Brussels; Saturday, 22 December, 2007

The mists and fog of the previous night had cleared completely and a clear blue sky heralded a crisp but sunny morning. With breakfast inside me, I stepped out and instantly returned to my room to pick up my gloves! Whilst it might have been clear and sunny, in the shade it was bitterly cold.

My first stop of the morning was Tervuren, the small town to the East of the city, which I had visited briefly on my last visit. The town is home to one of the most spectacular museums in Belgium.

Set in parkland, which with a light mist, and all the frost, made for a perfect winter picture, the museum was built in 1908 to house a collection of artefacts brought back from the personal African lands of King Leopold I. For decades they have been displayed as originally intended as a display of how the Belgium people had paternalistically looked after the savage natives of the colonies. A few years ago the museum closed for a refurbishment, and a re-evaluation of Belgium’s role in Central Africa. Whilst the behaviour of other European nations towards the peoples of Africa cannot be excused, the former Belgium colonies suffered the most, and have continued to be some of the most badly affected in Africa. Rwanda, Burundi and the Democratic Republic Congo (formerly Zaire) have all too often hit international attention for the wrong reasons. When the museum reopened it still had the same artefacts on display, but they have been uncompromising in telling the truth. The words loot, plunder and genocide appear on the display cards, referring to the actions of the colonials. It makes for an interesting museum, which helps to give an insight into the cultures that King Leopold imposed Belgium rule on.

By the time I left the museum it was early afternoon, so I headed back into town and then out to Heysel again to have a look around the refurbished Atomium. In the end it took nearly two hours to get back there, and after having had a quick look around I headed for the snack bar to grab an exceptionally late lunch, before finishing off looking around and taking in the views from the top sphere.

From Heysel I caught the metro out to Simonis and walked up to the Basilique de Sacré Coeur, where I had intended on having another look around and to take in the sights from the roof. However, the church was hosting a roving exhibition on Leonardo da Vinci, which is travelling around Europe. However, given that I had already seen it for free in Rome in February and decided not to bother with it when it reached Vilnius in May I baulked at the idea of paying €10 to see something I had already seen, just so that I could get the views from the panorama platform.

Instead, I headed back into town to visit the Christmas market and do a spot of last minute present shopping. Whilst shopping I meandered through several roads of restaurants, and by the time I had brought everything I wanted was famished by the beautiful smells emanating from all around. I chose a decent looking seafood restaurant just around the corner from the Grand Place. Sated after a very pleasant evening meal, I headed back to the hotel to, python like, sleep it off