Catatan perjalanan di Belgium - Atomium & Mini Europe

18th November 2008

From the Grand Place, we proceed to the Atomium and Mini Europe. Both are situated next to each other. Due to time constraint, we can only choose one to explore further. We chose to just take photos at the Atomium and explore Mini Europe.

Some facts on the atomium :

Atomium, the most astonishing building in the world ranked as number 3 in Belgium on the list of Top 10 Adventures in Topworld
The Atomium is a monument built for Expo '58, the 1958 Brussels World's Fair. Designed by André Waterkeyn, it is 102-metres (335 ft) tall, with nine steel spheres connected so that the whole forms the shape of a unit cell of an iron crystal magnified 165 billion times.
Tubes which connect the spheres along the 12 edges of the cube and all eight vertices to the centre enclose escalators connecting the spheres which contain exhibit halls and other public spaces. The top sphere provides a panoramic view of Brussels. Each sphere is 18 metres in diameter. Three spheres are currently (2008) closed to the visitors, others are easily reachable with escalator. The vertical vertex contains a lift which was considered very fast and advanced at the time of building (the speed is 5 m/s)[1].
Renovation on the Atomium began in March 2004; it was closed to the public in October, and remained closed until 18 February 2006. The renovations included replacing the faded aluminium sheets on the spheres with stainless steel. To help pay for renovations, the old aluminium has been sold to the public as souvenirs. A triangular piece about 2 m long sold for €1,000.[citation needed]
The renovation includes revamped exhibition spaces, a restaurant, and a dormitory for visiting schoolchildren called "Kids Sphere Hotel" which features suspended plastic sphere towers. A €2 commemorative coin depicting the sculpture was issued in March 2006 to celebrate the renovation.
The Atomium is one of the most visited attractions in Brussels today. In 2008, the Atomium will celebrate its 50th Birthday, with activities planned all year, including free admission for those turning 50 between April and October.

Hairul park the car infront of this planetarium. We walked to the entrance of Mini Europe which is quite a distance from the planetarium. It was raining and windy and cold. Temperature measured is 8° C but feels like 0° C. Since it was very cold, we walked thru all the monuments very quickly. To make it worse(anti climax), our camera's battery flat that leads to double frustration. Actually, I have forgotten to recharge the battery last nite. But that is not the end of the world. We still have our handphone and video cam. Is better than nothing..

Some facts on Mini Europe :

Mini-Europe is a park located in Bruparck at the foot of the Atomium in Brussels, Belgium. Mini-Europe has the reproductions of the most attractive monuments in the European Union on show, at a scale of 1:25. Roughly 80 cities and 350 buildings are represented. The park is renowned for the quality of its models, some of which cost as much as €350,000 to make (the Brussels Grand-Place). The park contains numerous live action models (train, mills, eruption of Mount Vesuvius, Airbus, cable cars, etc. A guide gives the details on all the monuments. At the end of the visit, the “Spirit of Europe” exhibition gives an interactive overview of the European Union in the form of multimedia games. The park is built on an area of 24,000 m2. The initial investment was of €10 million in 1989, on its inauguration by Prince Philip of Belgium
The monuments were chosen for the quality of their architecture or their European symbolism. After this initial selection process, plans and photos needed to be found. This stage cost over €200,000 in research. Most of the monuments are made using moulds. The parts are made from various types of material, and then copied using silicone moulding. The final copy used to be cast from epoxy resin, but now polyester is used. Three of the monuments were made out of stone (e.g. the tower of Pisa, in marble). A new computer-assisted milling procedure was used for two of the models. After that comes the painting. Finally, the monument is installed on site, together with decorations and lighting. The Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela required more than 24,000 hours of work. Many of the monuments were financed by European countries or regions.

Catatan perjalanan di Belgium - Chocolate & Waffle

From the Grand Place we walked thru the shops nearby. Most of the shops selling souvenirs, laces, chocolates, waffles & many more. What attract us most are the chocolates & waffle. We cant resist of buying chocolates and to taste the nicely decorated waffle..hmmm..

Hmmmmm...yummmmyy

Makan sorang ke brother?

If New York has the Statue of Liberty, Copenhagen has the mermaid and Brussels has the ...... Manneken Pis. This statue of a little boy in a somewhat compromising position has since several centuries been a major tourist attraction in the city

There are many legends about the Manneken. According to one of them a little boy had watered against the door of a witch who lived where the fountain now stands. The witch was so angry that she turned the little boy into a statue.
Another legend says that a man had lost his little son. He found the child after two days near the place where now the fountain of manneken-pis can be seen. When the father spotted his child, the latter was peeing. As a token of gratitude the father had the fountain with a statue of a peeing boy constructed.

The end..he he

Catatan perjalanan di Belgium - The Grand Place

18th November 2008


When we reached The Grand Place, it was drizzling and very windy and very cold. Temperature was about 7° C but feels like 0° C. We were shiverring and cannot stay there longer to appreciate the buildings or take photos. Some info on The Grand Place :

"One of the most beautiful town squares in Europe, if not in the world", is a phrase often heard when visitors in Brussels try to describe the beauty of the central market square.

