Becoming an Art Nouveau expert

I already wrote here about my Art Nouveau discoveries of Brussels during the great Art Nouveau and Art Deco Biennale, and after exploring various sites in Schaerbeek, I spent another weekend discovering Art Nouveau gems in Ixelles and Etterbeek.

On Saturday, I started with the ultimate example of Art Nouveau, Victor Horta's Hôtel Solvay in Avenue Louise. The building is nowadays a listed UNESCO world heritage site together with Horta's Hôtel Tassel (see below), Hôtel van Eetvelde and Horta Museum. 

The interior of the house is once again fantastic: in Horta's style, stained glass windows bring light to the house, walls are beautifully decorated and all details are carefully executed.

I continued to another UNESCO site not far away in Rue Paul-Emile Janson, where Horta designed in 1893 Hôtel Tassel. The interior of this building was completely destroyed in the 1970s, but is now renovated to look like the original. 

My last destination on Saturday was Maison Blerot in Rue de Belle-Vue, in a street where you have a row of buildings designed by the Art Nouveau architect Ernest Blerot (look for his signature on the facade). 

Compared to Horta, Blerot's style was a bit more romantic with more flowers and animals used in the decorative patterns. Blerot constructed over 70 houses in Brussels and I think I need to go and discover some of them in the neighborhood of Saint-Boniface soon.

On Sunday I continued my Art Nouveau weekend with yet another Horta building close to Sablon, Maison Frison. It's a house that I've walked past many times, but I have never paid any attention to its dirty facade (see below, it's the one with "for rent" sign). Indeed, the facade is not spectacular, but the interior has a beautiful winter garden of true Horta style.

One of the highlights of the Biennale was, without a doubt, Maison Cauchie in Etterbeek, close to Parc Cinquantanaire. This is where I finally understood the technique of "sgraffito", which is used to make the decorative paintings in many Art Nouveau facades. It consists of two layers of plaster of which the bottom one is dark. When the plaster is still wet, the artists carves the lines of the image on the wall, revealing the darker layer. Then, as in the fresco style, the wet paint is coloured. 

Paul Cauchie and his wife Caroline were masters of the sgraffito style and on the facade of their house you can admire their skills. The building has a well-earned place in the secret list of "The 5 most striking Art Nouveau houses in Brussels".

My last visit was in Parc Leopold (No. 322 in the list of "The 5 most remarkable places in the Eruopean Quarter"), the Bibliothèque Solvay, behind the European Parliament. 

The story of the Solvay library is super interesting. Ernest Solvay (father of Armand Solvay who commissioned Hôtel Solvay) was a rich industrialist who was very keen on supporting education, science and research.  He founded five private institutes, one of which was the institute of sociology, an academic field close to Solvay's heart. 

This building was constructed to only around 10 top students of sociology. They had a beautiful library in the middle of the building for their use and their individual offices were furnished with Chesterfield furnitures. Not bad for sociologists! With the help of the sociologists, Ernest Solvay himself conducted analyses on workers' well-being in his factories. Oh boy, I wish we had more rich industrialists like him in the world today.

Later in the 20th century, the institute became part of the University of Brussels, and finally in 1981 the library was no longer used. Squatters moved in and destroyed the interior of the place completely in the following years. It was only in the end of the 1980s when an architecture student got interested in the place and urged politicians to save and protect it. 

The shameful story got a happy ending as the student later was in charge of renovating the building. It is now used for various events and concerts, so it is possible to see the beautiful stained glass windows. 

Art Nouveau in Brussels - the beauty is in the details

After summer holiday (which seems like ancient history already) I have had some difficulties in enjoying life in Brussels. After spending time with friends and family in Finland and making little visits to fabulous cities like London, Paris, Copenhagen and Berlin (all in one month which was definitely a bit too much!), returning to Brussels was hard. 

I know that I have started post-holiday period with a wrong attitude, so I'm now consciously trying to appreciate the city. After all, I'm halfway through my contract here, so I need to make the most out of my time here - otherwise I would regret it.

