Home of the strip cartoon
by sourbugger
Belgium, and specifically Brussells is home to many stripcartoon writers.
Perhaps the most famous is Tintin, although the Smurfs and Asterix both have Belgian origins.
There are several shops which cater for people looking for books of cartoons and other spin-off products. We came across an excellent Tintin shop : their website is
www.forbiddenzone.net
Other shops can be found via the time-out website :
www.timeout.com/brussels/shop.xml?ar=1&cg=1
The shop even had full sized space suits for sale with the main characters inside.
There is also a "Stripmuseum", which in any other city might have other connotations : but here it refers only to the graphic art.
Grote Markt. King's House
by bugulma
First construction on the place was in XIII century from wood. In 1405 stone building appeared. In 1515-1536 during Charles V times the house was rebnovated in Gothic style. In 1860-1887 it was the great restoration and the building became the property of the city government as well as it is city museum nowadays.
sampling Cantillon's lambic
by richiecdisc
Though I went back to Belgium as part of a larger trip four years later I somehow never made it to Brussels again. I made a base in medieval Ghent and explored Bruges and Antwerp in more detail. Brussels just didn’t fit in. So it was with great anticipation that I was to return to this fair city with my new wife on my most recent trip to Belgium. It would unfortunately be for only one day on our way back to Germany but I’d get some reaffirmation of my initial pleasant surprise and she would get a glimpse however small of its wonders.
Many plans were made for this all too short day and when our connection from Ghent ran late it became readily apparent that a mere fraction of them would be realized. Factor in the dismal cold weather and the winter sundown hour at that latitude of about four in the afternoon and you can imagine how the word tease came into existence. After securing our room it was already lunchtime so off we set for Spinnekopke, where beer and beer infused cuisine meet head on and splendidly. Both were great but perhaps too long and drawn out a choice with so little time at our disposal. Since the great Cantillon Brewery was in the neighborhood we decided to make our way there before heading to the center of the city. Though not a big fan of brewery tours or even visits per se, this brewer of lambic is quite special and even Doreen was intrigued. That they are amongst our favorite beers in Belgium should be taken into consideration too. The small tour was well timed as we were there when the early incarnation of the nectar came flooding into the open fermenters that define true brewing. Sampling some of the wares with head brewer Jean VAN ROY, one of the great giants in Belgian brewing was only the icing on an already formidable cake. (continued below in Fondest Memory)
Murales
by Norali
Visiting the center of Brussels, especially the part from Manneken pis, then through the Marolles allows you to spot here and there some of the murales of Bruxelles.
Mostly inspired by comic strips characters, they are, in fact, reproductions of those characters. Drawers apply for authorization from authors of those comic strips to reproduce the drawings on the scale of walls...
To see some murales in Brussels, click here. This one is not inspired by comic strips, it is rather drawn to create a trompe-l'oeil effect. It is in Rue de l'épée, the one that is perpendicular to Rue Haute when you are at the foot of the lift at Poelaert place.
Smallest house of Brussels
by irisbe
At rue du Marché aux Fromages/Kaasmarkt 19 (thank you Norali & Gini), you will find Brussels’s smallest house.
It got into the media some years ago when it was for sale.
I had been looking out for it ever since but never realised it was in this popular “pita” street.
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The decor is a bit inexplicable.
Uneven shelves
Who doesn't know "Manneken pis"
Location on Dejoncker
