We had considered going to Antwerp today but looked at the weather and decided that tomorrow might be a better day to go. So we decided it would be a ‘culture’ day in Brussels. As we were leaving we learned that Monday in Belgium is a national holiday so we are not sure how that will impact our plans but can work on that tomorrow.
We had to get a new metro pass today (we get the 10 pass since it saves on each trip) so we headed to the nearest stop where there is a dispensing machine. First we discovered that the machine does not take anything but coins and credit card. So we decided to use my credit card and after a couple of attempts we decided that the machine was not working. As we started to walk to the next station I noticed a young man run over to the machine and I worried all day that perhaps there was something in the machine that he put there to grab my card information. I stressed all day until I was able to get back and check my credit card account to ensure nothing unexpected showed up. I will be checking it every day. Now I am not sure if he could have got enough information to copy the card since it is a chip card and he would have to have my PIN…but I just am not comfortable. Regardless, there is not much I can do at this point but be diligent and check the account.
Our first stop today was the Magritte Museum which is located at the Place Royale, in the very heart of Brussels. René François Ghislain Magritte (21 November 1898 – 15 August 1967) was a Belgian surrealist artist. He became well known for a number of witty and thought-provoking images. His intended goal for his work was to challenge observers' preconditioned perceptions of reality and force viewers to become hypersensitive to their surroundings. I personally find that many of his work just do not make any sense to me, but then there are some that I really like. Wes understands this art form much better than I and so he enjoyed himself. I really liked “The Dominion of Light” while Wes picked out “The Voyageur” as his favourite. However, I was not able to take pictures in the museum so had to find a few on the internet to add to this blog. As well as his work, and a timeline biography through the presentations, there was also a autobiography film to be watched.
We finished this museum and decided it was time for lunch (which is sandwiches) only to discover that we had to leave the museum to find a place to sit and eat. We sat on the steps of the museum which is not necessarily the best location, but it was available.
We returned to the museum to head off to the other side to enjoy the Musees Royaux des Beaux Arts. This museum is large and excellent value the cost. Since the 20 and 21 Century exhibition floors are being renovated, we had to go off to a side room to view a select few of the 20th Century artists. I have to say that much of the displays were very contemporary and impressionistic. They did have a couple of surrealism pieces as well but on a whole this was not a highlight visit for me.
The ancient period (15th – 16th Century) was closed so we were not able to walk through those exhibits. Therefore we headed over to the floor for the 17th – 18th Century art. It does seem that this period of art had a lot of religious art incorporated in the paintings. We have seen many other art museums with equally good quality of artwork, but what is unique here is that the emphasis is on Belgium artists’ work. However, what I did feel was missing was more information about the work beside the pictures (and in English would have been a plus). I am sure that if we had rented the audio tour we would have had what I had hoped to see by the pictures in note form.
We left the Grand Place where the museums are and walked over to find the Galeries Royales Saint-Hubert. The Galeries Royales Saint-Hubert is a glazed shopping arcade that preceded other famous 19th-century shopping arcades. It has twin regular façades with distant origins in Vasari's long narrow street-like courtyard, with glazed arcaded shop fronts under an arched glass-paned roof with a delicate cast-iron framework. The gallery consists of two major sections, each more than 100 meters in length (respectively called Galerie du Roi / Koningsgalerij, meaning King's Gallery, and Galerie de la Reine / Koninginnegalerij, meaning Queen's Gallery), and a smaller side gallery (Galerie des Princes / Prinsengalerij, meaning Gallery of the Princes). The main sections (King and Queen's Gallery) are separated by a colonnade at the point where the Rue des Bouchers / Beenhouwersstraat crosses the gallery complex.
Construction started on May 6, 1846 and lasted for 18 months. It was inaugurated on June 20, 1847 by King Leopold and his two sons. Under its motto "Omnibus omnia" (Everything for everybody), displayed in the front of its palace-like façade, the Passage Saint-Hubert attracted people of fashion. Brilliantly lit, it offered the luxury of outdoor cafés in Brussels' inclement climate, in an ambiance of luxury retailers that brought to Brussels the true feel of a European capital. A theatre inside the galleries, the Théâtre des Galeries Saint-Hubert, was designed by Cluysenaer and opened June 7, 1847. It became one of three royal theaters of Brussels, playing operetta and revues. The interior was rebuilt in 1951. As for offering everything for everyone, well we found several shops selling Belgium Chocolate, a shop selling Belgium lace and most importantly, a shop selling Belgium waffles. We skipped all the others, except the waffles, we had to try it at least once. (Note: today is Saturday and usually back home we have Belgium waffles for breakfast on Saturdays so this was appropriate.)
At the center of the Galeries Royales Saint-Hubert is an intersection of the Rue Des Bouchers which the Lonely Planet recommends we stroll down. So after finishing the Galeries Royales, we headed down this street. It is a narrow street that is lined with street cafes, tables, chairs and people. As we strolled along this lane we were truly aware that we were in the old section of Brussels and it was well worth strolling.
We finally decided that we had been on the go long enough so it was time to head back to the apartment, with one stop to pick up a few groceries. When we arrived at the grocery store we have been going to we were surprised to learn that it closes on Saturdays. Fortunately we had Karen with us so we were able to locate another grocery store within a km so we headed there instead and then headed home.
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