Travel Notes|The Land of Passion·Belgium

Belgium was probably a place I had no idea of ​​before I went there, but it was a place that surprised me after I arrived.

DAY5

We only stayed in Belgium for two days in total. According to the weather forecast, one day was sunny and the other was showery, so we arranged the sunny day in the famous tourist city of Bruges.

The drive from Brussels to Bruges takes about an hour and a half. The Bruges train station is at the southwest end of the town. You can start your tour of the town within a few steps after exiting the station.

Stepping into the town, a trail covered with golden leaves directly attracted us. As soon as Bruges was unveiled, a breath of freshness hit our faces.

At the end of the trail is the Lake of Love, a small and quiet lake, with water birds in twos and threes walking back and forth on the lake.

The World Heritage Beguinage at the end of the lake is not open to the public, so we walked around quietly. Before heading to the next attraction, the Church of Our Lady, the passing scenery also made us stop frequently. The square covered with leaves, the swans by the lake, the exquisite snacks in the shop, and the unique sculptures, the status of the town of Bruges is slowly rising in the mind.

In contrast, the Notre Dame Church (which is found everywhere) has no great features other than towering into the clouds. You can visit the interior, but the internal space is separated by partitions, which makes it less shocking.

Just around the corner from Our Lady's Church, you'll reach the Bridge of Love at First Sight. Legend has it that when you step onto this bridge, you will fall in love with the first person of the opposite sex you meet. From the perspective of a man in science and engineering, this legend is too loose. Is the first person of the opposite sex time-sensitive? For example, if I haven’t met the opposite sex for a long time after getting off the bridge, will the spell automatically expire? How does it count as meeting? Does it count as meeting if you see it from a distance, or do you need to look at each other to count it as meeting? If you fall in love with someone at first sight, what should you do if they don’t get on the bridge or the first person they see when they get on the bridge is not you? This setting is too loose, it’s really... a love story.

Not far from the Church of Our Lady is the Episcopal Church of the Holy Savior (also found everywhere). Like the Church of Our Lady, it also has the shape of a spire, but the spire is smaller and there are four small spiers on the side. You can visit the Holy Savior Episcopal Church inside. The interior is basically the same stained glass, reliefs, and pipe organ that the church has. There is nothing particularly special.

After having a lunch at the Golden Arches (which tasted almost the same as in China), we walked along the street to Bruges’ landmark Market Square. The Bruges Bell Tower (also translated as Bruges Bell Tower, which is actually another translation of Bruges) pointing directly into the sky on the square also rang its bells. Although the 88-meter-high bell tower is not the tallest building in the town (the Notre-Dame Church is 122 meters high), it is certainly the most unique. It was also listed as a World Heritage Site in 1999 as one of the "Belgian and French Bell Towers".

The bell tower can be climbed, and it is the only building that can be climbed in the entire Netherlands and Belgium. It is very unfriendly to tourists that all churches cannot be climbed.

There is a box on the first floor inside the clock tower. The description seems to be that it stores some important documents, but it still feels like picking up a treasure box in an RPG. The mechanical clock on the middle floor of the clock tower was being repaired, and the hard-working technicians were photographed.

The top of the tower is open, and it was blown like a dog by the strong wind... However, the view from the top of the tower was very good. Unfortunately, the sun was too strong that day, and it was so dark in the backlit direction that I could not see anything clearly. The sunny side is simply picturesque.

A few steps from the Market Square is Burg Square or Castle Square, which has two buildings: the City Hall and the Holy Blood Church. The Basilica of the Holy Blood is said to enshrine the holy blood of Jesus. After so many years, the protein has long since decayed and decomposed.

Going out from the small door next to the Holy Blood Temple, the number of tourists gradually became fewer and fewer. There is a nice small park, and at the end there is a church with no Chinese name on the map. The color of the church is very special. It is called Kerkfabriek Heilige Maria on the map. Even if it is the Church of St. Mary, it is far away from the hustle and bustle, and the mind will be empty.

The farthest point is the last stop, the Old City Gate. Bruges originally had seven gates, three of which have been destroyed. Among the four remaining gates, Gentpoort Gate is the most convenient. The city gate is very antique and ordinary. The city gate has lost its original function and just stands in place, with cars passing by on both sides in a steady stream.

The bridge behind the city gate is quite special. This was the first time I saw a single-sided bridge being opened with my own eyes. Witnessed the process from the opening of the bridge to its fall. (There was no osmo at the time, so it was a little wobbly).

The city gate can be climbed, and you can see the Church of Our Lady, the "Church of Santa Maria" and the bell tower from a distance. The Church of the Holy Savior is blocked by the Church of Our Lady, and is shorter than it, so there is no chance to see it from a distance.

I thought our trip to Bruges was over. But when I was walking back along the trail by the moat, I saw a father and son walking. The child looked like 2-3 years old. He yelled excitedly and rushed towards a pile of fallen leaves, and then buried himself in it. And his father just smiled and watched. Under the sunset, I can't help but smile and feel tender.

It was getting dark on the train, but the excitement of the day had not yet passed. So we enjoyed ourselves in front of the car window, but the setting sun in the distance did not give us any more afterglow. When we arrived in Brussels, it was dark again at 6 o'clock.

DAY6

Brussels is the seat of the European Union and can be said to be the capital of the European Union. The streets of Brussels are lively and noisy.

