Read Online 1936 On the Continent by Eugene Fodor - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Eugene Fodor
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most indispensable of guide-books for practical travellers who don’t like cut-and-dried methods. And you would have found in its friendly pages a host of useful and practical information, together with the addresses of our tourist offices, that of the Touring Club (44 rue de la Loi), of the Automobile Club (58 Avenue des Arts), of the Y.W.C.A. (46 rue Coudenberg or 36 A rue Jourdan), of the British Consulate (14 rue Stévin), etc. … and you would have read that any of these data could have been supplied by the first and last of your hotel staff. And you would have learnt, too, that Belgium is a great tourist centre, and that even if you spoke English only you’d have every chance of being understood in almost every hotel and public establishment.”
Environments of Brussels
There’s an excursion or two that should not be missed before you leave Brussels.
Waterloo, of course. This will take you sixteen kilometres out of Brussels. As you know, that is the spot where the English and the Prussians defeated Napoleon in 1815, a short time before he was exiled to Saint Helena, where he was to die six years later.
Nowadays you will find Waterloo a quiet, peaceful little village where a great many monuments commemorate the famous victory. At the top of a hill you will see the Lion of Waterloo facing towards France, and this is a great trial to those who call themselves “the friends of France,” because it is a reminder of defeat. But there—history is history.
In the war museum of Waterloo you will see Napoleon’s hat and other personal objects which are said to be authentic. The Emperor must have been well stocked inhats if all those kept in countless museums really belonged to him.
Waterloo is not far from the Forest of Soignes, of which we are so proud. There are magnificent walks in this forest, which is enormous, and it really marks the boundaries of the town of which it is the great game preserve.
Lastly, if you’ve seen all this and still feel you’re ready for more, there is the Parc of Laeken, with its Japanese tower and Chinese pavilion, and its private royal residence, where the King lives with his children and the Queen Mother.
All around Brussels are beauty spots, so many of them that it would take too long to mention them all. However, one day spent in Brussels will give you a general sense of the lie of the land and you will realise that you may learn to know the town superficially in a very few days, but that you may live there for weeks on end and find new things every day to stir your interest.
And you will leave Brussels behind you with very real regret.
At least I hope so.
Antwerp and its Harbour
“After this, Antwerp is calling us, Muriel, but we’ll stop at Mechlin for an hour on our way there.”
“Is that necessary?”
“Absolutely! Mechlin is a very beautiful little town (population 60,000). It was the old capital of the Netherlands. Our greatest religious dignitary lives there—the Cardinal Archbishop. You know that the Belgians are for the greater part Roman Catholics—about half of the population. There are, however, a few Protestants and quite a number of free thinkers. Officially, there is no State religion in Belgium, but it is customary to include the Catholic Church in all State ceremonial.”
Here is Mechlin (Malines). As was to be expected, the most wonderful monument of all is the Cathedral Saint Rombaut. Its tower is one of the most beautiful on the Continent and contains the most famous chimes in the world. Every Monday at 8 o’clock a carillon concert is given here. The dial of the great clock has a circumference of forty-one metres, which means that it is the largest clock in the world.
Everything is worth seeing in Mechlin (Malines), but this can be done very quickly for all its treasures are huddled together (old houses, old palaces, old churches, and a wonderful bridge).
The chief industries of Malines are: furniture-making, art tapestry, laces. Its beer is
Environments of Brussels
There’s an excursion or two that should not be missed before you leave Brussels.
Waterloo, of course. This will take you sixteen kilometres out of Brussels. As you know, that is the spot where the English and the Prussians defeated Napoleon in 1815, a short time before he was exiled to Saint Helena, where he was to die six years later.
Nowadays you will find Waterloo a quiet, peaceful little village where a great many monuments commemorate the famous victory. At the top of a hill you will see the Lion of Waterloo facing towards France, and this is a great trial to those who call themselves “the friends of France,” because it is a reminder of defeat. But there—history is history.
In the war museum of Waterloo you will see Napoleon’s hat and other personal objects which are said to be authentic. The Emperor must have been well stocked inhats if all those kept in countless museums really belonged to him.
Waterloo is not far from the Forest of Soignes, of which we are so proud. There are magnificent walks in this forest, which is enormous, and it really marks the boundaries of the town of which it is the great game preserve.
Lastly, if you’ve seen all this and still feel you’re ready for more, there is the Parc of Laeken, with its Japanese tower and Chinese pavilion, and its private royal residence, where the King lives with his children and the Queen Mother.
All around Brussels are beauty spots, so many of them that it would take too long to mention them all. However, one day spent in Brussels will give you a general sense of the lie of the land and you will realise that you may learn to know the town superficially in a very few days, but that you may live there for weeks on end and find new things every day to stir your interest.
And you will leave Brussels behind you with very real regret.
At least I hope so.
Antwerp and its Harbour
“After this, Antwerp is calling us, Muriel, but we’ll stop at Mechlin for an hour on our way there.”
“Is that necessary?”
“Absolutely! Mechlin is a very beautiful little town (population 60,000). It was the old capital of the Netherlands. Our greatest religious dignitary lives there—the Cardinal Archbishop. You know that the Belgians are for the greater part Roman Catholics—about half of the population. There are, however, a few Protestants and quite a number of free thinkers. Officially, there is no State religion in Belgium, but it is customary to include the Catholic Church in all State ceremonial.”
Here is Mechlin (Malines). As was to be expected, the most wonderful monument of all is the Cathedral Saint Rombaut. Its tower is one of the most beautiful on the Continent and contains the most famous chimes in the world. Every Monday at 8 o’clock a carillon concert is given here. The dial of the great clock has a circumference of forty-one metres, which means that it is the largest clock in the world.
Everything is worth seeing in Mechlin (Malines), but this can be done very quickly for all its treasures are huddled together (old houses, old palaces, old churches, and a wonderful bridge).
The chief industries of Malines are: furniture-making, art tapestry, laces. Its beer is
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