Hi.
It’s been two weeks. Don’t
hate me, ok? I could tell you I’ve
been busy, but that’s a partial truth.
I have been busy. I also haven’t had any
earth-shatteringly amazing adventures to share—well, any more than the daily
quota. I wish I could tell you
that in these last two weeks I reached a level of Belgian enlightenment that
has allowed me to see the beauty in everything around me, to speak French
flawlessly, to assimilate into the culture and society like a woman delving
fearlessly into a foreign jungle… Yeah, no. As we jokingly say in my group, “Every day is an adventure.”
(Not usually a good thing)
I am late more times than I am on time because
I evidently live in a vacuum where it doesn’t matter how early I wake up, when
I leave my apartment, or what time I catch the tram because somehow I will be
late anyway. No really. I’m usually very punctual, mostly
because I don’t like the stress of running late, but I just can’t win for
losing here. My worst offense was
this past Wednesday when we were supposed to meet at the “Maison de l’Histoire
europeenne en Exil” for an exhibition at 2 o’clock. At 2:30, I was several blocks from the actual building,
waiting on the side of the road for our professor to hike over and retrieve
me. Apparently I’m 23 going on 7.
When I’m not running late, I’m usually in the
wrong place, which is equally as fun.
Case in point: “The Search for the Bureau where I Obtain my ID Card.” I’ll blame jetlag for this one
considering on the very first day of classes, Madame Caenen explained how to
obtain our ID cards. Very clearly
in my notes I wrote, “Go to the Bureau d’Enregistrement,” but there’s not rush,
as Madame Caenen tells us, because we only need to go within the first two
weeks of arriving. So after
getting my feet under me a bit in Brussels, I decided to go to the Bureau
d’Enregistrement Monday before last.
I left my foyer at 9 AM knowing I need to catch the 9:30 bus and then
switch over to the tram before walking the rest of the way to the Bureau. So I leave and I walk and I walk and
then I walk some more… It’s like trying to find the metro all over again. Where is this bus stop?? I’m trying to catch the 94, but all I
can see is the 90 and 93. Surely
the 94 should be nearby. For over
an hour, I walk up and down blocks trying to figure out where I’ve gone wrong
before I’m forced to give up and go to classes. When I get home, I look at the street plan online where I’ve
mapped out my route, bewildered and a little pissed off, and discover that the
map online is upside down. I
walked for over an hour in the wrong direction… Then the following day when I
finally arrived at the Bureau d’Enregistrement, waited in line for 30 minutes,
and went up to the counter, the lady told me, “You can’t get an ID card
here. You have to go to the
Municipal Court of Ixelles.”
What?
After visiting the Municipal Court of Ixelles,
I soon discovered I’m on the cusp of Ixelles and actually technically in
Etterbeek. Therefore, I need to go
to the Municipal Court of Etterbeek if I want to get my ID card. Of course at the Municipal Court of
Etterbeek, after waiting in line for 40 minutes, I’m told I can’t apply for an
ID card until I’m registered and in order to register I have to go downstairs,
wait in another line for another 40 minutes, and talk to the next person. This person in turn tells me I have to
have an appointment to register, so he kindly sets one up for me…a week and
half later.
I can see why there are so many illegal aliens
here. They probably couldn’t
figure out what Municipal Court to go to or got lost along the way and gave up.
But hey when I’m not running late or lost, I
tend to enjoy myself. I’ve been on
multiple tours of Brussels, craning my neck in front of museums and churches,
hastily taking notes on the socio-economic development of the city, and milieus
of pictures. Here are some of my
favorite sites:
Le
Palais de justice or The Law Courts of Brussels.
It is a massive building in the heart of Brussels
situated high up on a hill, requiring you to take an elevator up if you come
from below, and when I say massive, I do mean massive (It is bigger than St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome).
Given its eclectic style, a mélange of Egyptian,
Greco-Roman, and numerous other styles, the architecture is as monumental as
the size. The Ionic columns,
Art-Nouveau bronze nudes, stone carvings of lions (a symbol of Belgium), and
Greco geometrical tiling… It’s breathtaking.
The architect Joseph Poelaert was strategic and
smart in his planning, situating this monolith where it is today, because it
towers over Brussels: Justice sees all from its lofty position. Of course at the time Poelaert was building,
he was not a very popular guy. Le
Palais de justice was part of a greater gentrification project in the 19th
century in Brussels under Leopold I, which tore down poor neighborhoods in the
centre-ville and pushed numerous workers out toward the outskirts of the
city.
To this day it remains active. As we filed in cameras in hand we
passed lawyers heading off to proceedings, and within the main great room there
are tables all around in little nooks where lawyers and their clients discuss
on-going cases. Pretty cool.
I’ve been back to the Palais de justice twice and
will probably continue to go until I have explored every cranny I can and have
taken the perfect pictures to capture its size, symmetry, and intricate beauty.
La Place
du Petit Sablon. An absolutely breathtaking park
situated around a fountain crowned by two aristocratic-looking men.
During the war between Catholicism and
Protestantism, these two Catholic men apparently sheltered Protestants who were
meant to be killed for their religion.
In turn, this park was built by a Protestant architect and dedicated to
those two men.
Also noteworthy is
the wrought iron gate surrounding the park. Each post seats a bronze statue representing a different line
of work, so that you can walk around and try to identify each.
Not to mention the garden itself is
emblematic of that European symmetry, man conquering nature, and it is so
beautiful it almost seems surreal.
L’Atomium.
Debatably one of the most famous landmarks in Brussels, it was completed
in 1958 by engineer Andre Waterkeyn and architects Andre and Jean Polak.
It represents an iron atom magnified
some odd billion times while the outside plating was originally done in
aluminum—hence, atomium. Of the nine spheres, only five spheres
are habitable. The central tube is
actually an elevator that takes you to the top sphere where there’s a panorama
level for you to see all around Brussels.
It reminds me of standing at the top of the Eiffel Tower.
Stunning.
The other spheres are filled with memorabilia about the construction of
the Atomium as well as an exhibit: Poetry in Lights. It’s kind of crazy like a Euro discotheque meets a
spaceship.
There’s even a place where little Belgian school
children can come and sleep in giant H2O bubbles and learn about science. We all stare longingly at these
quaint futuristic beds while a sign nearby tells us we’re too big to be allowed
inside…. Sigh.
Of course I’m over-simplifying Brussels to whittle
it down to three landmarks, so here are a few pictures to show you what else
the city has to offer:
This week's post was not so much using my words as
my camera, but it seemed appropriate.
Next, I hope to tell you about the festival in my quartier this past
weekend and about the paradox of being Belgian.
Until next time, bis!
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