The Grand-Place is the main tourist attraction of the City of Brussels. All through the year it is visited by thousands who like to spend some time wandering around and admiring the beautiful buildings, or sitting down on one of the many terraces having a good Belgian beer. Concerts and musical happenings are organized all through the year on the square. The most famous events that take place here are the annual Ommegang (an historical procession at the beginning of July) and the biennial flower carpet

The fame and beauty of the Market Place do not lie only in the Town Hall and the King's House, but perhaps first of all in the presence of a remarkably beautiful set of elaborately decorated guild houses. The name "guild houses" is most commonly used for the entire set of houses, although in reality they did not all belong to the medieval guilds. Some of the houses were always privately owned.

Bersesuaian dengan namanya, this place actually does looks very grand.

Catatan perjalanan di Belgium - Brussels City

18th November 2008

Pagi ni kami bersarapan roti with sambal & serunding dan leftovers roasted chicken dinner last nite. Check out by 9am. Kami ronda2 keliling Brussels City dengan kereta sahaja. We then stop by at the Palace of Brussels to take some photos. Opposite the palace is the Royal Park. Some info about the palace :
The Royal Palace of Belgium is one of the most beautiful official buildings in the capital, Brussels.Standing opposite the Parliament building on the other side of the Royal Park, the Royal Palace symbolises our system of government, that is to say, a constitutional monarchy. The Palace is the place where His Majesty the King exercises his prerogatives as Head of State. It is at the Palace that the King grants audiences and deals with affairs of state. Apart from the offices of the King and the Queen, the Royal Palace houses the services of the Grand Marshal of the Court, the King's Head of Cabinet, the Head of the King's Military Household and the Intendant of the King's Civil List. The Palace also includes the State Rooms where large receptions are held, as well as the apartments provided for foreign Heads of State during official visits.On the initiative of Her Majesty the Queen and through the good offices of the government's building agency "Régie des Bâtiments - Regie der Gebouwen", three contemporary works of art were installed in the Royal Palace in October 2002.

Royal Palace of Brussels
The park

Photo taken at the opposite road of the apartment

We did not stop at the Green House. Info on the green house :

In 1873, architect Alphonse Balat designed for King Leopold II a complex of greenhouses which complement the castle of Laeken, built in the classical style. The complex has the appearance of a glass city set in an undulating landscape. The monumental pavilions, glass cupolas, wide arcades that cross the site like covered streets, are much more than an anecdote on the architectural applications of iron and glass or on little greenhouses of exotic plants. What the Royal Greenhouses express concerns architecture and, specifically, a major construction programme: the "Ideal Glass Palace".

Each year, in the spring, the Greenhouses of Laeken are opened to the public, during almost three weeks. This tradition has been carried on for a century.

We pass thru the Royal Square and few churches on our way to the Grand Place

Catatan perjalanan di Netherlands - Amsterdam to Brussels

17th November 2008

Dari Cheese Factory, kami menuju ke Amsterdam. Hairul membawa kami ke lokasi yang lain dari yang kami lawati last nite. Setelah parking kereta, kami bersiar-siar di sekitar park menuju ke Van Gogh Museum, seterusnya ke kawasan disekitar Hard Rock cafe. I cant remember name of the places even tho Hairul did mention it few times. Sori ye Hairul..

Hairul meninggalkan kami disitu untuk membeli bahan2 mentah untuk dimasak setibanya kami di Brussels nanti. Our meeting point will be at the place where he park the car.

Kemudian kami solat disebuah masjid di tengah2 bandar Amsterdam. Kebanyakan jemaah adalah berbangsa Turki. Salah seorang jemaah lelaki telah menunjukkan kami ruang solat jemaah wanita. Walaupun kami saling tidak memahami bahasa masing2, hakikatnya mereka faham tujuan kami ke sana.

Selesai solat, kami makan kebab lagi di restaurant Turki yang teletak disebelah masjid tersebut. Walaupun kami asyik makan kebab sahaja, actually setiap restaurant mempunyai keunikan tersendiri..tiada yang sama diantara setiap kebab yang kami makan so far.

Selesai makan, kami menaiki river cruise yang mengambil masa 1jam. Kami tertarik dengan reka bentuk bangunan disepanjang canal yang sangat unik, menarik dan cantik

Amsterdam telah diwartakan oleh UNESCO sebagai bandar bersejarah. Semua bangunan2 lama di kekalkan. Tiada bangunan tinggi yang melebihi 5 tingkat disini.

Selesai canal cruise, kami pun bergerak untuk ke Brussels. Kami sampai di Brussels pada jam 9malam. Di Brussels kami tinggal di Apartment Pont Neuf 2. Apartment 2 bilik ini lengkap dengan peralatan memasak dan terletak di tengah2 bandar Brussels. Kami agak terkejut apabila menjejak masuk apartment tersebut. Luas & deko yang cantik..almost 100% decoration adalah product dari IKEA!!termasuk periuk belanga nya

Malam ini Hairul masak nasi & ayam panggang. Lauk sampingan adalah sambal tumis ikan bilis & serunding yang kami bawa dari Malaysia..

Photos of the apartment..cantik kan? Thank you Hani

Catatan perjalanan di Netherlands - Cheese Factory

Dari Volendam, kami singgah di salah satu Cheese factory. Di sana, kami diberi penerangan bagaimana cheese dibuat.