green...

Dear S.,

a double post. just to create some colour-based order :)

Saturday I spent a day in Brussels. I really needed to get out of Antwerp and be on my own for a while. As usual, I had to convince myself to get my behind out of my chair and leave school work and mainly thoughts about school work behind.
Oh, it was such a good day!
As you know, my feelings about Brussels are rather negative. I have lived in Brussels for 4 months when I was 18, and I didn't have a very good time then. My life as au-pair was horrible, and I was so drenched with all my sorrow that even the city could not take off my mind. Since then, every time I go to Brussels I have a weird feeling in my stomach. But the beautiful thing is, that every single time I discor new, fantastic things in this city, and every time I seem to like it a little more. When I was 18, I just didn't know where even to start to look for good things. I was too upset to go to a museum, too shy to find good places for going out on my own and too dependent on my au-pair families and L., I didn't earn enough money to buy books, clothes, tickets or cake.
Can you imagine, I didn't even know that the Bozar existed, while I was living in Brussels! Or the beautiful German bookstore in the Leuvensesteenweg! Or the Magritte museum. Or Botanique.
And when I finally moved to the second au-pair family, I lived quite far outside of Brussels, I only had enough time to go to my French lessons twice a week in the city center.
So, after 4 months I ended my nanny experience and left Brussels, for good. Let me tell you, I was not the only au-pair that left after only a few months ;)

I still remember this feeling every monday morning, waking up in Antwerp with terrible panic inside of me, short of breath, sick to my stomach. Knowing that I had to get on the train and would arrive at Brussel Centraal 45 minutes later- the most uninviting trainstation I know. Then walking up the kunstberg, follow the Regentschapslaan, passing by the Kleine Zavel, with my heart beating in my throat. Opening the door to this cold, unwelcoming house, saying hi to "my" children and their mother, who didn't trust me a bit.... brrrrr

Ok, I think you get the impression.
I really enjoy it, that I can get to know Brussels again, with some distance to all these intense moments!

So, to return to the beginning of my story: I went to Brussels. It was the most beautiful day, t-shirt and sunglasses-weather! I strolled around a bit in the Kunstberg area. (One thing I like about Brussels: its hills! unique in Belgium :)
Then I went to the Magritte museum. Only that I didn't see anything of Magritte but one really disturbing work between Baroque-artists... I spent some hours admiring Old Masters- a first time in my life, really. Until now, I never had the patience to find beauty in these old works... weird, I know. I still don't like Rubens, but Bruegel, Cranach and Co really impressed me!



I spent a lot of time in front of this one:
De val van de opstandige engelen by Bruegel de Oude from (!) 1562.
(image borrowed from historiek.net)

It is mesmerizing. These figures are so surrealistic, you can look at it for hours and find still new things. I even started to talk about it with a stranger who also kept standing and staring in the Bruegel chamber..





2 more artworks: A globe by Jan Fabre. Look it what it is made of! He is really a master of fascination and repulsion at the same time.
And, a very philanthropic piece of art in the middle: A sereneda of green of myself ;)
I just liked the idea of putting the spectator in the center of a work.

So much for the green, and now comes....