Beautiful glass decoration over an entrance door.

With a beautiful sunny autumn weather I try to enjoy the pretty little things in the city and there are plenty of them (it's not always easy in Brussels to see the beauty, you have to pay attention). A few weeks ago I was dog sitting a colleague's dog for a weekend and this gave me a fantastic opportunity to slowly stroll around in my neighborhood and expand my knowledge of the Schaerbeek commune in which I live. 

Schaerbeek doesn't always have the best reputation and I myself wanted first to live in cool places like St. Catherine or Ixelles, but now I've learnt to appreciate the architectural beauty of the commune. There are quite many interesting places to visit here, especially around the neighborhood of the imposing city hall in Place Collignon and pretty Parc Josaphat.

These are the details you find in so many buildings if you just look up and around. Makes life so much nicer, doesn't it.

Even more extensive strolling took place this weekend as I had bought a weekend pass for the Brussels Art Nouveau and Art Deco Biennale. It's a truly fantastic way to visit some of the buildings that would otherwise be closed to visitors and in general get interesting information on this famous period of Brussels architecture. (It's popular among the locals, but I would even recommend tourists to plan their visit so that they can participate.)

On Saturday I started with the famous Maison Autrique in Chaussée de Haecht 266, designed by Victor Horta in 1893 as his first work. This was the start of the golden period of Art Nouveau! The house was carefully renovated ten years ago and our wonderful guide gave us an interesting tour around the house. This building is unsurprisingly No. 238 on my secret list of "The 5 finest Art Nouveau Buildings open to public in Brussels". 

It's quite funny to find this architectural gem here because the street is the heart of the Turkish community with many brightly colored restaurant signs that hardly valorize the building.

Horta and Professor Autrique were both Freemasons and the facade of the building includes some of the Freemason symbols like triangles and the use of number three in various ways.

I continued to another beautiful house designed by Horta, Hôtel van Eetwelde of which I have written here earlier. This time I had the opportunity to see the gorgeous interior of the building (unfortunately no photos were allowed). 

Wall paper in the Quaker House.

My last visit on Saturday was to the close-by Quaker House in Square Ambiorix. While I have walked by the building quite often I have rarely paid much attention to it. It was designed by George Hobé at the turn of the 20th century and bought by the Quakers in 1985. Outside is not much of interest in my opinion, but the interior was pretty (unfortunately here our guide wasn't very knowledgeable and spoke very bad English).

Hôtel Cohn-Donnay and the Restaurant De Ultieme Hallucinatie.

On Sunday I made a great visit to the heart of Schaerbeek and Saint-Josse-ten-Noode to streets I've never taken. Inspired by my new Art Nouveau book, I carefully looked around me and up to the buildings along the streets and indeed, there were so many beautiful details in the houses. 

While the overall picture might be a bit chaotic with all the different styles, you can enjoy of many little beautiful things if you just care to take the time (this is why walking with a dog is fantastic, you really have the time to contemplate your surroundings).

The chess corner in Hôtel Cohn-Donnay. Paul Hamesse designed every detail.

Unfortunately in the 1980s the garden was covered and this indoor terrace was built. Art Nouveau windows on the bar were removed but luckily at least the wooden part was conserved (originally the arch served as a covered path to the music salon at the back of the garden).

I started at Hôtel Cohn-Donnay at Rue Royale 316 very close to the byzantine style church of Royale Sainte-Marie. Hôtel Cohn-Donnay was already built in 1841 (before the Art Nouveau movement) in a neoclassical style. Only in the early 20th century when the Cohn-Donnay family moved in, Paul Hamasse, a student of famous Art Nouveau architect Paul Hankar, transformed the interior into Art Nouveau style. 

The place nowadays houses a beautiful restaurant and a cat café, which is really an underestimation of the potential of the beautiful house. Well, the cats were cute, but eating with cats on the table waiting to attack the food was not very relaxing.