Across the busy promenade Saint-Hubert is the Grand Place. The City Hall on the Grand Place is as impressive as many European landmarks. When you step into the Grand Place, you can't help but say "Wow". However, the Brussels City Hall is asymmetrical! ! It's simply an obsessive-compulsive series. There are 11 arches on the left side and only 6 on the right side on the first floor, and the sizes are also different. The most outrageous thing is that the gate is not directly below the tower, but slightly to the left. It is simply unbearable.

The buildings on all sides of the entire square are very distinctive. Opposite the City Hall is the King's Building, which is currently used as a city museum. It was once the administrative and judicial center of Brussels. This building is gray-black and looks out of place with other gold-plated and silver-plated buildings on the square, giving it an extra sense of calmness and solemnity. .

There is a building called the Swan Café on the southwest side of the city hall. It is the place where Marx and Engels worked. It is now a restaurant, but the white swan on the porch still tells memories of the past.

On the way from the Grand Place to the Royal Palace, you will pass by a square called the Mont des Arts. In front of the square is a bronze statue of Albert I. Albert I reigned from 1909 to 1934. Although he chose neutrality during World War I, he faced Germany's The invasion was resisted tenaciously, and Liege became famous in the first battle, which bankrupted Germany's Blitzkrieg in World War I.

Opposite Albert there is a stone statue named Elizabeth, but no record of her can be found. But she and Albert have been looking at each other for many years. Is there a story of affection?

At the end of the Mont des Arts is the Royal Square, in the center of which is a bronze statue of Bouillon Godfrey, leader of the First Crusade, with the Jacobite Church of Fort Kotenberg behind it. Surrounded by a series of classical buildings such as the National Gallery, the Palace of Justice in Brussels at the far end of the south side is also an unforgettable building.

Turn a corner and you’ll arrive at the Royal Palace of Brussels. Although this palace cannot be visited currently (it is open from July to early September), it is much more majestic than the Dutch Royal Palace. To describe it simply, if the camera cannot fit in it, it can completely blow up the Royal Palace of the Netherlands. This is how powerful it is.

There is a small garden at the entrance of the palace, and across the road is the Brussels Park. The park is filled with lawns and trees, nothing special.

Take 4 subway stops from the park to reach the 50th Anniversary Park. Construction began in 1880 to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Belgian independence. The park is as ordinary as the park opposite the palace, with many morning joggers. The Arc de Triomphe at the end of the park is huge and solemn. What's a bit off is that the Arc de Triomphe faces a park instead of an avenue.

The last stop of the day was the Cathedral of St. Michael and St. Gudula. This church is on the only way from the train station to our hotel. We paid close attention to it on the first day we arrived. In the next few days, I had at least 2 contacts almost every day.

The church was built in 1047 as a small church. It was expanded in 1226 and was not completed until the end of the 15th century more than 200 years later. The main tower is 69 meters high, which is lower than the Notre Dame Church and Bell Tower in Bruges. However, due to the undulating terrain of the entire city of Brussels, the church is built on a high ground, so it looks particularly oppressive.

You can visit the interior of the church. Its wooden pulpit is very unique. Different from the ordinary pulpits of many churches that I have seen before, the decoration of the pulpit of St. Michael's Church is complicated and unique. Standing on the top is an angel holding a golden cross (if the hand is not a cross but a bright silver gun, it would be Changshan Zhao Zilong), the sides are decorated with (I don't recognize) plants, and there is a gold coat of arms on the lower side. emblems and various engravings.

While wandering around the church, the sunlight through the ceiling glass suddenly weakened and it rained heavily. If you have faith, you will definitely thank God for the gift of being protected from the rain at this time.

When the train stopped at the platform in Brussels, as soon as the door opened, a burst of noisy air rushed into the face. After experiencing the desertedness of the Netherlands, such noise is a relief. We are accustomed to crowds, and we put down our caution in a foreign land in the noise. Brussels is probably more suitable for Chinese life.

Is this Drug Opera a place where people take drugs?

Behind the Grand Place in Brussels, there is a "food street" where we spent all our meals out for three days. Compared to the lack of restaurants around Amsterdam's Dam Square, it's even more bustling here. There is a male waiter at the door of all stores to solicit business. Some will say "hello" and "beef" (the word meat can also make a vibrato - -b), and some will exaggerate when they hear us say "finished". He said "Oh my gosh" with a regretful face.

Mussels, Chinese food, and barbecue are far from delicious compared to those in China, but they feel like a dining atmosphere and your appetite is whetted.

Shopping malls in Belgium generally opened earlier than those in the Netherlands. In the Netherlands, it is basically open until 11 o'clock, while in Belgium, it is basically open at 10 o'clock. The 24th was Black Friday, and there were a large number of people queuing up at the entrance of the mall, waiting for the door to open. Once the store opened, there was crazy shopping, and it felt like Nanjing Road...

Another sight that can make people feel "used to" on the streets of Brussels is beggars. The density of beggars is even higher than that in Shanghai. This has never been seen on the streets of the Netherlands. However, the beggars in Brussels are not as miserable as those in Shanghai. They are basically clean and tidy, wrapped in a quilt, and stretch out their hands when someone passes by. They have no disabilities and no lip-synching. It seems that the competition is not too fierce.

The atmosphere in Belgium is more like home, so it makes people feel friendly and comfortable.