Churches, music & parliament

Day 9 – Wandering Brussels

 After a slow start we decided to head into town for a late breakfast since the area we’re in is somewhat bereft of breakfast cafes.  On the way we passed the Belgian Parliament house before coming across the The Cathedral of St. Michael and St. Gudula perched on high ground overlooking the city. 

A church on this site dates back to the 1300’s the first recorded ‘event’ was the funeral of the Duke of Brabant in 1312AD.  The gorgeous stained glass windows were really not at their best on this overcast and freezing cold day.

After breakfast we headed up to the Musuem of Musical Instruments that we had passed on our first day.   On the way we passed the 15^th century Cleves-Ravenstein Mansion. 

In a glorious Art Nouveau building it houses an extraordinary collection of musical instruments from all over the world and covering an extensive time period.

Some of the instruments I knew of, others I had never heard of, and others I knew  the word but never realised they related to instruments (like the hurdy gurdy).  Keep in mind that some of these photos are taken of instruments displayed inside glass cabinets.

This is a 'Hurdy Gurdy' ... I always thought it was some kind of made up word

A 'clog-fiddle' ... I kid you not!

Guitar Harp

It houses an extensive collection of harpsicords, clavichords and pianos from then to now, and a typewriter for writing your musical scores.

Inside the stunningly light St Jacques -sur- Coudenberg  a sweet little man busy arranging chairs invited me to come back at 6pm to hear the choir sing for the king.  Tempting but perhaps not.

Another church – this time the Englise Notre Dame du Sablon.

And up to the incredibly wind-swept WW1 Memorial and the scaffolding clad Palace of Justice which is currently undergoing a massive renovation. 

Back along Blvd de Waterloo and some window shopping in Louis Vuitton, Channel, Armani

Our last stop was the stunningly modern, hugely impressive but very closed European Parliament building (complete with machine-gun-toting soldiers which I did not dare take a photo of).  A piece of the Berlin wall was set in front of the European Parliament building on November 8^th 2014 on the 25^th Anniversary of the fall of the wall to “honour victims of dictatorial regimes and as a symbol of the European peoples’ commitment to peace, freedom and democracy’  Seems like a fitting way to end our Brussels visit.