Our destination was ‘La Bécasse’ – the Woodcock – a typical Brussels café, serving the ultimate Brussels’ beers: Lambic and Gueuze. These beers own their unique taste, colour and ‘body’ to the Zenne River. The Zenne meanders through the city. In the old days it was visible but today it mostly runs underground, except for some places, like the lobby of the Radisson SAS hotel neat the Grand’ Place.
We didn’t see the river but we did taste the beer that owns its fame to it. Apparently the water contains a special ‘bacteria’ that produces the beer’s unique characteristics during the fermentation process. You’ll find Lambic and Gueuze beers in most, if not all Brussels’ cafés, but ‘La Bécasse’ has a special feature, which – like the beer – makes it quite unique.
Before last week’s visit, I had been to ‘La Bécasse’ only once; in 1976, when two fellow students took me there to taste the famous Lambic. I knew the café was located at the end of a rather obscure alley near the Grand’ Place. Before setting out for my meeting with Veronica and Sue, I had ‘done my homework’, meaning that I had looked up the café’s location on ‘mappy.be’. Nevertheless, I wasn’t quite sure about our destination, and my only ‘point de repère’ was the Saint Nicolas church, which is just across the street from the café.
We found the church quite easily and because Veronica and Sue hadn’t visited it yet – when they had walked past it on Wednesday the entrance had been completely blocked by beggars – we decided to have a look inside. Here are some photos of the interior.
The main altar in baroque style.
A guilded shrine. Saint Nicolas' maybe?
A modern stained glass window.
A man seeking peace and quiet to read his newspaper.
So 'not done' in a church.
So 'not done' in a church.
6 comments:
Hi Martine,
I've enjoyed reading the past few posts about your meetings with Veronica and Sue in Brussels.
The stained glass window is fantastic, often my favourite parts of a church.
all the churches in Europe are so magnificent. always hate to see photos of WWII where churches and cathedrals had been destroyed.
Love that church!
I think the man was waiting for his wife to return from Confession. I've seen that look before.
m.
Speaking of beer. To make a long story short, I have enjoyed a few of the Hoegaarden Wit Blanche export beers from Belgium since my return to the U.S. I ask the "Beer Goddess," to name a few wheat beers that exceeds Hoegaarden's taste and flavor that are Belgium exports to the U.S. I'm ready to take it to the next level!! What say YOU???
Gaynor, It was a nice window, although very modern compared to rest of the interior of the church, which was definitly baroque.
Bob, It's heart breaking to see photos of churches that were damaged during the war and often not restored.
Mark, What look? Guilty or bored? :)
Bob, Considering the fact that you like Wit bier', I would suggest you try a fruit beer (Kriek or Peche) for instance - or a Trappist(Chimay dark). If you like those, you are ready to take on some of the more bitter variaties.
Bob, P.S. I'm sure you would like the Bourgogne des Flandres (see today's post), but I don't think you can find it in the US. It's by a brewery called Timmermans.
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