belgium

there are lots of lovely walkways in brussels. the weather here has been sunny and very pleasant given the heat of maryland at present.

i gave my talk, poster presentation and co-chaired a session at the conference today. late afternoon i decided that was enough work for one day and it was time to go play tourist. i headed towards the grand place and enroute stumbled upon st. michael's church. the stained glass was amazing. the above picture is the organ, which seemed to be floating in air and which sounded incredible echoing through the space.

i arrived in the grand place to discover that the square was being overtaken. the police informed us that a "medieval spectacle" was taking place that evening. there were grandstands set up and people walking around in tights and puffy hats looking like they just came from a graduation ceremony (they were in costume). hundreds of people filled the square as evening went on.

i was kind of stalking this guy when i realized what he was doing. when i walked into the square, there was music playing and a beautiful, but kind of eery? voice singing. it was perfect for the location. i stood there listening for awhile taking it all in with all of the other tourists milling about...and then i noticed someone who appeared to be wearing a microphone. this was the guy singing. they were testing his microphone settings and he was walking about the square amongst the tourists singing, but he would put his head down so unless you paid close attention he looked like everyone else. a few other people started noticing though and also stopped to listen. the square is all stone and surrounded by taller buildings. the acoustics are amazing. it was incredible to just stand and listen.

i have two more days left of conference time. i am thoroughly enjoying it but hoping i will be able to take some time to explore brussels a bit more while i'm here...and maybe eat more than just belgian dark chocolate and fresh baguettes!