Gypsy holiday kick off

In Sweden it's the law that you should have four summer holiday weeks together sometime across June, July and August. In Denmark you have to have three weeks together. The key word here is together, because your leave from work is supposed to rest you.
Here, there are no such rules, hence this year Nathan's leave was allocated as such: one week in June, one week in July, one week in August and one week in September... *Sigh*. Not so useful. Neither for resting, nor for family fun.

He spent the June week in Copenhagen at Copenhell with Lucas and Thomas. We then awaited his July week to start our summer gypsy holiday, as a family.
First leg was up to Billund, with a very long stop over in Brussels. At one stage I thought we were going to arrive to our friends in Kolding very "happy", because there was not much else to pass time with in the airport, other than eating waffles and drink beer - but hey, it was the start of the holiday!

Chocolicious

The one thing that really made an impression in Brussels was how much the Belgians must love their sugar! Every other shop was either a chocolate shop, a waffle house or selling other sweets! Crazy!

Here are some I spotted, of course all the window displays were extra decked out, as Easter is coming:

Manneken Pis chocolate, of course:

See the beer bottles made out of chocolate in the top right corner? We brought one home for Nathan of course!

But we didn't try the penis waffles that we spotted not far from Manneken Pis..! Next time!

Brussels, Day 4

On our last day in Brussels, we got spoiled with some sunshine! Made for a welcome change after several days with rain and grey skies, but it was still really really cold!

We decided to go and retake the photos of the Grand Place, as it looked so much better in the sunshine.

For "lunch", we decided to have a nice waffle and chose to go into Galeries St-Hubert (built in 1847, the first shopping arcade in Europe) and to the Maison Dandoy. Even though the place was fancy, Linnea didn't think this waffle measured up to the one she had had on the street the first day. But the place was nice!

In the evening, we went for dinner at one of the most famous restaurants in Brussels, Chez Léon, founded already in 1893. I had mussels again, and Linnea some pasta this time. Unfortunately I got photos of neither, but I got photos of my beer and Linnea's dessert!

Brussels, Day 3 - The Comics Art Museum

We continued our day with a visit in the afternoon, to the Comics Art Museum. Enjoyed some lunch first next door, in the beautiful Art Nouveau building designed by Victor Horta. Then we had a look at the exhibition.

We were not that familiar with Belgian comic strip art, other than Tintin and the Smurfs. Unfortunately we were informed - after we had walked about for a while - that the Tintin stuff weren't located here anymore... Argh.
Well, I discovered this funny figure, which I really liked - Dickie!

The building itself was ah-mazing! Created by Victor Horta in 1906, originally serving as a warehouse.

I particularly enjoyed the part about how the comic strip begun, and how it's defined.

At the moment they also had a temporary exhibition about 'Comics at the Louvre', which was quite interesting. Such a different way to experience and rediscover the famous museum!

The Smurfs!

A fun museum!

Brussels, Day 3 - The Choco-Story

We continued our day with a visit to the Choco-Story, a chocolate museum just nearby. I didn't have high expectations, thinking this was another tourist-trap, but it actually was really good. Just the right balance between informative and fun displays. I guess we were lucky too it wasn't too crowded when we visited, so we had ample space to enjoy, while feeling safe.
You got this little chocolate-shaped audio guide to use throughout the exhibit:

We learned how the Mayas and the Aztecs grew cocoa trees:

It was used as currency!

We learned about how cocoa arrived in Europe, firstly by the explorer Cortez in 1528, who brought it with him back to Spain:

And then how it spread throughout Europe, became highly popular especially in the court of France; something I touch on while mediating the exhibition about Versailles we have at Louvre Abu Dhabi at the moment:

I loved admiring this huge collection of chocolate pots and chocolate cups!

Special cups for the men with moustaches, with a little "shield" so that they could enjoy the drink without getting their whole face full of froth:

And these mugs, with extra deep saucers and two handles, to be used on carriages or in other shaky conditions to prevent spilling. They are called "tasses trembleuses".

La Belle Chocolatière, after a painting by Jean Liotard 1745.

We also got to know all about the chocolate production itself. The museum explained the whole process, from fermentation, drying and roasting to how to make the cocoa paste, and finally how to create the desired product.

We learned all about the history of chocolate molds, chocolate pralines, chocolate vending machines, the invention of chocolate boxes... and obviously - we were treated to some freshly made chocolate after a short demonstration! Om nom nom!

We both loved this visit! Well recommended if you come to Brussels!