Something to Declare

Getting acquainted with Brussels

October 14-16, 2025

We’d had fears regarding the U.S. government shut-down affecting air travel. As it turned out, getting to Brussels was easy-peasy and on-time. We arrived on the morning of October 15 and our VRBO host, Simon, was there to let us drop off our luggage.

This was early morning, and the apartment wouldn’t be ready until 2 pm. So, having about four hours to kill, we found a Métro route to the Centraal Station. Then to the central square (Grande Place or Grote Markt), ringed by opulent Baroque guildhalls, and two larger edifices: the Town Hall (Hotel de Ville) and the King’s House, or Maison de Roi, shown here:

In Flemish the latter is called the Broodhuis (“Bread House”), referencing the building’s original function as a bread market before it became a royal administrative center.  Apparently, in early Belgium, they had the concept of re-purposing real estate.

We took the opportunity to tour the Hotel de Ville, or “Town Hall.” This “flamboyant” building had been a sort of a work-in-progress, with some rooms finished in the Middle Ages, some in the Renaissance, and some in the 17th and 18th centuries.

After our tour, it was time (ta-da!) for lunch. Stef’s friend Janet had recommended a nearby place called Roue D’Or for good moules-frites, . Charming, lovely décor (inspired by Magritte and the Belle Epoque), looking very…..uh….Belgian. It did not disappoint.

FYI, the Belgians claim to have invented French Fries. The distinguishing feature is that Belgian fries are thicker and traditionally double fried in beef tallow. Yikes!! But delish.

Back home to Avenue des Gloires Nationales 6:

This morning (Thursday, October 16,) the first order of the day was food shopping. Our VRBO host, Jolanda (wife of Simon), had recommended the supermarket, Intermarché. Quite satisfactory: We’d done research on local specialities and bought fish (plaice), Autumn Giant cauliflower (chou-fleur or bloemkool), and potatoes (bintje). 

In the afternoon, we took a long stroll through the charming Parc Elisabeth, (built in 1880), located right across the street.

The walk through the park included detours to mouth-watering boulangeries and patisseries,

en route to the nearby National Basilica of the Sacred Heart in our very own neighborhood of Koekelberg. This is the fifth largest church in the world (!), the top four being St. Peter’s Basilica (Vatican City), the Cathedral Basilica of Our Lady of Aparecida (Brazil), the Cathedral of St. John the Divine (New York City), and the Basilica of Our Lady of Licheń (Poland). Pretty impressive from the outside and especially noteworthy for its Art Deco and neo-Byzantine design and vast green copper dome:

]The interior was equally striking

The building was commissioned in 1904 but the intervening two world wars delayed its opening until 1970.

Home again, home again, for Happy Hour. Followed by preparation of din-din from our haul at Intermarché. And, of course, writing the within blog post. See you tomorrow!