Had A Culture Day In Brussels

Today was my ‘culture day’. I went to four different museums. The morning started out with the Musical Instrument Museum. So amazing, it was absolutely fabulous. The battery for my camera ran out before I got to brass instruments and my spare was in the coat check so I couldn’t get any pictures of those which kind of sucks but it was really awesome. You got a pair of headphones and walked around and in front of most of the displays there was a numbered circle, you stood on it and there were selections of music played on those types of instruments that automatically played on the headset. There was one that really stood out for me, it was on an alphorn I think. It was just a long horn like you see in cartoons about the Swiss Alps but the music. It sounded like a cross between a French horn and a flugelhorn and seems to have all the versatility, not versatility exactly but exactitude I guess of a valved instrument. Then another one came in and they were harmonizing perfectly. I was just so surprised that someone could have so much control over something that is totally based on embouchure on an instrument that wasn’t manufactured really. I had lunch at a restaurant right next to the museum, Ciabatta mania. It was really good. You can order freshly pressed juices, I got grapefruit.

After than I went across the street to the Royal Palace of Beaux Arts which is combined with the Magritte Museum. It was pretty cool, there were a few things that really caught my eye. One statue called After the Deluge or something like that. I was absolutely enthralled by it. I must have circled it for ten minutes straight and then came back to look some more half an hour later. Then I went to the Magritte Museum which was interesting. I really wanted to see a certain painting but they didn't have it, at least not on display.

They had something else that was pretty cool and related to that one, oh btw if you don't read French and have never heard of that painting before the caption is translated at "This is not a pipe" because it is a painting or image of a pipe but is not itself a pipe, yay surrealism. At the beginning of the exhibit there was a sketch of a pipe with a caption that translated to "This is still not a pipe", funny but I had really wanted to see the original. 


Oh and random slightly related tangent. Being a student/under 26 in Europe is fabulous! There are sooo many discounts. The instrument museum was only four euros and the double pass for the Royal Palace/Magritte Museums was only three. Amazing!


After I'd had my fill there, I walked back down through the Jardin du Mont des Arts and on the left is the  Royal Library of Belgium so of course I had to go in. They have a museum inside the library on the history of books for free so I went to see that. It was fascinating and they used modern technology seamlessly when presenting everything. At the opening the had touchscreen monitors up on the wall where you could flip through background information about language and the written word. I'm not sure why I didn't take any photos in there but I didn't. I may have to go back so I can.


I wanted to go in and just browse through the books but apparently it isn't a public library and you have to have a pass in order to go in to the actual part with books. That dampened my spirits a bit.


Then later I had planned on going to this Jazz bar to hear some live music I'd heard was going to be happening. I figured I'd go out and have dinner first and head over for a drink to go with the jazz. I got there (l'Archiduc, apparently it's famous) around 7:30 and the band was starting to pack up, I'd already missed the show. I left and walked around trying to find some other place with live music to no avail. You'd think it'd be a lot easier to find something in a downtown but I guess I just wasn't in the right area.