Brussels Again!

February 2: So I made it back to Brussels to check out a little bit more of the culture. The first place I visited was the St. Michael and Gudula Cathedral. It actually reminded me a lot of Notre Dame in Paris, except that the towers on this one were symmetrical.

A little history. It was founded by Lambert II, Count of Leuven in 1047, but was named Gudula after the relics of Saint Gudula (no idea who that is) which were brought here shortly after the church was built. It wasn't originally in the gothic style, but was renovated beginning in the 13th century, and was finished in the middle of the 15th century.

Then we went to visit the musical instruments museum. The contents didn't have much to do with Belgium, but it's one of the largest collections in the world. Johannes, the guy playing the piano in the picture kept asking me how to say them in English, but there were so many things that I had never even seen before. Then it was back out to the Grande Place of Brussels again where we spent some time checking out the guild buildings. Each type of tradesman had their own building where they lived and worked, and each trade was sculpted on the facade and then the buildings zere edged in gold.

Last, but not least, I tried my first bite of a Belgian waffle with strawberries and whipped cream. I know you're probably thinking, "How can their waffles be any better than ours?" To be honest, I don't know, but with how hard they are to resist after that first one, i think they might be laced with something. Sidenote - there's two very different kinds of Belgian waffles: Brussels and Liege. Liege are good, Brussels are not. The things you learn...