Hello again from Brussels!
After 5 weeks in the city center, we decided to move to a quieter area that would be better for walking. We enjoy walking in interesting cities, but after having a month or so to explore, we feel like we’ve walked most of the streets and explored enough. We decided to head next a few miles south, to an apartment just a couple blocks away from a large wooded park called the Bois de la Cambre. By walking through the park to the south side, we were able to enter into the Sonian forest, a huge old growth forest south-east of Brussels. The park is about 11,000 acres, with hundreds of miles of walking trails and small streams.
Our apartment was lovely, a wall of windows overlooking a central courtyard surrounded by the houses in the block. The parrot shown above is one of several that liked to hang out in the trees outside our window. The apartment was on the 4th floor- and no elevator. Not a big deal, except when moving our luggage into and out of the apartment.
In the park, we would often run into professional dog walkers. These folks are pretty amazing, generally walking 12 or 15 dogs at a time. Perhaps 5 of the dogs are on leashes, the others are free to roam, as long as they behave themselves and keep reasonably close to the group. If they misbehave, they get to walk on a leash for a while. It can be interesting to watch when two dog walkers cross paths- 30 dogs all checking each other out, wanting to play, or maybe being a little too aggressive. But the handlers maintain order somehow.
As the weeks progressed, we started to see some fall colors along with the interesting plants and mushrooms.
This type of mushroom seemed to be good at capturing and holding water, always dripping whether it had been raining or dry.
One day we took a short bus ride down to Waterloo, the site of Napoleon’s last battle. A large monument called the Lion’s Mound has been built there, along with a building holding a diorama and a small museum. (seen to the right)
Getting back to the Sonian woods, we did find some interesting buildings that apparently are now used for storage or water monitoring. Including this one with some interesting graffiti artwork.
And, just to show you that these trails have been here a while:
We still wandered the streets of Brussels at times, heading back towards the city center, or exploring different neighborhoods. Tim discovered an Ariel Atom parked on the street. Basically it’s a race car for the track- I didn’t know that there were street legal versions. Figure on around 300 horsepower (225kw) in a car that weighs less than half of a Mini Cooper.
Another day trip that we made was to Bruges, where we spent the day wandering the town with it’s picturesque buildings and canals.
And here’s the town hall:
And part of the original city wall:
And some of the typical houses on a quiet residential street.
And back to Brussels, and the Sonian woods:
And Deb found some nice fall foliage in a nearby cemetery.
We’ve had a nice 12 weeks in Brussels, but it’s time to move on. We need to leave the Schengen zone for at least 90 days, and also wanted to head somewhere warmer. Brussels weather has been wonderful, but winter is approaching. So- next stop- Gibraltar. Right on the southern tip of Spain, and outside of the Schengen zone. Formerly a part of the UK, but now an independent state. We’ll stay there a month or so, depending on how much we find to see and do.
Until later,
Tim and Deb
