Day 1 Evening - at the impressive St.Pancras International Train Station, London - home to the Eurostar Train services to mainland Europe !
Bharat just can't seem to get away from work [...and vice versa :) ]
The check-in terminals at St.Pancras station
Inside the Eurostar ....took us 2 hours ...including 30 mins through the Channel Tunnel [ under the English Channel ] to get us from London to Brussels !
Anil and Bharat
On arrival at Brussels Midi Train Station !
A tribute to Herge - the creator of Tintin !
Brussels - here we come !
The weather was lovely.....and so we take a midnight stroll through the streets of Brussels !
After a ravishing snack at a Kebab house
Day 2 - Early morning....Enroute to Brussels Midi train station
Impressive medieval architecture ....just outside the Beurs metro station
On the train from Brussels to Bruges ...we accidentally got into the 1st Class ....but didn't bother to change over !
Beautiful Bruges !
The streets of Bruges
Trying to find our way into the city centre
Typically European cobble-stoned roads
Perspective :)
The photographer and his subjects :)
Its never too old to be cycling :)
Borat at his best :)
Rama and I
The Wall
A popular tourist attraction in the city
The beautiful canals
The boats offer a very different insight into the city
Rush-hour traffic :)
Antiques on sale
Wherever we go ...the network follows :)
In the horizon is the Saint-Salvator Cathedral.
Exploring the city centre
Grote Markt - the main square in the city
Provinciaal Hof (Provincial Court) at the Grote Markt
The Belfry - situated at the south side of the Grote Markt.
That's how tall it is
Looking up at the Bell tower
The northern side of the square
Billions of blue blistering barnacles.....that's a Tintin shop !!!
Thundering typhoons .....Capn.Haddock !!!
Looking for a place to grab some lunch
Checking-out the menu at a fast-food joint for any familiar names
Belgians enjoying their lunch under the sun at the Grote Markt
Test-riding the bikes ....we had booked ourselves on a guided cycle tour from Bruges upto the Dutch Border !
Here the guide is seen explaining a point to some of the American Tourists in our group, at the Burg Square
Off we go ...
In no time, we were pedaling through the lush green countrysides.....
......past herds of cows
...and occasionally, other modes of transportation as well !
Rama - the politician !
Capn. Curpad
Been cycling to work since summer ....all that practice paid-off for me :)
...but some hadn't sat on a cycle since school :)
The tour took us through beautiful, pristine villages !
We were forced into a mini-break when one of our fellow bikers broke his pedal
Entering the town of Damme [...now we know where Van Damme gets his name from ]
At the Damme Town Centre, in our Disney T-shirts :) [ .....we had bought these at Disneyland, Paris 2 weeks ago ]
Leaving the town ....
....into more villages ....
...and past more grazing cows !
This was the scene of a fierce battle during WW2 ....Here the guide explains how the advancing Canadians took on the Nazis who were positioned on the other side of the Canal !
Bharat shows how interested he is, in the lecture :)
Drop-dead beautiful !!! [ No....this is not a Windows Wallpaper :) ]
Road to nowhere !
Moving on ...
On the far side of the canal, was Holland
There's hardly any traffic around here !
Entering Damme on our return leg
The guide makes a point
As part of the bike tour package, we were entitled to 1 drink at this traditional pub at Damme
Pulling-in to the pub for some refreshments
Borat tries some Belgian White beer, where as Anil opts for a more sober option :)
Rama goes for something that looks like Tomato ketchup ...yucks :)
More sober options here :)
...and of course, I opted for some Jupiter - a traditional Belgian beer !
Been cycling for nearly 3 hours !
At Damme town centre
This canal leads all the way up to the North Sea coast !
Being right across the Dutch border, windmills were very common in this part of Belgium !
I actually got off my bike to get a snap of this Black Beauty !
Cycling past party-goers
Waiting for our guide to come and find us after being lost on our way back into Bruges
The canal-side
Hmmmmm
Would have been a perfect picture ...if only I hadn't closed my eyes :(
Back at Burg Square ..in front of the Stadhuis (Town Hall)
BAU at work :)
We were seriously running out of good poses :)
That's as close as one can get !
Making a statement :)
The Burg square was the historical city centre of Bruges
At the Grote Markt square
Next, we took a guided boat ride through the canals
That's the whole gang !
Swans !
Restaurants along the water-front
Due to its extensive canal network, Bruges is called 'Venice of the North'
Space definitely was a constraint when these were built :)
Basking under the sun !