I continued my tour to see two more unknown buildings: one quite eclectic house by Franz Van Ophem in Rue Renkin 33 and another one of more neo-renaissance style by Frans Hemelsoet in Avenue Princesse Elisabeth 22.

Maison Van Ophem built in 1890.

 Beautiful window in Maison Van Ophem.

Both of these building are now privately owned and transformed into apartments. In the Maison Hemelsoet we could visit one of the apartments that the owners had renovated themselves to resemble the original style of 1902. I didn't really like the quite opulent style of the neo-renaissance, and while the facade of the house was Art Nouveau style, you couldn't find the influence inside anymore. 

It is worth knowing that Hemelsoet had made the building with many different influences to show his clients what he is able to do, like Maison Van Ophem, it was kind of a portfolio of the architect's skills.

 Maison Hemelsoet built in 1902.

More to come next weekend when I continue my visits to another six places.

Jungle trip with the tram 44

What a ride! 

You jump on an old tram at the underground station at Montgomery, west of Parc Cinquntanaire in Brussels, and soon you are following Avenue de Tervuren through Parc de Woluwe and Parc de Tervuren. 

It is great fun to take the tram through beautiful and superbly green Tervuren forest. At moments, the tram is riding through green alleys, or more like lush tunnels, and you soon forget the grey city behind you.

25 minutes tram trip takes you through green forests and parks.

Obviously, the trip is recommend by my 500 Brussels secrets guide. It features in the list of "The 5 best trips on tram and bus", No. 291: Tram 44. A tram ride might sound a bit weird tourist or Sunday activity, but this is a ride you should do at least once in Brussels.

On the way, you might have a quick glimpse of the luxurious private house called Stoclet House in Avenue de Tervuren. It is also No. 232 on the list of "The 5 best UNESCO world heritage sites". Its architecture represents the Vienna Secession and it is considered a masterpiece of its Austrian architect. Quite gorgeous and weird, but hard to see well from the street (and you definitely need to get off the tram if you care to have a closer look).

Treasure-hunting at the Jeu de Balle fleemarket

Jeu de Balle fleemarket in Marolles district of Brussels is great Sunday fun. However, if you're truly interested in finding something interesting, be patient and come early. Otherwise, it's just nice to go through the weird bric-à-brac - there's plenty of it - and enjoy the atmosphere.

Obviously, the market (no. 206) is in the list of "The 5 Best Street Markets of Brussels". 

The neighborhood should invest in some more nice cafés to enjoy breakfast before heading to treasure-hunt. Chaff in the North-Western corner of the square (photo below) is among the few nice choices. Cappuccino is decent in Brussels standards...

Testing Brussels brunch scene (Part 1)

There doesn't seem to be an end for the brunch trend (oh, that rhymes). And why should there be, it's a great way to spend Sunday noons and maybe even invite some people along that you don't know so well. 

Brussels follows the trend and there are plenty of nice brunch places that I'm trying hard to discover (here's one long list of possibilities). 

Inside Ici.

Today we had a delicious Sunday brunch at Ici in Ixelles. The waitress was a bit puzzled by my request for a vegetarian option, but I finally got the brunch without salmon and ham (that were completely unnecessary in any case). 

Ici offers two options for brunch, either a small plate for 15 EUR (something like egg, orange juice, coffee, bread, croissants, and selection of cheese and ham) or a big plate for 23 EUR that we all opted for (see below). 

The ingredients were super fresh and carefully chosen, and for once it really felt that you couldn't make a better brunch at home with a little effort. Brunch that fills your stomach, but at the same time you feel that you ate something healthy.

Sunday brunch at Ici. Great salads with quinoa/chickpeas and beans/fennel, melon, salty pancake, season's veggies, smoothie, yogurt with granola, croissants... And plenty of cilantro, yam!

I, of course, love places like Ici with Nordic-influenced trendy interior design and cosy atmosphere (however, when will we expect something a bit different?). The neighborhood around Place Brugmann also deserves a greater exploration some day (for other brunch places as well as the cool shops). Definitely going back to Ici if there is ever a situation that I have tried out all the other Brussels brunch places... (Well, maybe even before.)

