Brussels and Spa...

After Luxembourg, first stop Brussels where summer is sprouting out all over according to the subway signs ("Summer c'est tous nous" or is it nous tous?). Or it would be if the temperature creeps above 16 degrees.

The approach to the city centre.

We had a slight hitch as our first choice campsite was full and the second choice, (very distinctly second rate), was miles out of town but we snared the last remaining pitch and headed for town to have dinner with J and to watch the football in an Irish Bar.

Liverpool sneaked a win and we finished 5th in a pub quiz that was going on at the same time. Not a bad effort seeing as there were only 3 of us. We also managed to get home in the middle of the night without too many probs, thanks to the Metro and a handy taxi.

The next day we were off to Waterloo. June 18th 2015 was the 200th anniversary of this famous battle and I had been told to expect some special displays and expositions. All I can say is that the 5 "attractions" that are listed in the blurb are anything but. I plumped for the slightly cheaper option of "3 attractions" as the other two are some miles away from the battlefield and consisted of a "Wellington Museum" and something else that was so unremarkable that I've forgotten it. Iris decided that a rest in ther motorhome was more preferable than the museum.

The 3 attractions, (18 Euros, thank you very much), consisted of a third rate museum/display of the events around the battle, a wall mural "panorama" of the battlefield showing a 360 degree view of the battle at its zenith and finally the opportunity to scale the Lion Memorial that overlooks the battlefield.

 

The inscription on this peculiar exhibit reads; "Believe me, nothing except a battle lost, can be half so melancholy, as a battle won". Thus spake Arthur Wellesley.

 

I would honestly say that nothing could illustrate this quotation better, than a full-size, upside down, stuffed horse!

 

There was little else in the museum's display to fire the imagination but the various exhibits did illustrate the issue that Napoleon was considered to be an upstart and opportunist by all of the established "noble" houses throughout Europe. There had been many alliances raised by these crowned heads and their cronies and until his Russian campaign, Napoleon had seen them all off. The British navy was all that prevented his world domination.

 

There were portraits of most of the crowned heads of Europe scattered about the museum plus others of their hangers on and advisors. I would best sum them up as rather an inbred, ugly looking bunch wearing wigs.

 

 

This was the only really interesting exhibit in the museum. A body that had been found about 20 years ago and identified from the artifacts and paraphernalia in proximity to the site. He turned out to almost certainly be one of Wellington's Hanoverian Regiment. He was only about 160 cm tall, (about 5' 4'' in old money), and apparently this was about average height in the early 19th century.

Interesting though that he wasn't re-intered with the gravestone "Known unto God", as is the current fashion.

 

After leaving the museum and heading towards the Lion Memorial I bumped into Iris who was having a bit of a walkabout. As the entrance to this part of the memorial was hidden from the front desk we sneaked in by using my pass and us both going through the turnstile together - score!

 

The climb up the Lion Memorial is much much harder than it looks from a distance and there are about 350 steps to mount. Don't worry though there's Oxygen at the top, (i.e. in the rarified atmosphere).

The monument was originally constructed to commemorate the spot where William II of Orange was wounded in the battle but has now come to symbolise the whole event.

 

The Lion Memorial from behind the building holding the panorama (which is painted on the inside walls from floor to ceiling).

 

 

And the view from the top of the memorial. The landscape is a lot flatter thatn I'd imagined from reading accounts of the battle and it didn't seem that the slight rise occupied by Wellington and the main part of the troops would give any great advantage.

Hougoumont, where a detachment of Wellington's troops caused so much trouble for Napoleon, is hidden in the woods at about 2 o' clock. Most of Wellington's army was slightly to the rear of this position with Napoleon about 2 km away in the middle distance.

 

 

 Directly to the left of the Memorial and about a kilometre away, is the farmhouse of La Haye-Sainte, the other key defensive position for Wellington.

 

And then back to Brussels for a few days' rest before heading for Spa, (no not a spa, but the Spa), for the Belgian Grand Prix. We were lucky enough to get into a city centre site for a couple of nights  where we discovered Dyson's latest public hygiene innovation in the toilets:

 



 

This device, (when used by an expert), delivers water through the centre spout and allows you to wash your hands provided that you rotate them exactly under the correct sensor. After washing you then move your hands to the left and right where 2 more sensors deliver the usual blast of warm air to dry them.

 

Unfortunately, this device is not accompanied by warning signs or instructions in its use. These need to tell you that moving your hands more than about 5mm in any direction during the washing or drying operations, will result in water being delivered to the cupped hands or cunningly designed washing bowl and then re-directed by a force 15 hurricane to somewhere and anywhere in the bathroom. And, when I say anywhere, this will inevitably be over some part of your person, usually including your groin area, thus giving the impression that your visit to the toilet was somewhat accidental. 

 

Oh, and just by way of a gentle warning, DO NOT try to dry your recently moistened groin area with a Dyson airblade!

 

Our time in Brussels took in the city centre and "Grote Markt" or main square. This has several impressive 16th century buildings and these are inundated by a host of cafes and eateries.

 

 

A bit further down the street from the Grote Markt was the Church of Saint Niklaas - the original Santa Claus who is beloved in the Low Countries. I was expecting to find an elves grotto and reindeer and things but alas, it was just your regular Roman catholic church, with all the usual trappings. One thing that we hadn't come across before, was a profusion of votive candles at various places in the building, and these raised the temperature to about 40 celsius inside the church. Perhaps they were from people making their Christmas wishes.

 

 

 

This shrine, inside St. Niklaas, was to 17 priests and monks killed in the anti-catholic uprisings in the 17th century. Coincidentally, I had started reading a book about the same events two days beforehand. William of Orange, later William IV of Britain was in power, in this area, at this time.

 

After lunch near the Gross Markt, we spent the afternoon at the local museum, (only 5 minutes walk from Jo's flat). There are 5 different museums in the same building and a very charming woman took several minutes of her time to advise us of the best parts to visit. At the end of a long day we could only manage a fraction of the total though.

 

 

The museums!

 

We had a quiet dinner with Jo in a nearby Tapas restaurant, that was notable only for its mediocrity of food and service. The staff had all been trained to the same level as Manuel in Fawlty Towers, (just to give you an idea of their competence). 

 

At least it was genuinely ethnic, with the waiters and chef all being Spanish. (We came to this conclusion after unsuccessfully trying French, English and sign language before we discovered that they knew the word "Sangria").

 

Unfortunately, we were not allowed to beat the staff in the time honoured fashion practiced by Basil! I did punish them severely by not leaving a tip.

 

OK, that's it for this post. Next stop Spa!