The third stop on my architectural and friend journey was Brussels, where I reunited with my friend Jose. We became close while I was living in Jerez de la Frontera, Spain, after meeting at a language exchange event in one of the local bars. Though the exchange was meant for Spanish speakers to practice English and vice versa, we ended up speaking English most of the time, so it wasn’t exactly an even trade. Eventually, we both stopped going and instead hung out outside of the exchange.
Over the two years I lived in Jerez, Jose and I became close, merging our friend groups. His friends got to know mine, and one of my friends and his started dating and eventually got married. If it weren’t for us, they would have never found each other. However, in my recent visit, I found out they are now getting a divorce, so maybe we are responsible for that too, but they were together for eight years. Meeting Jose transformed my experience in Jerez.
It’s essential when living in another country to connect with locals and expand your friends’ group beyond fellow expats. Of course, it’s easier to bond when you both speak the same language, but living abroad should challenge you and broaden your perspective. Making local friends deepens your connection to the place and immerses you in its culture. Thanks to Jose, I explored many nearby villages, towns, beaches, and hiking spots that I might have otherwise missed.
Brussels was just a short two-hour train ride away from Rotterdam, so I panned my visit to see Jose. It also coincided with my sister’s work trip to Stockholm, who joined me in Brussels. When my family visited Spain in 2017, they met Jose, which was also the last time I had seen him. I stayed with him and his girlfriend for two nights, my sister one, before we continue on to Basel for three nights and Lucerne for one.
I had been to Brussels before, spending a few days and New Year’s 2015/2016 in Ghent, Belgium. I took a day trip to see Brussels and Bruges. The main purpose for this visit was to see Jose, but there were also two buildings I wanted to see. Since I was in Brussels during the week, Jose had to work. I arrived late the first night, but in time for us to walk around the neighborhood and nearby park and for us to have dinner and catch up with him and meet his girlfriend.
The next morning, my sister arrived and while Jose was at work, we visited the two buildings I had marked on Google Maps. We had plans to meet up with Jose in the afternoon so he could show us around Brussels.
Chau. de la Hulpe 185
I’m not sure if this building has a specific name. I couldn’t find one. I don’t even remember where I first saw it, perhaps on one of the many architecture websites I follow. Coincidentally, a week or so before we were to meet, my sister sent me a message about wanting to see this building after she came across it online. I assured it that it was already on my list and that we would see it.
Since it wasn’t on Jose’s radar, he was fine with us visiting it without him. It is located on the outskirts of Brussels, near the last stop on a metro line. It’s an office building and it was even more impressive in person than in photos. It was a cloudy day and the orange tinted; oval-shaped windows created a beautiful contrast. The custom-made entrance and exit doors fit perfectly within this oval shape, maintaining an unbroken rhythm on the ground floor.
The beauty was in the details. The ground floor consisted of a lounge area and a restaurant, a spiral staircase topped by a beautiful chandelier descended to the basement level and the alignment of the structural ceiling beams with the concrete panel joints and windows centered created perfect harmony. I wish I could find more out about the building and its architect, but information is hard to find.
Tondo Circular Bridge
Like the building above, I came across the bridge on an architectural site. It’s not a major landmark, so it didn’t appear on Google maps. Instead, I had some random nearby coordinates and its photo as a reference in which I could see the corner of a nearby building. On the way, I was nervous that it might not be there, thinking that it was perhaps some type of temporary structure. As we got approached the coordinate, I expected to see it, but it wasn’t there. In front of us was a uniquely colored building of red, beige and grey stone. From the picture, I noticed one side connected to this building, so we continued around the corner and there it was! A reflective UFO-like circular bridge, hovering over the street, connecting what we found out to be Brussels Parliament building with its newer extension.
The circular shape was chosen because the floors of the two buildings it connects are different heights and a straight bridge would have exceeded the allowable slope for accessibility standards. The shape makes it more than just a passageway between two buildings; it acts rather as an individual element, an example of place-making at its finest. The architect could have gone even further by embedding benches into the walls, turning it into a place where people could have lunch, read a book, or simply escape the office if only for a few minutes.
Like the building above, it was even better in person and one of my favorite buildings that I saw. Other than the occasional bus or pedestrian, we had the street to ourselves. We were there on a Friday, so it’s strange we hardly saw anybody. It would have been great to get a photo of someone walking through the bridge.
The City
Brussels is a beautiful city and it’s a place I could see myself living in. After our two-building tour, Jose met us around four to take us on a walking tour of the city. We passed by the main attractions like the Royale Palace, the park and museum space by it, the Manneken Pis statue, the Grand Plaza, the Royal Gallery of St. Hubert and the Delirium Cafe. After five years of not drinking, I even had a beer, three actually. I figured that Belgium is known for two things: beer and chocolate; I had already tried their chocolate, so why not the beer? I could have used the same logic to try whiskey in Scotland, but I preferred to break my sobriety with people I knew, not with strangers from a hostel on a whiskey tour.
The first beer I tried was a chocolate beer and it was pretty good. It was the best out of the three that I had. The next place we visited was a medieval-looking bar down a narrow alley. The door broke when I opened it and the wood beams along the ceiling looked like they were made from whole trees. There was a wooden door on the floor that looked like it hadn’t been open in centuries. After the chocolate beer, the second wasn’t as good. For dinner, we went to a Wolf market hall and I had another beer with dinner. The third was the worse, not because I was drunk, I actually felt okay. After dinner, we ventured to a rooftop bar and then the Grand Plaza to see it lit up at night. While we were there, the biennial Zinneke Parade happened to be passing through. It was an eclectic assortment of music and homemade looking float-like creations.
It was a long day of sight-seeing and it was great spending time with an old friend. I’m glad I went to Brussels to reconnect with Jose and that my sister was able to join. I imagine that when I left Spain, he thought he’d never see me again. In fact, those are the exact words he said to me.
Great photos & beautiful scenery!!!
Thanks Grammy!