Queen Mary 2 to Xmas markets - day 2

Zeebrugge

As my friend and I had both been here many times before, and I have visited Bruges, Ghent, Ypres and Blankenburg as well, we had opted for a tour to Brussels - my first time there. We met in the Theatre at 9.10 before boarding a coach for the hour and a half drive to the capital. I was surprised at the heavy frost coating the fields and polders beside the road.

 

We passed Bruges, spotting the bell tower on the left hand side of the road. As we arrived at the outskirts of the city we drove through a big park and past the royal palace to the Atomium. This is a remnant of the 1958 World’s Fair that was held in Brussels. It has since been cased with polished stainless steel and looked spectacular! 

 

We also passed three buildings that King Leopold II had bought for his garden – a Chinese house, Buddhist temple and Japanese Pagoda from a previous exposition, as well as a replica in miniature of the Crystal Palace. We drove through the modern financial district before disembarking the coach and setting off on a short guided walk. This took us firstly to the famous Mannekin Pis, and then through small Christmas Markets and colourful carousels to the main square.

This was surrounded with stunning architecture and a large nativity scene in a thatched stable. A short detour showed us the first covered shopping arcade in the world, now lined with expensive restaurants and designer boutiques. A little more walking, mostly past food stalls selling champagne and oysters, and we arrived at the main Christmas Market.

 

We were given three hours here to do as we wished. My first stop was for gluwein! Whilst we drank it we watched a man selling multi-finger puppets. He was demonstrating how to use them and was excellent indeed!

There was a beautiful stall selling Russian painted decorations, but the prices had clearly risen since I last bought similar items in Ghent in 2010! We walked the full length down and up again, pausing to watch the ice skaters on the central outdoor rink!

My friend wanted to retrace our steps to the centre so we parted and I bought a glass of Chimay beer, made at a Belgian Trappist monastery! For 4 euros and with a small pot of cheese cubes, I thought is good value and the best thing is that profits from such products go towards social causes.

 

The one problem with the market was the lack of anyway to sit down. My foot was beginning to complain about the granite cobbles and it was almost a relief when 3pm arrived and we had to meet the guide by the big wheel ready for our walk back to the coach pick up beside the docks.

It was a pleasant drive back, following the same route as the morning. At the security point on the ship, we all had to remove our coats, which was a pain, but we were soon back home in our cabin and ready for afternoon tea in Kings Court.