Ghent and Brussels

I neglected to post photos from Ghent and Brussels, so making up for that now. 

 I'm back in Burbank, with 16 new boxes of comics and and piles of Belgian chocolate everywhere.

Not Actually In Belgium for the Singing Potatoes

What am I doing in Belgium in the first place? 

I'm here for work! 

Checking Out Some Art

I was perusing listings of the various exhibits at museums in Brussels when I spotted this—a Daniel Johnston piece on display!

I rushed over to MIMA—after first taking the wrong tram—but that exhibit had come down recently. The gift shop clerk showed me the exhibit book, the best he could do.

On to Brussels

I went in a Tintin store and note it’s mostly sanitized. That said, nothing they could sell is as startling as the Tintin carvings I bought from actual Congolese artists in Congo. 

I was completely confused by the morality of that which we consider racist but the carver just considered a carving based on a book. 

Twelve years later, I still don’t know what to think.

Stopover in Ghent

 Oopsie.

Going to the Theater

An unexpected treat in Bruges.

Touring

I spent all Monday in Bruges. I walked a lot--foot is getting better but still hurts. Nothing like it used to. Physical therapy and a night splint help. 

 I took a canal tour by boat, went to a museum of chocolate (all the chocolate you can eat but no carrying it out), a museum of fries, and traipsed all over town. 

Fortunately, Bruges isn't all that large.

To Bruges

I took a train to a train to another train to get from Luxembourg to Bruges, where I dragged my wheelie bag over cobblestones to get to a lovely attic room in a hotel on the outskirts of the historic center.

Naturally, as soon as I arrived, I spotted a much smoother route from the train station. I checked in, unzipped my bag to grab my umbrella, and hurried out to see as much as I could of the town ahead of the impending storm. 

The rain caught me, but the umbrella did its job well enough, and I was able to enjoy Bruges by moonlight, in the rain. I even got a waffle. 

Did you know there’s a difference between types of waffles? This is a Liege waffel, I’m told.