Lille, France

When we were booking our trip to Brussels we thought that we it would be quite nice to visit another city as well so we chose Lille, not far from the Belgium border and also on the Eurostar line.

We arrived by bus, it taking just an hour and a half through the Belgium and French countryside. Our bus took us to the very heart of the Lille's transport system with Eurolille station being only a ten minute walk from our accommodation. Our self-catering hotel room The Calm, was an excellent choice of location and very good value for our NZ dollar. Within minutes of leaving our hotel we were in Lille Centre with its Grand Place, the Lille Cathedral and old Lille, and we spent our three days exploring on foot. We probably did more than a few extra kms than needed as it was very easy to lose your bearings and just when you thought you were near your destination we found we were several streets away in the wrong direction!! Thank goodness for the mapping system on the iPad. It works like a mini GPS and shows you exactly where you are.

 

 

 

 

Lille is a city of just under 200 000 and dates back many centuries to when it was a fortified town. It was a target in both WW1 and WW 2 and many of their beautiful buildings were destroyed. But just like the Belgiums they wanted their buildings returned to how they looked before the wars and looking at them today it is difficult to such devastation ever took place. We got a very good overview of the whole city by climbing the several hundred stairs of the Town Hall Belfry to their viewing platform.

 

 

 

 

 

The Art Gallery, the Palais Beaux-Arts Lille was also worthy of a visit, with many old masters paintings. We spent over two hours browsing the galleries with me trying to use my school French to understand the descriptions. I did better than I thought!

 

 

 

A Bruegel, my favourite.

 

There are several green areas close to the centre and we took the opportunity to enjoy the spaces. One included the Citadel, and ancient fortication that is still used today by the military. It was lovely to see so many people out enjoying it too - office workers jogging in their lunch hour, dozens of children in Out of School Holiday programmes, as well as lots of families.

 

 

 

 

The entrance to the Citadel.

 

 

 

We certainly enjoyed our French break, and Lille is certainly a popular tourist destination with such easy access on the Eurostar. There is plenty to see, lots of shopping and plenty of eating establishments and we found the French most accommodating with our limited French. Much more so than in previous visits to Paris and Nice. Maybe it is the close proximity to Belgium.

 

 

 

 

This shop is called Eden Park, the rugby legend!

 

 

 

Au revoir France as we caught the Eurostar back to the UK.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Brussels

Day two with our tour guide was in and around Brussels, the capital city of Belgium and headquarters to the Euuopean Union. But before we started our tour proper of Brussels we saw a little of Overijise, the small town closest to Susan and Roger's place. It is a town of about 22 000 people and because of it's rural aspect it is an attractive area to live. In the village of Jezus-Eik (part of Overijse) is the church of Our Beloved Lady and it is famous for the pilgrimages made to see the Jesus Oak. Miracles could be had by touching this tree, which now is merely a stump, but still able to be touched, inside the church. The stories date back to the 17 th century. Even the art work is reason enough to visit this church which lines the walls.

The village centre of Overijse. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Overijse

 

The remaining part of the Jesus Oak.

 

 

 

 

Brussels is a fascinating city with its new and old buildings often side by side. Susan pointed out various buildings on our way into the city, and explaining their different styles of archetecture with Art Nouveau having a strong influence. Our city tour started by taking us to the Royal Palace, which dates back to the 18th century, where we were free to wander through all the reception rooms. The first Belgium king was King Leopold in 1831.

 

 

 

 

We then parked the car for the day and did a walking tour through the main city with Susan pointing out the interesting features of the city. We saw the covered shopping galleries built for King and Queen, sampled Belguim chocolate, saw the Brussels Town Hall with its fine archetecture, the spectacular stained glass windows in the cathedral and the famous Mannekin Pis. The day we saw him he was in his birthday suit but we understand he has a whole wardrobe of costumes he can wear, depending on the occasion.

 

 

The City Hall with its fine archetecture including the central portal that isn't symmetrically lined up and according to legend caused the architect to take his life by jumping from it on its completion.

