*Sigh* Another day, another round of museums, another delicious meal, another new beer.Now at the halfway point of our European epic, we have settled into the advantageous routine of relaxed travel. The freedom we've had to leisurely enjoy Brussels and the surrounding towns instead of frantically barnstorming from sight to sight has made us realize that this, whenever possible, is the way to do it.
On Wednesday afternoon, the kids and I set off on foot to visit the Belgian Centre of Comic Strip Art and to see what we could see along the way. Just around the corner from La Cathedrale des Saints Michel-et-Gudule, we noticed signs for the gratis Museum of the National Bank of Belgium. Since the price was right, we went in!
Housed in the former headquarters of the bank, the museum walks visitors through the history of banking and money in Europe as well as a chronicle of the National Bank itself. We got to see the office of the governor of the bank, which had been left unchanged since the bank moved to its current location. Very fancy.
The most interesting exhibits for us included ancient coins and other items used as money over the centuries, examples of every different European currency replaced by the Euro and a hands-on display of the effects of inflation over the decades since 1860 on coal, meat, bread, butter, cheese and - of course - beer.
Bank documents from the rich and famous were also on display, including these papers ascribed to shareholder Victor Hugo, writer of Les Misérables and The Hunchback of Notre-Dame. The signed, handwritten note on the left is dated 1881.
Next stop was the comic strip museum. Situated in the beautiful Art Nouveau setting of a Waucquez Warehouse once occupied by cloth wholesalers, the building was renovated in the late 1980's with several areas made in the fashion of notable interiors direct from the pages of the nation's most beloved comics.
Needless to say, we made a beeline for the Tintin area where we enjoyed character charts, props from the stories, a display of Tintin collectibles through the years and biographical information on Georges Remi (switch the initials around and you get the authors pseudonym, Hergé - below, right).
The museum also presents a history of the development of comics and a variety of other prominent authors and their characters. We were so motivated by our visit that we stopped by the Comics Cafe we visited on Day 3 to peruse their collection of books and enjoy the open selection of colored pencils and papers. Vaughn was so inspired that he ended up completing by the following morning a full comic book titled Alex's Advéntures.
As we walked back to the flat, we passed through the historic indoor shopping arcade called the Koninginnegalerij. Packed with opulent shops including a boutique entirely devoted to champagne and a purse store with one displayed in the window next to a 3,800€ price tag ($4,688!), the covered shopping street is thought to be the oldest in Europe (1847). I gave into temptation and purchased my first Belgian candy from somewhere besides a grocery store (all of which offer a vast array of excellent sweets) and we left with a box of sumptuous chocolate liqueurs.
In the evening, we all went out to dinner with our friends, Carlos and Frank. We randomly picked an outdoor eatery by the bowling alley we intended to visit afterwards and enjoyed what will probably be our last extravagant meal out in Brussels.
So I made sure it counted and satisfied my desire to enjoy a couple of national dishes with a big bowl of steamed mussels and an order of steak tartare, which is pretty much just a pile of finely chopped raw beef.
It was something I've always wanted to try and it made for a memorable meal. Both of the boys sampled a bite and I think they enjoyed it, but they tell me they wouldn't rush to find it again any time soon. The dinner was one of the best we've had, topping the the roasted quail stuffed with morel and sweetbreads I enjoyed two days prior. And now, I promise, no more foodie talk...for at least a few entries.
Finally I leave you to bask in our immature delight at some of the local art we passed during the day's wanderings. I'm not sure whether the guys below are wrestling or embracing, but at least they're naked. I also have no information on why the Weeble Wobble has her boobs out but she's clearly a hottie!
