If It's Tuesday, This Must be Belgium - 5/13/08

One more day...one more day...one more day....

That's what I've been reminding myself all day today.  One more day before all my furniture is delivered to my new apartment and I get to move out of the "hotel."  Okay, I'll still be living out of boxes for a while longer, but at least I'll be able to start making my own home for my 3 year stay in Brussels.

Monday I went to the Police Station in Ixelles.  I mentioned previously that I had to go to the communal city hall to apply for my "registration."  This is the proof that I am a resident.  That was merely the first step.  The second step was that they send the police out to my apartment to make sure that I actually live there.  And of course all that I have there so far is my name on the mailbox.  So they left a letter for me to go to the station during set times this week so they could record my presence.  Easy enough.  The next (and hopefully last) step is that I will get sent in the mail an appointment (in 2 months) to go back to the city hall in the commune, wait again in line, and show them more proof of my existence in Brussels (phone, gas, and electric bills, and lots of other paperwork).  Then, supposedly, I get my ID card.

In the interim, here's some more photos of my exploration of Brussels.  These are from a street hike I took into the Upper Town and an area called Sablon.

This is a memorial in Place Poelaert, apparently to Brussels involvement in WWI and WWII.

And a close up of the detail.

On Rue de la Regence I suddenly thought I was in Paris.  This is the aptly named Notre Dame au Sablon.

And some of its detail around one of the entranceways.

All over the city there are gardens and parks.  I don't know the name of this formal garden, but it was near Sablon and the palaces.  You'll see that there is a lot of contruction around the city.

Did I mention palaces (Palais)?  There seem to be a lot of them, especially in this area.  I believe this was part of the Palais de Charles le Roi.

Nearby is the Parc de Bruxelles, a nice sized park with people strolling, a clarinetist practicing in the gazebo, and surrounded by various Palais (des Beaux-Arts, de la Nation, des Academies, and Palais Royal).

And finally for today, one little corner of the Palais Royal showing the cobblestone street and European architecture.

A note on timing for next week's edition of If It's Tuesday, This Must be Brussels.  I'll be doing a day trip for a meeting in Paris this Friday and will try to take some photos (it's for work, so I won't get any touristy photos).  Then on next Monday evening I fly up to Helsinki for a 3 day meeting.  So I'll try to post next Tuesday's edition a little early (Sunday night or Monday morning).

Thanks all.