More swans and more bridges
Cafes overlooking the canal
"Ahoy ...bridge ahead ! "
The floating town
Wish I had a wall like this in my home too :)
The kid seemed as lost as we were :)
The boat trip done, it was now time for a ride in the Horse Carriage
In the carriage
When the lady pulled the carriage over for a pit-stop !
All 5 of us !
In the driver's seat :)
Bumber-to-Bumber [..or rather Head-to-Tail ] traffic :) - the carriage that was tailing us !
The carriage dropped us back at the Burg square, as there was a concert happening at the Grote Markt square.
Frozen in time !
Evening ...at the Grote Markt
The tall spire in the horizon is the Notre-Dame cathedral of Bruges...which houses the world-famous work of Michaelangelo - 'Madonna and the child'
The skyline at dusk !
The moon at twilight
Playing Dumb Charades while waiting for the return train to Brussels
On the top floor of the double-decker train to Brussels
We got down at Lokeren, bought some dinner and changed trains
Day 3 - Back in Brussels ...but raining like crazy !
At the Grand Place - the main square of the city ...there was a Beer Fest happenning here !
Processions celebrating Belgian beer !
How's that for a pint ? :)
The taxi was meant to take only 4 passengers legally...hence I was asked to crouch as low as possible in the back seat :)
Tintin's very own rocket - used in 'The explorers on the moon' - at the Comic Book museum
With a sculpture of Tintin ..and in the background - a picture of Herge with this !
Asterix - the Gaul ...and Dogmatix :)
Haddock and Tintin !!! Check out the price-tags -> 298 and 297 euros each !!!!!!!!!!!!!
Tintin with the Thomsons :)
Tintin and Abdullah [ 430 euros !!! ]
Tintin in Tibet
Dressed up as a Scot !
Borat examining the minute details of every toy we bought ..whilst the rest of the gang silently watch from behind :)
With all the merchandise we bought from the comic book museum !
Out on the streets of Brussels
Down-town !
In front of the 13th century Cathedrale Saint-Michel
We hopped on to a City Sightseeing bus from near the Cathedral
Since it was raining, the covers were out !
Eglise St-Jacques- sur-Coudenberg ...and in the centre - a statue of Godfrey de Bouillon, on his way to Jerusalem for the First Crusade
The Infantry Memorial - in memory of the Belgian soldiers who died in WW1. Beyond that... the beautiful terrace overlooking the city
In front of the Palais Royal
The Palais Royale - the Belgian flag flies when the King/Queen is at the residence.
Brussels has its very own Arc de Triomphe !
Protestors outside one of the EU offices ...... this happens in Europe as well ;)
Wonder why all the sculptures here are green !
Guess who :)
....now you know :)
The monument to Leopold the First - the first king of Belgium
The Atomium - based on the atomic structure of iron and a symbol of modern Brussels !
102 metres high and with an observatory at the top..too bad we didn't have the time to go up :(
Thats how big the structure is !
Enjoying the cool breeze !
On top of the bus
The Chinese Pavilion
..and the Japanese Pagoda !
Some of the residential localities.
Meeeee
Believe it or not ...those are actual cars !
The modern quarters of Brussels
....
...and some of the ancient sections of the city
Heading towards the Grand Place for the second time...This time it wasn't pouring thankfully !
At the Grand Place !
Charging across the Square
The Grand Place is the liveliest and the most important Square in Brussels
...perfect place to host a Beer Fest :)
Tough choices - List of all the varieties of beer available at the Fest !!!
Belgians guzzling under the sun !
On one end of the Grand Place was the Beer Museum !
The whole gang !
Cobble-stoned streets around the Grand Place
Tintin, Capt.Haddock and Snowy charging down a building :)
These chaps were playing REM's 'Losing my religion' - one of my fave songs
These bunch of girls offered a very interesting incentive to donate money for charity ....
For every 50 cents, the donor gets to cut a small piece of cloth from her skirt !!! :O
It was some kind of a tradition to rub this sculpture from head to toe..I decided to pose for a picture with it instead !
Anil in front of the 'Mannekken-Pis' - the most famous fountain in Belgium ...currently dressed-up in this green attire !
Give a camera to Cheapo Rama, and he's bound to take a picture like this ;)
The shopping streets around the square !
Out on a shopping spree !
All the stuff we had shopped !!! Thank God, the Eurostar didn't have any luggage restrictions ..unlike flights :)
Last view of Brussels ...from the Eurostar on our way back to London
Anil gifted each of us a Disney toy - Bharat got Goofy :)
Rama with his Chipmunks :)
The gifts we got ......and the 'star' who presented it to us !
Back on English soil.....soon after disembarking from the Eurostar at London !
The impressive St.Pancras station !
When we ran into Vijay Mallya at St.Pancras !