However, a big minus for serving sandwiches with foie gras. This doesn't fit the kind of eco-healthy atmosphere of the place. Ici, please, stop serving foie gras, it's not worth the animal cruelty, right?

Café de la Presse gets crowded.

Another place for good brunch is the very popular Café de la Presse at Avenue Louise. In contrast to Ici, it features in my Brussels 500 secret list "The 5 Best Places for a Sunday Brunch" (No. 67).

There were four or five different options for the brunch and each of them could be made vegetarian (thank you!). Instead of the (quite disgusting and dry looking) sausages that my friends ordered I got a very tasty falafel-filled wrap. The portion was a bit too big, but what is brunch without indulgence and little gluttony? However, compared to Ici, Café de la Presse feels much "cheaper", and of these two, I would rather go back to Ici. But for a bigger group of friends, Café de la Presse would fit better.

Café de la Presse brunch.

Café de la Presse is also nice for a coffee break and some little Macbook work; this hasn't gone unnoticed among the nearby young hipsters. The place is easily packed with students (ah, it makes you jealous of their free time) - and after all it is not that great for working with cute guys coming and going. So just go for the coffee and for example nice green tea cake.

Cappuccino and green tea cake at Café de la Presse.

Of course, I have also tried out the classic brunch place L'Orangerie at Parc d'Egmont. It is included in the list of "The 5 Best Terraces for Sitting in the Sun" (No. 144). Unfortunately, the few times I've been there it has rained, so I might need to get there once more for the terrace. 

The brunch buffet (29 EUR) is abundant with pastries, salads, freshly made crêpes, hot dishes, cheese, a variety of desserts, etc. The place is not that special (except for the nice park), but it's a good choice for spending hours with a bigger group. And leave some space for those crêpes!

Ah, looking for the next Sunday!

Where to bring your mum for an aperitif in Brussels?

To Cirio.

My ultimate guide to Brussels, "The 500 Hidden Secrets of Brussels", has Cirio in the list of "The 5 Best Bars to Drink Like a Local" (No. 96).

This is a place where already Jacques Brel used to drink half-half, i.e. drink with half sparkling wine and half white wine. The waiters wear traditional black suits with bow ties and the Art Nouveau interior from the beginning of the 20th century deserves to be labelled as one of the most beautiful in Brussels.

Cirio has a long history. The Italian entrepreneur Francesco Cirio opened many cafés around Europe a hundred years ago, but this one in Brussels is the only one to survive (go before Starbucks takes over...). It's not perhaps the coolest bar in town, and I'm not sure to what extent it's a place to drink like a local rather than a grandma tourist, but the half-half is inexpensive and good. A must when your mother comes over for a visit!

Not a tourist trap - Nüetnigenough

As a tourist you always suspect that the places too close to the main tourist attractions are expensive, touristy, and not authentic. Surprisingly, in Brussels centre, you can be just around the corner from Grand-Place and find nice bars that drag locals and lucky tourists alike - and some new locals ready to discover the city like myself.

One such place is Nüetnigenough (hard to spell or pronounce) at Rue du Lombard 25. From outside it already looks tempting with its Art Nouveau facade and beautiful windows. It's a traditional but relaxed place with interesting food - unfortunately, nothing for the vegetarians except for the day's soup or some Indian curry - like rabbit in a gueuze sauce, and a great selection of Belgian beers.

The menu of Nüetnigenough.

The bar/restaurant is (of course!) in the secret Brussels list for "The 5 Best Local Beers and Where to Drink Them". For Nüetnigenough the book recommends Lindemans Kriek Cuvee René (No. 154 in the list), but I had something completely different, as the very friendly waiter was ready  to recommend some of their rarer beers. 

Relaxed place, friendly atmosphere, and nice service - what more do you want after escaping the crowds of Grand-Place?

