Into the Archives...and to the pissing fountain.

I've been in Brussels less than a week and, well, I figured it was about time to go to the archive. You know, the place I said I was going to be working to get the money and time to be here. I survived the first day. No real work, just getting registered, meeting with my archivist contact -- who isn't much older than I am -- and figuring out how the place works. Well, it seems, an archive is an archive is an archive. I have my ID card, good for a year, and client number.

The only hitchers were 1) the laminator broke while they tried to laminate my card so the place smelled of burning plastic and 2) the stuff I want to look at won't be in the database until the end of October. The records of the Comite National (the Belgian counterpart to the CRB) have just been indexed (of which I have a copy on my computer). Thankfully the people at the Belgian National Archives are very nice and know what I'm working on and gave me old-school paper slips to fill out my requests.

I puttered around, but no real work. I've decided to go slow -- very slow -- and not overwhelm myself. So, today was just to see what it's all about. The space inside is new and modern, well lit, and quiet. I think it will be a nice place to work. I don't think I they have wireless so that will probably help my productivity, but I'll certainly have to find a way to let them allow me to bring my big French-English dictionary with me. I'm getting better with French -- my tenses are a mess -- but my vocabulary still isn't strong. It'll take a while to plod through these documents.

I also have access to all the other repositories around the country, so I'll be doing some travel at some point to other places where documents may be housed. I plan on returning the end of the week to actually order up some stuff, mainly from the CRB itself since the National Archives here have some records.

So, the rest of the day. After coming home for lunch (well, I stopped at a sandwich shop and got a brie sandwich) and a brief chat with the girlfriend, I went out in search of the old CRB headquarters in Brussels. Located, according to a set of documents I brought with me, at Rue des Colonies, 66 (named in honor of the Belgian Congo, such happy times). Well, that address is nothing more than a boarded up door. No plaque, nothing, which leads me to believe I have the wrong address. Last night I came across a plaque dedicated to a member of the Belgian government who worked for the relief effort. So, there is a memorial memory here. I just have to find it for the CBR. I'll need better shoes...the cobblestones are killing my feet. Damn you Steve Madden!!

So, it was off to be a tourist. A visit to Brussels' cathedral was nice. Then to Grand Place for a beer and people watching:



That's a Kwak beer. Been around since about 1790 it's served in that funky glass. (CT, I think this is the beer you were referring to in you comment a while back.) It's potent at 8.4% but tasty. The bulb, it seems, keeps a constant stream of bubbles rushing to the top.

Then it was off to find Manneken Pis. That is the famous 1 foot tall stature of a young boy peeing. It's a de facto national symbol of Belgium. The original statue dates from 1388, but this one is from 1619 after the first one was stolen. No one really knows why this statue is, well, this statue. Some say it's modeled after a duke's son who was peeing on enemy troops, some say it's after a boy who peed on a burning fuse during a siege, etc. None the less, it's cute and the city has well over 600 costumes that it will dress petit Julien (the French name) in over the course of the year. This includes an Elvis suit. The various costumes are on display in the Musee de Ville in Grand Place.



So a day of some work and some tourism. I'm finding myself navigating the city much easier now. I know land marks and am pretty well oriented at all times. I still have yet to find a nice coffee shop where I can just chill or a bar for an evening beer. As I've said I live in a "posh" area and it's a bit touristy and/or corporate. Since I live in Saint-Gilles I'll explore it's center (or Parvis Saint-Gilles as it's known). I know there are some more bars and spots there and it has a younger vibe. I have to remember, it hasn't yet even been a week!

Tomorrow, it's to the bank for a bank account. Of the fun I'll have.

Thanks for reading!