 

 

 

 

King's Gallery

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1. "Manneken Pis is a landmark small bronze sculpture in Brussels, depicting a naked little boy urinating into a fountain's basin. It was designed by Hiëronymus Duquesnoy the Elder and put in place in 1618 or 1619".

 

 

Susan had us ducking in and out of shops and buildings to show us specific points of interest such as a bakery/patisserie, original bars and into the cafe of the traditional puppet theatre. At one stage we stopped for lunch at a 'le pain du quotidien' cafe, where we enjoyed our lunch at a communal table.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"It is said among locals that the statue of Everard t'Serclaes brings luck and grants the wishes of all who touch it."

 

 

One iconic sight we actually saw the day before on our way home from the Battlefields tour. This was the Atomium, built for the 1958 Brussels World Fair and like the Eiffel Tower not suppose to remain after the event but here it still is, now a symbol of Brussels.

 

 

 

 

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The Battle fields tour

Susan was our tour guide and an excellent one at that. We gathered that she had played tour guide for many a visitor. We had quite a drive from Overijse to the Ypres area (about150km) so we left at 9:30. Unfortunately we got lots of slow traffic and it ended up taking us at least another hour. Susan wasn't too concerned as we had all day.

 

First stop was Mesen (Messine) which is where the NZ memorial stands. The 3rd NZ Rifle Brigrade took the ridge here on June 7th 1917 during the Battle of Messine but they were unfortunately unable to hold it. Each year on ANZAC day a memorial is held here at 9am and Susan and Roger always like to attend.

The soldier was unveiled as part of the 100th anniversary. Close to this is a small museum which gives a history of the Battle of Messine as well as the other 'horrors' associated with war.

 

 

 

 

Next stop was the In Flanders Fields museum in Ypres. This is an extensive modern exhibition that makes excellent use of technology and we spent a good two hours in here browsing the exhibits, many of them interactive. We also climbed to the top of the belfry tower to view Ypres and the surrounding areas. It is hard to believe this town was totalled destroyed and that it has been completely rebuilt as it. Many of the buildings have their rebuilt date on them.

http://www.inflandersfields.be/e

 

 

 

After a lunch break our destination was the Menin Gate (very close to the museum) which was built to commemorate the Commonwealth soldiers that lost their lives. Unfortunately there was not enough space on the walls to list all the names and the NZ names can be found at Tyne Cot. Another service is held here each ANZAC day at 11am and this includes all the commonwealth countries.

 

 

 

Next we went out to Tyne Cot, which is quite close to Passendale. An excellent visitor centre has opened here and after a good look at the information we made our way out to the cemetery and the memorial. It is such a sobering experience to see so many graves of so many young men, many of them unnamed. And the names on the memorial just seem to go on and on and on. The scene is so peaceful and on such a lovely day as we had scored it is very hard to imagine the conditions our soldiers has to endure. The museum, of course, gave us some insights to those horrors. Today the landscape is peaceful farmland.

 

 

 

 

 

Dotted all over the area are cemeteries, often marking where the soldiers fell. One such cemetery we went to was Polygon Wood. This was a very small cemetery but still had some New Zealanders. Only a few metres away was an Australian cemetery and memorial. This memorial was up on a large man made hill which would have given a great view of the surrounding area. During WW1 almost every single tree was destroyed.

 

 

 

 

 

Our last stop was Passchendaele (now spelt Passendale) to look at the museum there but unfortunately the day had got away on us and it was closed. As I said earlier it was a very sobering day especially as we had close links with the area. Both Stephen's grandfather (and also Roger's Poppa) had both fought at Passchendaele and had lived to tell the tale.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Overijse

Sunday morning started with a champagne breakfast at the B&B with Ilke, Alicia and Stan joining us. We then returned back to their place to have yet another game of Kubb. The battle lines had been drawn the night before and there was a need for the losing team (Andrew, Jessica and Ilke) to save face - which of course we let them do.

Waffles are traditional Belgium fare and we were keen to sample some so for lunch we went to a local cafe for lunch and indulged in waffles for lunch. Of course they were accompanied by more local beers. The different beers in Belgium are numerous and diverse in both flavour and alcohol content and each beer usually has its own individually shaped glass for it to be served in. My Chouffe has a leprechaun on both the label and the glass. The waffles didn't disappoint either - served with ice cream, cream and chocolate sauce.

