which was about 30 exhibits, none bigger than an inch and some much smaller. Here is a very tiny Matisse:


and a tiny picture of Jesus drawn on a poppy seed:


There was also an ant with a tiny padlock and key, made of gold, attached to one of its legs, a human hair with a tiny little train set attached, and a number of other amazingly strange creations. Unfortunately I happened into this tiny museum in the middle of two tour groups, one Russian, I think, and one Czech, so my enjoyment was tempered by the 90 degree temperatures inside, the long lines, and the shouting of the tour guides about how they needed to hurry along. Still - curious and amazing.

Done with museums for a while, I headed down the hill in search of the mirror thing, and quickly got lost. I studied this sign and tried to make a good plan, but to no avail. At least I had the company of fellow walkers, and it was a lovely day with pretty paths. The views of Prague alone were worth the wandering.


I found my way up the hill and stopped for refreshment. I'd been listening on and off all day to an Agatha Christie novel on my ipod that promised an astounding twist at the end. At this point, I was beginning to suspect that I knew what the big twist would be, and I was kind of disappointed to have figured it out. Still, it was nice company.


My final stop was the Loreta Church, home of several important relics, including (supposedly) a timber from Mary's actual house and a little bell-ringing show at each hour. Every door was marked with the epiphany blessing, which oddly made me feel at home.

I caught the tram back to my pension, which has been a great place to stay: very central in this extremely walkable city. In our room was even an explanation of the centuries of history of the house, including luminaries who have lived here and a regretful explanation that due to the historical nature of the house, no elevator was allowed.


After a quick nap, I got ready for a very special event. I'd found out a few days earlier that a not-so-anonymous benefactor had kindly made a reservation for me at one of the nicest restaurants in Prague. It was only a 5 minute walk from my place, and my table was right near a window overlooking the river, the Charles bridge, and the castle beyond.


What followed was one of the best meals I've ever had - certainly in the top five. The food was creative, delicious, well-prepared and happily served by a very kind waiter named Tomas. (And actually, considering the quality, an extremely good deal!) I ate what he recommended and didn't regret it - here's a shot of my chocolate mousse dessert with mint sorbet and raspberry sauce:


I gave Tomas a generous tip (by Euro standards - normal for us Americans), and headed back to the Old Town Square for my own little goodbye to Prague and to vacation. I caught one of the last elevators up to the top of the town hall tower, circled the viewing area enjoying all the now-familiar landmarks, and was just in time for the hourly clock chiming and trumpet song:



Perfect.

It's funny, as I was walking to dinner I was passed by a young couple - one on each side of me, who then came back together and joined hands as they continued down the street. I watched and realized the temptation to be lonely was always there, but I didn't feel it - for one thing, I've had great travel partners, both on this trip and in the past few years. And even when I am alone while traveling, I'm happy to be there. I'm aware of the relative luxury it is to travel at all, and I try to enjoy every part of it. At dinner, I had brought my book, but I was content to savor my meal, drink wine, and gaze out the window. (And, I admit, eavesdrop on the interesting conversations around me, I can't help it.) Now, as I stay up too late and pack, I'm happy to be coming home to see family and friends and start a new school year in a few weeks. And finally, I'm thankful for you - blog readers, those who comment and those who don't. Thanks for reading and keeping me company along the way!

Prague, Final Days, Part 1

Yesterday was Donica's last day, and we had yet to conquer Prague Castle. After a bit of wandering around town (I took several pictures of my favorite architectural details around Old Town), we crossed Charles Bridge and headed for the castle complex. Most people agree that it's the largest castle in the world.

On the Charles Bridge

Not so welcoming entrance to the Prague Castle

Once inside the complex, we bought a ticket for the "short tour" which included the old palace, another family palace, a basilica, and of course the cathedral which was free. My favorite windows in the cathedral are the fairly modern ones by the much-celebrated Czech artist Alfons Mucha:



Then, on recommendation from my "friend" Rick, I toured the Lobkowicz palace, which is just down the hill from the castle. Donica took the opportunity to head into the Toy and Barbie Museum, which kind of creeped her out - it's full of decades-old dolls and toys, some of with are a little scary. Gretchen and I went there last time I was in Prague, so I went to the palace instead.

The Lobkowicz family has a compelling story - one of the original noble Czech families, they lived in exile throughout WWII, escaping with their lives while the Nazis confiscated their properties, land, and belongings. They had a brief reprieve when they returned before the communists again took all of their things, and finally in 1989/1990 were able to return and file complicated claims with the new Czech state in order to retrieve what was theirs. Entrance to the museum comes with a free audio guide narrated by the current head of the family, who eschews his rightful title of "prince" and actually sounded quite down to earth. Well, as down to earth as you can be when describing this centuries-old painting of a family member and member of the Spanish royalty as follows: "Notice the ring on her pinky finger? My mother still wears this beautiful piece on special occasions".

That was impressive indeed, but a few rooms later was, at least for me, the Holy Grail. In a room full of antique instruments, including the "Lobkowicz Amati" violin, was a case full of musical manuscripts. Here's Mozart's handwritten re-orchestration of Handels' Messiah for a concert funded by the Lobkowicz count of the day:


And, some of you may have heard the story of how Beethoven got mad at Napoleon and decided to change his dedication on the Eroica (3rd Symphony). Who did he change it to? Joseph Franz Maximilian Lobkowicz, his enthusiastic patron, to whom he also dedicated his 5th Symphony, and some other works. Sitting in the case were first editions and some of the original Beethoven manuscripts...I wasn't supposed to, and I got scolded, but I couldn't help but take a picture.


Happy but tired, I met up with Donica again and we trudged down to the river, crossed the bridge, and headed to our final meal together and "home".