Shamballa Cruising Yacht Club: Dresden and Brussels

After Prague, the last two cities we visited before our Christmas reunion in London seemed a bit dull. But they were full of interesting nooks and crannies, delightful spaces and new experiences. We arrived in Dresden Sunday afternoon but it was getting dark already by 3pm. We walked around enjoying the Christmas lights and tried to orientate ourselves in the dark. The next day was Monday and all the museums were closed. We were intrigued by the Museum of Hygiene but sadly couldn’t explore it further. So we spent the day walking around the Elbe River side and taking in the sights.

Dresden was totally destroyed in the fire-bombing of WWII but a few of the great buildings were restored.

The Opera House

Government building across the Elbe River

History of Saxony on the side of the building

Christmas markets

Restored Town Square

We got up early on Tuesday morning to catch an all day train to Brussels. Train travel in Europe is fantastic. The train stations are like airport terminals; huge complexes with up-market shops. The trains themselves are incredible. They zoom along smooth as silk at 200-300 km/hr. It is a wonderful way to travel.

We arrived at Brussels after dark and our first impressions were of a rather unsettling mix of glass, steel and concrete buildings of no particular aesthetic. We dropped off our bags at our hotel which was tucked into a cobblestone side street and went in search of a place for dinner. The prices were quite high so we opted for Vietnamese – not particularly Belgian but the whole area around our hotel was filled with Vietnamese restaurants. Anyway Pho was perfect for a cold night.

We then wandered over towards the nearby Bourse (Stock Exchange) and the Christmas markets. This was so different from the markets in Eastern Europe. This Brussels market was more like tin can alley. The wares were not particularly Christmasy and the food and drink stalls were mainly filled with young people over imbibing and being a bit roudy.

The Bourse in daytime

The next day we needed to do some more Christmas shopping and discovered some lovely shopping arcades and of course Belgian chocolates.

Shopping Arcade

We continued walking around the city enjoying the Flemish influenced architecture.

Lover the facades of Flemish buildings

We happened upon an interesting art deco building and discovered it housed the Museum of Musical Instruments. As it was starting to rain so we thought why not and entered into one of the nicest museums. The multi-story building was filled with all manner of musical instruments. We were provided with an audio guide that played beautiful musical pieces using the various instruments. There were folk instruments from Eastern Europe, Africa and Asia, including a complete Gamelong orchestra with wayang puppets.

Gamelong Orchestra

The second floor contained historical renaissance and classical instruments from the Western tradition. I was particularly intrigued by the Geigenwerk. This instrument from 1625 looked like a harpsichord but was able to produce long sustained notes. Instead of plucking or hitting the strings with a hammer, the Geigenwerk produced its sound by bowing the strings with parchment covered wheels. So one person would one person would need to be at the front of the instrument turning a wheel like an organ grinder while the musician played the tune at the keyboard. The Geigenwerk on display was the last remaining instrument of this kind in the world.

Geigenwerk

There was also every manner of horn in all shapes and sizes. I didn’t realise that Aldophe Sax, the inventor of the saxophone, was a Belgian and produced what seemed like hundreds of different types of horns. The serpent horn was another fascinating instrument. There was even a chandelier made out of them.