 

 

Susan and Roger (our friend Julianne's brother and sister in law) were waiting to collect us when we returned, to take us to their home in Overijse, on the outskirts of Brussels. They took us on a short detour to show us the sights in Leuven, a town not far from their place. Being a late Sunday afternoon they had thought it would be quiet and we could walk around the town centre to view the architecture and experience another Belgium town. We were most surprised to find the town centre packed with people, all enjoying a food and beer festival. We made our way through the crowds and still saw some of the interesting buildings such as the cathedral, library and City Hall before making our way to Susan and Roger's place.

 

 

 

 

 

They have a lovely home, in a semi rural setting, with a lawn and garden. The tunnel house is Roger's pride and joy with a bumper crop of tomatoes beginning to ripen. Nicholas, their son was also about, enjoying his holiday period between finishing high school and beginning university next month. Unfortunately we didn't get to met Laura as she is away on a short OE to Cambodia and Vietnam.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Susan and Roger are wonderful hosts. Each night we sampled a different selection of beers and wine, and it was further enjoyed with the meals Susan cooked. I am sure they will be pleased to see us depart so they can enjoy an early night. Even 1am is well past our usual bedtime.

 

 

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Messelbroek and surrounding area

Saturday morning saw us all out and about exploring the local area. First we went to Diest, a small town close by of 22 000. It was a beautiful day so we walked through a part that has World Hertiage status The Beguinage.

1. The word béguinage is a French term that refers to a semi-monastic community of women called Beguines, religious women who sought to serve God without retiring from the world, as well as to the architectural complex that housed such a community. Wikipedia

   
   

   This one dates from 1253 and the buildings were beautiful. We stopped off here for a coffee.
   

   
   

   
   

 

 

Next we walked through part of the shopping area where Jessica and Alicia found a fabric shop and both made purchases! We walked through the Grote Markt before finding a restaurant for lunch.

 

 

 

 

Next stop was a short drive to an Abbey. Ice creams were part of the attraction and once we all had made our choice from a van outside the Abbey we wandered into the grounds and enjoyed them sitting in the sun.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We spent the evening enjoying some Belgium beers, a BBQ and playing the Viking game of Krubb. This is a game using sticks, very loosely based on chess and crossed with Pétanque. We had a great time.

http://www.kubb.co.uk/Kubb_rules%20.pdf

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Welkom to Belguim

On Friday morning, along with Jessica and Andrew, we set off on our trip to Belguim. We travelled by taxi to the train station in Northampton, caught a train to London Euston , walked ten minutes to St Pancras station and caught the EuroStar to Brussels. It is certainly a much easier process than flying. There are security checks and border control but it is quick. You only need to be there 30 minutes before departure which is great considering how some international flights in busy airports need 2- 3 hours.

The Eurostar was a very comfortable ride, through the English countryside to the Chunnel, across the northern corner of France and into Belguim.

 

 

We were at Brussel Midi station in two hours. Our next train was a local one to Aarschot and we had a bit of difficulty with it. First it was delayed and then while we actually sitting on it waiting to depart a message came over the intercom, in Flemish. We could tell things weren't good as most passengers got off again!! In the end we had to find another train 30 minutes later so we got there eventually. Ilke and baby Stan were there to meet us and of course they too had had a long wait. We had met Ilike back in Invercargill in 1999. She had been an exchange student and her host family had been two doors down from us when we lived in George Street and had spent many hours with us. After 16 years it was lovely to catch up with her in her home town.

 

 

 

Ilike lives in a small town in Belgium, Messelbroek with her partner Alicia and baby son Stan. It is a rural area and they have three dogs, four cats and two donkeys. Ilike is busy rebuilding an old farm house so we were unable to stay with them. We had a lovely B&B just a short drive away and were well looked after by our hosts Carine and Patrick. This included sampling their homemade rhubarb or elder wine, and a champagne breakfast on the Sunday morning.

http://dewinningmesselbroek.be/welkom.html

 

 

 

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