Monday Dec 8 - Brugges and Ghent daytrip

Spent a few hours in each city. Brugges is an amazing city.

Sunday Dec 7 - strolling Brussels

View from breakfast room at hotel


A martyr who died there- rub him for luck


Any reason to sell beer

Mannekin Pis statue

Fancy chocolate shops - the red ones are the chocolates

Contemplating

Beaux Arts Museum

Another church

Belgian waffle with fruit

Cool merry go round at Xmas market

Saturday Dec 6- Arrive in Brussels

Grand Place




Grand Place




Grand Place

Beautiful old square

Opera

Shopping hall

Dinner- pricey but very good. Clemente had mussels and paella

Our hotel- tiny rooms and errors abound by all staff - enjoy it nonetheless.

Internet problem

We have had a ton of internet and hotel problems in Brussels so not sure when or if we will be able to continue the blog before returning home. It is Monday morning and taking daytrip to Brugges and Ghent. Staying in a closet of a room with the dumbest-slowest desk clerks on earth. They tried to tell me no room was available and send me to another side of town but sorry, I was in the hotel business too many years to fall for that story. I had a reply for every one of their excuses so we got a room. It is not big by any means but I did get a great deal on it so we will put up with it for the 4 nights. Gotta run and get the day started! We have tons of pictures for these couple days but they will have to wait.

Dusseldorf was great today again. We had a short period of rain but temperature was much better and very little wind. The sun came out a couple times too. We went to the Media Harbor area- renovated old warehouse area on the harbor. There are a lot of new architecturally significant buildings there- including Frank Gehry buildings. We then went up to the top of the Rheinturm Tower 168 meters high above to look over the city and then spent the rest of the day meandering the streets of the Karlstadt & Altstadt areas. Off to Brussels tomorrow!


Don't ask!!

St Andreas Church

Great old buildings

Beautiful picture with the sun trying to come out behind the Rheinturm Tower

In the main square

BIG merry-go-round in the xmas market

St Maximillian Church

Farmers Market

Variety of odd statues throughout the city

On top the tower

Looking down from the tower

Media Harbor area

Odd colorful building

That's different

See-through building pracically

Santa at rest at the train station