Mediterranean eating in Brussels

After Iran, back to Brussels life...

I've already written here about how it is sometimes quite challenging to be vegetarian in Brussels - or at least, how it might be difficult to enjoy high quality vegetarian food here. Belgian cuisine does not provide excellent opportunities for this, but luckily the city is full of world cuisine that is more adapted for veggie-eaters. Thank god for immigration and globalization (yep, otherwise I would be complaining only about the Finnish food...). 

Recently I've tried two choices from the 500 Brussels secrets list of "The 5 best restaurants for Mediterranean cooking". 

Where is my couscous with a twist?

I have to say that even though I love tajines and couscous, in the North African restaurants their veggie versions are often pretty much the same stuff over and over again, and even though it's guaranteed good it's really nothing special. No. 23, La Kasbah, in Rue Antoine Dansaert in the Centre, has an atmospheric interior and great service, but the vegetarian couscous was slightly boring - the same as everywhere and nothing I couldn't cook myself. It's a pity because the place is very nice otherwise. 

No. 24, Kif-Kif, in Square Biarritz in Ixelles, however was an excellent choice for a vegetarian - or any food lover. The owners have blended Moroccan and Jewish traditions and the meze plate was superb with more than ten different veggie dishes. The place is cool and trendy with a young crowd attracted by the fresh approach. 

Kif-Kif mezes, a great treat for vegetarians, and not too expensive either.

I don't if it was for the weekend and some bigger groups celebrating birthdays, but there was also a surprise moment when a female dancer in typical harem sort of clothes came to make a dance performance. We were a bit unprepared for this and, to be honest, it took us a while to have a comfortable feeling about the half-naked dancer. In the end, we decided to enjoy the show and the beautiful dance as well as the dancer. For sure, at least that night, it wasn't a place for a quiet romantic dinner, but for a fun celebration Kif-Kif would be an optimal choice.

Kif-Kif, empty cups, and food happiness.

Closer to my work, and indeed, in the list of "The 5 best places for lunch in the European Quarter", you'll find at Place de Londres No. 44, El Turco. A wonderful Turkish restaurant, which is the best possible place for lunch in the neighborhood (and with a pleasant terrace). So far, it is also the best Turkish restaurant where I've been (not only in Brussels but anywhere). There is a lunch buffet with plenty of vegetarian (and even vegan) options and they taste all too good for a light lunch. The big portion below in the photo comes to around 12 Euros. The Turkish coffee there is also very good, though 3 EUR price is a bit high.

El Turco's wonderful lunch buffet.

Another possibility for this type of food in the EU quarter is L'Oriento next to Place Jourdan (and not in my list of 500 Brussels secrets). It is also an excellent choice for people loving Middle Eastern cuisine (and a weekend brunch that I still need to try). As in El Turco, they have a lunch buffet. You either pay by weight or you can choose an all-you-can-eat lunch for around 15 Euros. Guess which one I chose...

A little gem in Rue de Flandre

I'm really excited about the neighborhood of Sainte-Catherine in the centre of Brussels. It is perhaps the most interesting place in the city when it comes to nice bars and restaurants - and some handsome and tall Flemish guys.

There are plenty of places in Rue de Flandre I still need to visit and some places where I want to go back. The other day, I discovered the very lovely art café John and Rose. Once again, a bit of a Nordic design and lots of open space that makes it ideal for a nice brunch. The coffee wasn't as great as in some of the places I've recommended here, but otherwise the food was nice and simple, and the service friendly. A place where I want to go back.

P.S. What what, this place is not in my The 500 Hidden Secrets of Brussels guidebook. It would definitely fit there!

Spring at the Flagey market

One week of spring already - and oh boy, do we welcome it warmly in Brussels after all those grey and rainy days of January and February. It is just what I needed after my Brussels angst catalyzed by a combination of bad service and public transports (the usual suspects...). 

As the thermometer passed +14°C, we headed to the Saturday market at Place Flagey in Ixelles after the yoga class. It was time to celebrate with some cava and oysters. A perfect day!

