A question for my kind readers:

I've got a post that livejournal currently deems to big for posting in one go. It's about my trip to Brussels and includes picspam. Would you like me to try sneaking it through in several installments?

Road trip I: background

I've finally managed to get into my livejournal - I'd been trying for a couple of hours until I decided it was possibly a crumbled cookie that got stuck in the internet's windpipe. Starting over and deleting my internet history did the trick.

Now the question is whether I can post an actual entry of some length that also includes picspam. Let the experiment begin.

As you know I took frances_lievens' question seriously (because I was desperate and needed to get away from my desk and my city) and ended up going to Brussels for a day and a night. I tried to leave my psycho-bitch persona at home, but took my camera along.

Road trip II: Getting there.

The drive to Brussels (it's only two hours) was smooth until I chose the wrong lane on the motorway, ended up in a traffic jam and did some damage to my front bumper by gently hitting the car in front of me. Luckily, they had a small trailer attached to it, so I struck that and the triangular scratch would only worry a car-obsessed German. The trailer came out unscathed and the passengers of the car got out briefly, we both decided it was nothing and went our merry way. Well, I was slightly panicked, did some frantic mobile phoning and surprisingly found myself back on the proper route in no time at all.

Road trip III: The weather

We'd had blues skies and sun for ages, but of course when angels travel the heavens cry as the saying goes, so we got rain and overcast skies. I don't mind so much, but I've come to realize that a) my camera was built for sunny weather and b) traditional city break snaps should be bathed in sunlight. So, you're not getting the tourist landmarks (well, a glimpse of one).

Road trip IV: Cityscapes

Is this collection of short posts terribly annoying? Just say, no, not at all.

Brussels - like so many European cities - mixes the traditional with the modern a lot. The 1960s and 1970s city planning didn't do any favours to any European city. It was all about accomodating automobile traffic and erecting blocks of concrete. Still, Brussels has got lots of charming streets and would have offered pretty views across its several hills if the sky hadn't been quite as grey. Here's some beauty I found in unexpected places and angles:

( It's only one pic, just accept it already )

Road trip V: Another picture

( Again with the contrast )

Frances took me on a holiday stroll through the city on Thursday afternoon (and it stayed dry and actually sunny at the end) and I enjoyed wandering through very different neighbourhoods. We spent quite some time in one place which you'll hopefully get to see tomorrow.

Road trip VI: Fear

There was also an adventure for me which made the whole drive seem like a piece of cake. I'd always imagined Brussels to be flat which it isn't. So, in order to get from the Palais de Justice which deliberately sits at the top of a hill down to where the poor people used to live you can either walk or take the lift. It's one of those modern glass constructions and that's fine by me, but to get to it you have to cross a small pedestrian bridge. Bridges - along with patience - aren't my strong suit. (The card game connotations are coincidence!) So, I braced myself and managed to conquer the abyss:

( One picture at a time )

Road trip VII: Less frightening.

( The view from the lift to the streets below: )

Road trip VIII: Big brother is watching you.

( Once you're down there you can look up and feel like the ordinary folks who lived in awe (or defiance) of the law as embodied by the dome of the absolutely huge and overshadowing Palais de Justice: )