Grand-Place, Brussels

Here are examples of those de rigeur snaps one feels one has to take but that you can easily buy better postcard versions of or look up in a guide book. Needless to say, my casual travel zoom (16-55mm or 24-83 equivalent) was not up to the 360º challenge, nor was I carrying a tripod or a gimbal. The first picture uses the panoramic sweep feature of my camera to get about 180º. Even trying to fix the perspective in post proved quite a challenge on several of these. The Grand-Place, or Grote Markt, as the Flemish call it is a magnificent, historical square that has been a UNESCO world heritage site for the last 25 years. Read all about it on Wikipedia. Click any of the pictures above to see them all at full-size (if you’re seeing this in an email you may need to click the post title above to get to the web-site first.)

Hammer and Sickle Marx the Spot

Upon entering the Grand-Place (coming up next post) I noticed this woman unfurling a hammer and sickle banner and getting photographed with it. An almost unimaginable sight in the US, I grabbed a couple of shots and then went over to speak with her and ask about the flag. Although she only spoke Portuguese, and I could only manage some French, a girl with her spoke English and helped her cheerfully explain that they were with the Communist Party of Brazil and she pointed to a brass plaque above her on the wall, noting Karl Marx’s connection with the spot. According to Wikipedia, “In 1885, the Belgian Workers’ Party (POB/BWP), the first socialist party in Belgium, was founded during a meeting at the Grand-Place, at the same place where the First International had convened, and where Karl Marx had written The Communist Manifesto in 1848.” I showed her the pictures I took and she expressed interest in having copies so I gave her my card.