Brussels, Belgium, February 13, 2011

I was flying with my family to Spain, and we had a long layover in Brussels. We took the train to the Grand Place de Bruxelles or Grote Markt van Brussel. Based on the different names of the square in French and Flemish (similar to Dutch), can you tell who is less pompous?

This building is called the Maison du Rois or Broodhuis (bread house). A king never lived there. A duke built it over the old bread market. Again, don't the Flemish just seem so much more down-to-earth?

As we climbed up the hill from the Grand Place to the Place Royal, I spotted this view of rounded buildings as we climbed up a steep curve:

 We finally arrived at the Palais Royal. Here is a photo of one of the corner gardens:

I hope you enjoyed this brief tour of this beautiful city.

Radzfoto