The Old New Art of Brussels

After several botched attempts to travel to various last minute destinations, we settled on Brussels. There is nothing wrong with traveling to Brussels, I fact I have looked forward to it. However, the city is so close to Lille that we can travel there on a weekday and be back in time for dinner without fail. This makes it more practical to travel to more distant destinations on our extended weekends. I had hoped to save my trip to Brussels for a lackluster Wednesday. This was not to be, as circumstances now had me on my way to Brussels. 

The group traveling to Brussels that day got up early to catch a train at 7 a.m., to ensure we would have as much time in the city as possible. It didn’t take long after we had boarded for us to begin our day facing adversity. There was a rowdy trio of French youth that were causing some sort of raucous on our train car. The train conductor had gotten into an argument with them about whether or not they had tickets for the train (remember this argument was in French). After a series of increasingly aggressive verbal altercations that took place over the course of about a half hour, we came to a stop at a station in a less than inviting neighborhood. The train waited at that station for almost 10 minutes before we found out what was going on. The train conductor had called to police to remove the hooligans (who we later found out were drunk, at 7 in the morning) from the train. As soon as the trio heard this they suddenly became very apologetic, but the conductor managed to remove them from the train himself, and it seems the police were not necessary. The ordeal took about 15 minutes and the train was already behind schedule. This delay caused us to miss our transfer to Brussels at the next station. Things turned out alright as we simply had to wait a half hour for the next train to arrive. We eventually, after a rather stressful and exhausting morning, made it to Brussels.

Our first stop was the Musical Instrument Museum, a marvelous old Art Nouveau department store that was adapted and modified to house a collection of musical instruments that spanned centuries. Personally I was only interested in the architecture, but after we got inside I began to appreciate the artifacts of the museum as well. We were given headphones that plugged into an apparatus by each display case, allowing the visitor to listen to the instrument being played. Some of the instruments were truly marvelous and helped me to relax after a series of morning mishaps (one of which I will leave out, but know that there is more to the story). On the top floor of the museum is a restaurant that overlooks the city. The views were breathtaking and you could see the ornate Art Nouveau details in the structure on the roof. I took some great pictures there.

After the group had purchased a few drinks, we set off again. As a group we ventured around the nearby area until it was time for me to depart from the group. My objective was the Victor Horta Museum. None of the others were interested as it was too far away. Before I made my way over to the museum, I stopped by Grand Place to look at the renowned plaza. I then walked for a half hour through Brussels to get to the museum. After I arrived I took several pictures of the brilliant exterior. The ornate ironwork meshed beautifully with the hand carved stone. I had to wait in line another half hour to get inside. I also was not allowed take pictures once inside. It’s just as well, since having a camera probably would have distracted me from the astounding architecture I would soon behold. The home and studio of the architect Victor Horta was the single greatest piece of architecture I have ever had the joy of experiencing. Imagine the ornate detail and inspired space of a cathedral compressed into a house. Horta put such a great deal of thought and care into every detail of his home that my words could never do it justice. I could visit the house a thousand times and find something new each trip. A great deal of credit is also owed to the craftsmen who made Horta’s designs into reality. It took master carpenters to make the things that Horta designed. The building was simply a marvel to behold, and I am grieved by the fact that I won’t remember half of what I saw.

After I bought a few books in the museum gift shop to remember the building, I left to meet the others. I made the half hour trek back to Grand Place. Once we regrouped, we headed for the train station and caught a train back to Lille. Our day long adventure in Brussels was complete. I fear I may never see architecture as great as I experienced that day.