A Cable car also called tram car arriving at Lemonnier Stib station.
Location of Lemonnier station:
The empty tracks lit by the artificial neon light help give the whole place a uncomfortable and eerie feeling.
After afew mins wait a cable car finally arrives from the Gare du Midi
The Final approach into STIB Lemonnier station while the driver and a passenger seem a bit captivated and surprised by the camera.
The sign of a former tavern in this neighborhood, it perpetuates the memory of six young jokers seeking zwanzes (a Flemish word for pranks) under the harsh rule of the Spanish Duke of Alba. Examples of their efforts included replacing holy water in the churches with ink and attaching old ladies attending Mass to one another with pins … But the pranks finally ended the day they threw a jar of soot in the face of Jean Vargas, one of Alba’s collaborators. Arrested, they were sentenced to death and hung. Today, the tradition continues because if you examine the sign closely, you’ll see that it only includes four young men, as if some joker had kidnapped the two others in order to upset historians, and who can tell, perhaps one day transform this sign into that of the four Amon sons, of the street just around the corner.
Location of tavern sign at rue des Six-Jeunes-Hommes :
Photos of the tavern sign at rue des Six-Jeunes-Hommes
A repetition for the Meyboom Celebrations was held today at the Grand Place a week ahead of the official date of the 9th of August. This is the longest lasting folkloric tradition of the city of Brussels held yearly since 1213 and celebrating it’s 693rd edition. The celebration features a procession of eight colorful costumed giants and a marching band on its journey from the Place du Sablon to the Grand Place.
itinerary of the Meyboom celebrations procession:
Photos of the Meyboom 2008 repetition:
Start of the procession
Giants arriving
Marching Band
Parading around at the Grand Place
The Giants:
Boma
Bompa
Roseke
Baby Giant
Janneke
Mieke
Pietje
Parc Leopold
Park Leopold’s Main entrance on rue Belliard just beyond the Parliament buildings. Set on the edge of the new European Union infrastructures and following on from the Maelbeek Valley, which stretches from the woods at La Cambre and the lakes in Ixelles to square Marie-Louise, this public park is a haven of peace and tranquility in the midst of the bustle of the urban thoroughfare that is rue Belliard.
Location of Parc Leopold:
Photos of Parc Leopold:
.jpg)
One end of the Park Leopold pond
The district is currently undergoing a total transformation as is obvious from the impressive number of tower cranes around.
The park was originally designed to be used as a zoo, hence the inscriptions visible on each side of the main entrance.
The park was opened in the middle of the 19C and given its current name to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Independence.
This pleasant, peaceful spot has a lake on which it is not unusual to see herons. The park lies on a steep slope and is overlooked by the rear facades of the two wings of the Museum des Sciences Naturelles.
From the other end of the pond
One of the many other species of birds
.jpg)
View across the pond
European Parliament buildings looming in the back
.jpg)
Georges Eastman dentistry institute in the back
.jpg)
Chapel of Marie la Miserable
This Gothic chapel, whose origins certainly date from the 14th century, was modified many times until its restoration in 1970. It evokes the moving story – told by the playwright M. de Ghelderode in his play Marie la Miserable (1952) – of a young peasant girl who became the victim of a powerful person whose advances she had spurned. To avenge himself, the rebuffed seducer slipped a valuable vase into her bag, then accused her of theft. Injustly condemned, the young girl was buried alive.
Location of Chapelle de Marie la Misérable:
Photos of Chapelle de Marie la Miserable
.jpg)
Chapel of Marie la Miserable from the other side
.jpg)
The chapel can be visited daily from 7 am to 6 pm.
Going around into its garden designed by René Pechère
Side of the chapel seen from within its gardens
