Up the street from the abbey & park I recently shared from my last Brussels visit lie two lovely little lakes, called the Etangs d’Ixelles according to my map, of which I’d also been previously unaware.
Another delightful discovery on an evening walk at the end of day-long meetings in Brussels last week was the gardens of the Abbaye de la Cambre, which from the late 12th Century until abolishment in 1796 (French revolution and all) was a Cistercian Abbey in the Maelbeek valley…which to most untutored visitors today looks like a hilly part of Brussels. Yes, unlike A’dam, Brussels has hills! 🙂 But then, it also has more uncleared dog poop on its sidewalks than A’dam does, just sayin’. Today the complex houses both some religious stuff and an arts institute, while the gardens are quite lovely and open to the public.
Turns out that in 2020, midway through the year off that I took in the heart of covid, I really got into the festive decorations for the holiday season. That year, I sensed that many homeowners put in an extra effort, and I enjoyed biking and walking all over town to enjoy and photograph many of these creations, which I shared in many blog posts that December. Fast forward to this third Christmas in my current Amsterdam-based life. I’ve been too busy w/work and travel, and Amsterdam weather too absolutely abysmal whenever I’ve been around, for me to want to do any walking or biking to just seek out any holiday decorations one might find. (Picture me, instead, biking home after a long work day in my new rain-pants and fighting heavy headwinds with driving rain instead.)
Moreover, though they do a good job of neighborhood lights here, there’s no culture of holiday decorations in anywhere near the over-the-top manner you’ll see if you click that December 2020 link. (The image below shows you what they do on the central plaza that hosts both Dam Square & A’dam’s Royal Palace – see, just not such a thing, eh?) But on a day-trip to Brussels shortly before I flew off for that exhausting trip to Southeast Asia, I did have the distinct honor introducing my dear friends Howard & Gene to the national symbol of Belgium, already decked out in his seasonal finery on that last (rainy, naturally) Saturday in November. They’d never known of the existence of this unusual national symbol of that neighbor nation-state to the south! 🙂
Those paying any attention may notice an unusual theme in these two posts which’ll go up on the 25th – the prior post being an entrance my cousin Sam & I were a tad surprised by while walking to a movie theater during his visit. It’s just coincidence, friends, not a commentary on my mental state. Or, to the extent it is, let’s just say I and most colleagues I’ve spoken with will not be sad to see the end of 2023. Here’s my first of many wishes for a kinder, gentler 2024.
Parc Royal in Brussels again – I didn’t get to the royal palace in KL, nor did I even remember to take out my camera to photograph the royal customs sign at the KL airport on my way out. I must get myself with camera to one of the many royal palaces in NL soon, or this cute little series will run dry…
Sculpture in that previously mentioned “Parc Royal” of Brussels. Sits right next to the actual royal palace, but I didn’t manage to get over there for a shot of it. Sorry…next time?
Same Brussels neighborhood as the last post. Realizing how many different places I’ve been in recent months, by looking at my photo folders, is making tired in retrospect…
(so much world, so little time....) 