will secret brussels save our sundays?

There's something about lazy Sunday afternoons. I don't like them. The impending feeling that you're supposed to be doing something - anything - because tomorrow you won't be in a position to do something - anything - because you'll be at work all day is unsettling and uncomfortable. I always feel I'm wasting my time even when I'm not or haven't actually got anything better to do.

But last Sunday was a good one. I woke up late, successfully defeating my apparently ingrained urge to wake up and be productive. We later went for a buffet lunch at a Thai restaurant next to the Palais de Justice where I made sure (read politely bullied) my girlfriend and I overate to avoid the tyranny of the kitchen later that evening. After that we went to Waterstone's and bought some books, La Libre Belgique and The Wire.

I strongly recommend one of the books I bought to anyone who lives in Brussels or has an interest in our city.

It's called Secret Brussels (publisher: Editions Jonglez).

The authors of this book found an astounding number of those hidden gems which eccentric architects or singular bricoleurs-cum-artists had worked on in the last few centuries and successive waves of people have left as a testament to the inventive, healthy eccentricity of the past residents of the city.

I had previously discovered a few myself. I remember trying to enter the 1960s timewarp of a "love hotel", complete with old Behringer speakers blaring out the Love Boat theme, in rue du Berger (near the Porte de Namur; next to Nadine) and have always, and not-so-secretly, dreamt I could afford to buy and restore the Maison Saint-Cyr in Place Ambiorix.

Some places are, however, new to me - the Mupdofer, a private museum of rail memorabilia so obscure that it hasn't even got opening hours - just call and hope someone will be there. Some are even stranger: the lift at the Museum of Modern Art, the former power station of the Société des Tramways Bruxelloises, the Volkswagen factory in Forest, the Musée des Egouts (Sewers Museum) or the toilets of the Belga Queen restaurant for starters. These and a few others will hopefully be just the ticket to get rid of the pressure of having to make the most out of your Sunday. After all - spending the day staring at truly surreal architecture or broken down colonial machinery rather than doing useful, mundane chores such as shopping for food or hoovering won't reduce your time-wasting guilt or procrastination, but at least they'll make your Sundays more enjoyable!

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lang:en - cat:brue