Feb 3, 2002

Phoenix

Feb 9, 2002

February 4, 2002
Brussels Sprouts

Click on photos with pink borders for full-size photos

February 4, 2002 – Luxembourg, Brussels: A very busy weekend continued on the third day when I drove to Brussels, Belgium, because it was there. What did I know about Brussels? Nothing! I know Greg LeMond, my 3-time winner of the Tour de France hero used to live in Kortrijk, Belgium when he raced in Europe. I recently found that Brussels is the capital of Belgium. A Captain at work said that when he visited Belgium, it was rather plain and uninteresting, but so is a hydrogen bomb when you first meet it.

I drove past Trier, through the country of Luxembourg, past Luxembourg City, and stopped at the American Military Cemetery in Hamm. There are more than 5000 graves with little white marble crosses, and in front of them all is a little white cross where General George S. Patton is buried. It really grabs you when you see it in person. From what I read about General Patton, he was a very emotional man, although seen as a mean General, because he was not afraid to speak his mind. It's easy to imagine him saying,"Yes, that dress does make you look fat". When he got in trouble for slapping a troop in a hospital for crying, General Eisenhower ordered him to apologize. When he did, his men cheered him so much that he was overcome by emotion and had to leave--that's my best recollection of the events. I bet you are wanting me to say that all his men stood in line and slapped him for crying, but that didn't happen. He was killed in a low-speed automobile accident in Mannheim, Germany in 1945 shortly after World War II ended. His service was held in Heidelberg, Germany, and ultimately buried here, by his request, with his men. It’s hard to look at all those brave souls with their brave commander in front of them and not feel something. It was all I could do to not cry like a woman.

General George Patton

General George Patton and his peeps

I lept into my tiny Mercedes, and zoomed off northwest to Brussels, Belgium. Based on my first impression of Brussels, I had to agree with my Captain. Brussels had a few interesting churches but not much scenery, and after driving 243 miles, wasn’t much to look at. They say that because of its latitude, the summers tend to have long, beautiful days and the winters have short, dark days. Unfortunately, I visited in the winter. Brussels was way busier and more confusing than Luxembourg or Cologne, and not nearly as picturesque. I brought a tourist book from the library but still couldn't figure where I was. I drove up and down hills, curves, in and out of tunnels, narrow roads, looking for a landmark, a giant foam finger, anything that looked important. I had a bad feeling about Brussels when my tourist book emphasized that you can be in a ritzy part of town one minute and in a ghetto the next. Was this supposed to make me want to visit? I drove through a few slums that day, praying I wouldn't get mugged.

I happened upon the Basilique Nationale Sacre Coeur (Sacred Heart), also known as the Basilica of Koekelberg (because of its location), a huge church begun in 1905 by King Leopold II and completed in 1971. In my humble opinion it was the most noticeable landmark in the city, perched high on a hill, and at 292 feet tall and 548 feet long, is the 11th or 5th largest church in the world (as of 2010), depending on who you believe. I crossed it a few times throughout the day, but it wasn’t on my tourist map. I went inside, climbed the tower, and shot some photos of Brussels. See panoramic shot on bottom of page.

Belgium Border

National Basilica
National Basilica, Inside
St. Catherine's Cathedral
St. Catherine's Inside
St. Michael's Cathedral
St. Michael's Inside
At the Palace of Justice
Notre Dame Cathedral
Notre Dame, Inside
Notre Dame, Inside

I jumped in my car again and drove up and down the tiny, wet cobblestone roads looking for something. I saw St. Catherine’s Cathedral, a blackened, run-down 19th century church. It looked much older but no one had taken care of it apparently. After seeing nothing of interest I drove around again, and found the Chapel of St. Michael, a cathedral similar to the Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris, complete with beggar at the entrance. I would have given him money if he could have told me where I was. Saint Michael's was a prominent church built on a hill and not in my tourist book! Completed in 1047, the cathedral was renovated in the Gothic style in the 13th century. The choir was constructed between 1226 and 1276. The facade was completed in the mid 15th century. Today, St. Michael's is the episcopal seat of the Archbishop of Mechlin-Brussels and therefore the leading Catholic church in Belgium. All royal weddings and christenings take place here.
I followed some spires a few blocks away and found a palace! I guess the lesson here is when in doubt, look for pointy things. It was in a square and it might have been the Musee de Costume et de la Dentelle, or maybe the Grand Place and Hotel Deville (photo to the right), and the 315 foot tall city hall (photo of me to the right and photo below). The Grand Place, according to my book, is a must-see, but they didn’t show it on their map! I went inside to find what looked like an office with computers and secretaries where I had to pay or something. The backside was a plain looking office building. Was it still under construction?
I ran up a gravel/tree/dog crap covered walkway through the Mont des Arts park, a park which links the poor part of Brussels to the wealthy part, and to the Palais du Roi (Royal Palace), a decorative building with a dome (two and three photos down). From the Palace, the Grand Place could be seen. I ran up the road about a mile, past the marginally-handsome Palais d’Egmont, another Notre Dame Cathedral, and up to the Palais de Justice (Palace of Justice), the highest point in Brussels (2nd from bottom photo). It had an overlook. Now I was anticipating a stunning panoramic view!
The overlook was over a slum, and in the distance, you could see the rest of Brussels and that Basilica. I was stunned, but not in a good way. The Musee de Costume et de la Dentelle, noted in my tourist book but not on the map, had a statue of a boy urinating. Similar statues were all over the area of the Grand Place and in gift shops. It’s supposed to represent the rebelliousness of Belgium. If I was impressed by watching males urinating I would've installed mirrors in my bathroom. I think it just shows the need for public restrooms. Brussels was dirty, and the subways were dirtier than those in Paris. I only had 3 ½ hours in Brussels but wasn’t impressed (people were friendly though). I ran and ran, and some jolly locals yelled something that I interpreted as,"You go girl!" They seemed to enjoy watching me run. I got trapped in some sticky traffic while trying to get out of Brussels because my tourist book didn’t tell me how to do it. With more instinctive navigating, I got onto “The Ring” which is like the beltway in Washington D.C. I figured that out on my own or I'd be in Brussels to this day, wishing I'd missed my bus in Paris on the 2nd. Not impressed, but still, not a bad way to spend a day. Maybe I missed something about Brussels that would change my opinion.
I returned to Germany, added Brussels to my,"Been there, done that" book, closed it, and went to bed.

Me, at the Grand Place, Brussels, Belgium