And yes Flagey market, or no. 209,  features of course on the list of "The 5 best street markets in Brussels". And I managed to do a double check in my Brussels' secret list with the Flagey Oyster Bar, no. 54, in the list of "The 5 best places for cheap eats". 

However, it should be noted that with the enormous success the Oyster Bar has at the market, they have increased the prices from 6€ for a half a dozen oysters to 9€ and for a glass of cava from 2€ to 4€ (the cheaper prices are mentioned in my guidebook from 2012). So I don't know if this is so cheap still, especially because you still need to eat something "real" afterwards. But well, definitely a great place for a little decadence.

Discovering Brussels Canal

Just in my last post I mentioned the "missing water element" in Brussels, but of course, there is the canal. However, it is quite well hidden, and it was only a month ago, when I went to see the Brussels Affordable Art Fair at Tour & Taxis exhibition complex, I finally saw it. The neighborhood seems to have developed in recent years and some nice apartment buildings have been built along the canal. Unfortunately, the full potential of the neighborhood is all but used.

The canal is only a few hundred meters away from the cool neighborhoods of Dansaert and Sainte-Catherine, but it is also a clear social border that divides different communes. Just after the canal, you find the infamous commune of Molenbeek, which is known for high rates of poverty, social problems, and concentration of immigrants. You don't need to live long in Brussels to hear about Molenbeek and how it should be avoided. It is among the poorest communes in whole Belgium, but only a walking distance from the fancy shops of Avenue Louise, which only highlights the drastic inequalities in the Brussels region.

I must admit that only now, looking more closely at the map, I realize that this is where Molenbeek starts. I only walked along the canal so I didn't venture more inside to the neighborhood. By the canal, it was rather nice.

My destination was the Affordable Art Fair, an annual art fair where you can buy contemporary art with a more modest budget (I think the upper limit is 6 000 Euros, but most pieces were around 1000 Euros). I can definitely recommend this event even for those not planning to do any art purchases. Below some nice sculptures that caught my attention. Next February again!

Revelations: finding good coffee in Brussels

Despite the large Italian community in Brussels, sometimes it is hard to find good coffee in this city. When you ask for a cappuccino, you can actually get a black coffee with whipped cream (!!). When you politely try to complain, they say it's a "Belgian cappuccino". And you wonder if you just took a time machine to the early 1990s... 

However, with the help of my "500 hidden secrets of Brussels" guidebook and coffee-loving friends, I've been able to find a few spots with excellent coffee in Brussels. Going to these cafés is my weekend pleasure here. 

The top three places for excellent coffee in Brussels are definitely:

1. Aksum Coffee House, no. 132 in the list of "The 5 best coffee bars in Brussels"

This Ethiopian place is my favorite café for sure. It's in a beautiful green house close to the Grand Place. Their coffee made with Ethiopian beans is just fantastic and the cakes they serve are also delicious. They do organise Ethiopian coffee ceremonies at request and probably you can order an Ethiopian style coffee any time, but so far I've only had Italian style caffe lattes. Of course, the Ethiopian jazz in the background is just about the perfect choice for Sunday coffee moments.

2. Parlor Coffee, no. 131 in the list of "The 5 best coffee bars in Brussels"

Parlor  Coffee has a nice Nordic vibe in the ugly and noisy Chaussée de Charleroi in Saint-Gilles. Besides good coffee, they also serve nice small things to eat. I had a veggie bagel that wasn't a mind-blowing experience but suitable for a light Saturday lunch.

3. Or Coffee, no. 134 in the list of "The 5 best coffee bars in Brussels"

Or Coffee has two cafés in Brussels, one in the Dansaert quartier in the centre and the other one at Place Jourdan. I've only been to the latter one. It's a great spot for working as well; there are too few places like this in the city. 

Too bad the Place Jourdan branch is closed on Saturdays, it would be a perfect place to go after my Saturday yoga class next door.