LOW COST TRIPS AROUND BRUSSELS: KASTEEL VAN GAASBEEK

Kasteel van Gaasbeek

Here's some basic Flemish for you: Kasteel means castle. Gaas stands for gauze, while beek means brook. To this we add the common-knowledge fact that van is the same as of, and we arrive at a perfect translation of the whole name. Yes, my friends, Kasteel van Gaasbeek is no more than the Castle of Gauze Brook, and who needs Dutch classes anyway if such excellent toponym translations are available with just some good will and a bit of google. There we went a few weeks ago - to the Castle of Gauze Brook, formerly home to one weird lady, today a real door to the past, which miraculously made us look under 26, so that we could pay the reduced fee.

Destination: Kasteel van Gaasbeek
Transport: DeLijn bus 142 from Midi to the Gaasbeek stop.
Equipment: picnic, walking shoes and a camera.
Cost: DeLijn ticket (1,50 € one way) plus 7 € entrance fee (unless you are - or look - under 26, then: 5€).

The bus conveniently stops right next to the castle park entrance which, in case you still have doubts in spite of its grandeur, is clearly marked with enormous signs informing that you have indeed reached Gaasbeek. The park is huge, very beautiful, and features several lakes, lanes, paths, bits of forest, meadows and lawns - perfect for any outdoor activity from hiking to biking to picnicking.

Any way you go, you will eventually arrive at the castle itself, which, placed on a hill, towers over the park and its lakes. Now the tricky part: do your best to look under 26 and the nice ticket lady will give you a cheaper ticket even if you admit that your real age is 27, while for some people even 33 (I'm sure some people won't mind this indiscretion). For the price of 5 € you are handed an audioguide and off you go... to the garden, where you await a human guide as well.

Gaasbeek park

The two guides complement each other - human giving you the number in three to four languages, audio chirping into your ear in your language of choice. Effect: human guide smiles with appreciation when human non-guides in unison and complete silence turn to a painting or piece of furniture described by the audioguide whispering in their ears. Human guide then answers non-guides' questions, while the audioguide patiently waits until a new number is announced by its human counterpart. In this happy way you take a tour around the castle and you find out that:

• the castle's last owner, Marquise Marie Arconati Visconti, was a very strange lady;
• the castle's last owner, Marquise Marie Arconati Visconti, liked dressing as a boy in her 60s.;
• the castle's last owner, Marquise Marie Arconati Visconti, constructed several secret passages and hiding places, so that she could a) meet her lovers and b) spy on the other people in her household;
• the castle's last owner, Marquise Marie Arconati Visconti, had a relative who liked dressing as a Turkish prince (or something to that effect);
• in the middle ages people washed twice a year - a general remark which caused a lot of giggling;
• people used to sleep in a sitting position, as lying was reserved for the dead;
• XV-century toilets looked like thrones.

Horses in Groenenberg

Enriched by this knowledge, you proceed with your visit. Upon appointment and having paid an extra fee, you can also take a stroll in the French garden, which is still kept in a traditional, XVI-century way and thus very fragile. Apparently, very beautiful, too. Appointment-less, however, we explored the park instead, and found a picturesque chapel, as well as - wait for it - a "Pavilion of Pleasure", whose purpose, sadly, remains unexplained.

If all this is still not enough for you, leave the premises, cross the street and wander off to Groenenberg, another huge garden (although a bit less well-kept), full of old trees (including three sequoias) and horses. In addition, it is nearly deserted, and will be perfect if what you're looking for is a secluded spot. 

All in all, an excellent trip within 30 minutes from Brussels, perfectly doable once you've dedicated three to four days figuring out your itinerary on the DeLijn page, which might just be the least user-friendly website ever created. Apart from that - Gauze Brook rules!

BIG, BIGGER, EU

The European Parliament

I think that the best way to start writing again is to just pick up exactly where you left, no excuses, no explanations. What excuses could I give, anyway? That my life has become a kaleidoscope of changes, that I keep bumping my head on the bunk bed, that I'm constantly taking decisions I'm not sure I want to take? No, no excuses. Instead, let me tell you about heart of the heart of Europe: the European Quarter in Brussels. 

Big, Bigger, EU

The very centre of the European district is the Schuman roundabout. You can get there straight from the airport, and from every part of the city by train, bus and, of course, the tube. The underground station is by all means the ugliest one in Brussels (believe it or not, they tend to be quite pretty), which does not cease to amaze me, as this is the very station that receives all the VIPs. The Commission and Council are right there, their huge buildings waiting to impress and intimidate you as soon as you leave the underground. Fancy men and women, speaking every language you can possibly imagine, move around quickly, expertly, sporting their suits and dresses, never taking off their badges. They have quick coffees and croissants, and disappear behind the big doors of important buildings, inaccessible for regular, badgeless, mortal individuals like yours truly. It's big, it's bigger, it's EU.

Ghost town

The European district in the morning is absolutely bustling with life. The crowded underground spits out thousands of people (the Commission alone employs 25 thousand!), who hurry in all directions, chat animatedly, stop for a quick breakfast at one of the many cafes... All in all, your typical morning in the busy city centre. Go to the very same places after 6 pm or on a day when the Commission in closed, and you will be shocked at how the hustle and bustle of this neighbourhood gives way to something completely opposite - the streets seem abandoned, the cafes and restaurants don't even bother opening, all is calm, all is quiet... Strange, cold and unsympathetic. The big buildings tower over this ghost town, patiently waiting for the holiday to end.

Go green!

Le Cinquantenaire

Contrary to what you might be imagining by now, this area is not ugly. There are many beautiful old buildings which have been adapted for offices, and if you feel like a stroll after work, you are very close to two lovely parks: Parc Leopold and the famous Cinquantenaire. They are both worth a stroll, and they both boast more than just trees and grass. Parc Leopold is home to the Museum of Natural History, while Cinquantenaire hosts the Autoworld (car museum) and the Royal Museum for Art and History. You can also go up the Triumphal Arch (built by king Leopold II for the fiftieth anniversary of the creation of Belgium - hence the name of the arch and the park) and enjoy very nice views of Brussels. I personally like having lunch in the park - a very nice change from the monotony of the office.

Night life or Networking?

Although basically everything in close vicinity of the Commission closes around 6 pm, you can also go out in the European district. In order to do this, however, you must take a walk towards the Parliament and visit the famous Place Luxembourg or, for the ones in the know, Place Lux. The many bars there (including a shabby Polish one) open their doors to all kinds of Eurocrats, ranging from the very bottom of the food chain (les stagaires or interns) to prominent officials. Place Lux is the place every Thursday, and it is also considered a good place to meet the right people and work on your career. So if you're in need of some good nightworking, I mean, networking, make sure you pass by.

Apparently, the city of Brussels now insists on animating the European district. People are invited to buy flats in the area, shops are encouraged to open, new European buildings are being placed in different parts of the city - all in all, Brussels is trying to change this strange European ghetto into a normal neighbourhood. As I get out of the underground at Schuman every morning, I tend to think that they are still very far from it. But that's okay. This way, I have a story to tell.