Brussels – Taking Good Memories Along

Today is my last day in Brussels. I never ever thought, I will feel bad while leaving this city. In my first visit, it didn’t appeal to me much. I was not very happy to shift here from Germany. Neither did I have any friends here nor did I know the languages to communicate with anyone. People thought, ‘Wow, lucky girl…she is getting to see two countries in such a short time span.’ But only I knew my struggle here. So I was rather happy to finally leave this city….till that moment.

Yesterday, I went to the Grand Place for some last moment shopping. This was one rare place where I liked to be whenever I wanted to roam around. First the huge appearance of La Bourse and then the incredibly elegant square of Grand Place. At any time in the day, there were large number tourists photographing the fab architectures around. I too loved clicking my camera here so much. Yesterday, lost in my own thoughts about the packing left , I walked fast to complete my shopping as soon as possible. But when I entered the Grand place square, unknowingly I slowed down. I had loved this place so much. As usual many tourists were there. Most of them photographing their partners with the background of Grand Place. And that was the moment….I halted for a fraction of second and looked around…Grand Place, one of the world heritage sites…appeared absolutely outstanding with all the flower decorated windows and pillars. I sighed… ‘will I miss this place?’…a small tear popped up in my eyes…and that’s it. It was only for that moment, I felt bad. 

So much I wanted to write about Brussels. I had even started a series of articles on my blog. But writing reflects moods. Because of some sour experiences here, I totally lost the motivation to write. But definitely, I cannot deny the fact that, it was here I got some of the best experiences in my life. Like on that evening…

I was coming back home after a heavy workout in the Friskis&Svettis. I took a tram till Montgomery metro station and then came out on the Montgomery Square to catch another tram to my home. I could see the imposing Cinquantenaire Triumphal Arch from here. I always loved the feeling of staying near this incredible architecture. Every time I travelled to my home from Montgomery, the tram took a turn in front of these arches and I got to see a wonderful view. The beauty of these arches is not only in its grand architecture, but also in it’s huge back ground of Sky. As the shades of sky change, the gate looks different.

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That day, as I observed these arches from Montgomery tram stop, they looked nice as usual. It took me some time to recognise the setting Sun at its left side.

But as I saw, inadvertently I started walking towards the arches. Neither my vocabulary is enough to describe the spectacular scene nor my N73 camera was enough to capture the beauty. But as I approached the arches, I couldn’t stop clicking. As the Sun set, first it appeared prominently on the top..

…then it touched the left corner of the arches..

..then appeared in the first arch..

..then in the second…

..and finally it set

 

That was one unforgettable experience for me!!!!! I had already reached next tram stop, Merode, and my tram was gone. There was no point waiting for the next one and I walked the distance of 1.5 km to my house. Any other time, I would not have even thought about it..especially after the workout. But that evening was surely different!!

Then came the experience of Tervuren, about which I have already written in A Wet Green Birthday. Tervuren and Grand Place were the two places I loved going to. Grand Place, when I needed crowd around and Tervuren, when I wished to spend time with myself.

One more very interesting site in Brussels is the place of Atomium, Mini-Europe, The Village, Brupark and Kinepolis multiplex. These all are at a walking distance from each other. Kinepolis is the largest multiplex in Brussels. The Village is set up like a traditional Belgian village with many restaurants. Brupark is a amusement park. However, Atomium and Mini-Europe are most interesting among these. Atomium is a monument with 9 steel spheres connected so that the whole forms the shape of a unit cell of an iron crystal magnified 165 billion times. Mini-Europe is the collection of miniatures of all the important monuments in European Union.

The view of Brussels from the top sphere of the Atomium is indeed great

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But what one should not miss is the view of Mini-Europe from the top sphere of Atomium 

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And then the Atomium from Mini Europe. The exciting part is that, one can capture many great European monuments with the background of Atomium

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I even had picturesque city views from my house..of the snowfall…of the sunsets..of the traditional as well as modern buildings in Brussels

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Even the metro stations of Brussels are unique. Every station has got its own identity, own character. Some stations with a cave like appearance, some with designs of mehandi, some with floral designs and so an.

I stayed here for pretty 8 months. But still I wonder, I have not seen Brussels totally. The typical tourist attractions in Brussels are many. But one has to stay here for a long time to really see this city. Apart from the great places, its also a heaven for chocolate lovers. The fresh Belgian chocolates are absolutely yummy and uncomparable. And the Flemish lacework…oh my my!!! Yesterday if I had all my investments in the form of cash, I would have gone bankrupt. The lace work and handicraft here can make women go shopaholic. The only unappealable thing sometimes is the unfriendliness of the sales women. Their attitude reminds me the Pune shopkeepers….’we have best of the things…take it or leave’!

I also had a very good time in Friskis&Svettis. It was some different concept than the conventional gyms. There were different kinds of sessions from strength building to dance forms. Every session had one instructor. She stood in the middle and we all circled around her and did the exercises. It was a fun time. I was surprised to see very old people doing all the exercises (sometimes even better than me!!).

And finally, as I said in my first post about Brussels is all about it’s experiences. Today, when I am wrapping up my good memories in Brussels, I made a new friend here. She lives just one floor above me, but I didn’t meet her in last 8 months.  And today, on the last day, I met her coincidently! While talking she mentioned her son’s hobby of collecting coins. So I gave her a Rs. 2 coin and Rs. 10 note and with a exchange of emails we decided to stay in touch. Brussels had decided to give me this gift of one more good memory, so that I do not complain about not having friends here.

Brussels…I do not know, whether I will miss you. But I whenever I will remember you, I will only remember the good memories..