I think I have been mesmerised by church architecture since my visit to the Basilica of Bom Jesus in Goa. Completed in 1605 and a host to the body of St. Francis Xavier, this Baroque church is an important landmark in world history. Since I was just a child of eight then, the architecture was enormous and overwhelming to stare at and not exactly a thing to ponder upon. But I knew in my heart that I loved to loiter inside tall, cool stone buildings with adorned ceilings and stained glass lit alleyways leading to the main altar. Moving to Europe definitely made things easier and I have been in awe of church architecture since the past six years! Having visited churches in multiple countries from multiple periods of history, I have been building up a repository of photos and stories about church architecture. It would be fun to share them here as I keep travelling and gathering more moss.
Polish Gothic | St. Mary’s Basilica | Krakow
The best example of Polish Gothic architecture is the St. Mary’s Basilica with its foundations dating back to the 13th century. The interiors are mesmerising with a wooden altar by German sculptor Veit Stoss (15th c), stained glass by Wyspianski and polychromic murals by famous Polish artist Jan Matejko (19th c).
Breakfast is the most important meal of my day since long and I do not skip it even on vacations while staying at hotels. I will admit here that I love staying in hotels, albeit for a short period. And I definitely search for ones that offer good breakfasts. Travelling across Europe in the last six years, I have observed and kind of recorded (mentally) the variations in types of breakfasts at hotels. Sojourns in India were different though; breakfasts are more elaborate and what we term as ‘rich’ – not in terms of price but the value of food. We have not been much holidaying as a couple in India as our nomadic lifestyle required city and country hopping at irregular intervals. During the few trips that we managed to pull off, the breakfasts at hotels swayed from good to okayish to nonchalantly ignorable. Let me recount a few from different countries here –
India
Breakfasts at Indian hotels largely depend on the economic rating, client profiles and location within the country. As expected, budget or mid-tier hotels in the northern states dwell heavily on various stuffed parathas, puri-aloo, chhole-bhaturey, etc; hotels around western India weigh more on poha, cheela, in addition to the puri-aloo kind and the ones in southern India are all about local breakfast items, or ‘tiffin’ as they fondly term them – ranging from the usual idli-vada-dosai-sambhar to pesarattu, and even appam-egg stew. I have hardly stayed at hotels in the eastern part of India, so I am yet to explore whether they serve luchi-torkari, parota-begunbhaja or something else altogether. There has been a trend of serving ‘English breakfasts’ at hotels that are a little posh – they do take inspiration from the usual British fare – sausage, scrambled eggs, baked beans, bacon, the works.
A trip to the Amalfi coast earlier this year has been one of the best travel experiences for us in recent times. The planning was scary, because, let’s accept it – Amalfi is expensive! Before we physically reached the shores, I was ready to face that Amalfi coast is both expensive and overhyped. It took a few hours post landing in Naples to crush the boding and embrace the gusty and salty sea breeze.
Positano
From years of organised travel, I can share the only golden nugget of advice – plan well. Collating information on the internet has reached the paragon anyway. While it is not impossible to figure out every step that is needed to make a solid travel itinerary, there are still a few loopholes when it comes to slightly askew terrains like the Amalfi coast. All the websites and blogs that I consulted mentioned that public transport would pose a lot of hassles and hurdles while traversing Amalfi. Multiple bloggers/travellers and ‘influencers’ from the other side of the Atlantic Ocean were weary of commuting in the public buses, which they felt were ‘too crowded’, ‘sweaty’ in summer and cumbersome. After living for six years in Brussels, I chuckled to point of spilling my tea and wished those travellers spent more time in Europe. Public transport is a messiah here, especially in the lower parts like Italy and they are pretty consistent. I had a bit of help from the European blogs and they worked wonders in planning our itinerary. If you have the Amalfi coast on your bucket or whichever list, take a few tips from a ‘public transport dependent traveller’ like me.
Look deep into nature, and then you will understand everything better. – Albert Einstein
Anything created by human beings is already in the great book of nature.– Antoni Gaudi
Do you wonder too, if with this novel and principal idea, did Einstein inspire the Art Nouveau movement? I wouldn’t go that far, although this thought of aligning art with nature seemed to be the most popular idea among geniuses in the late 19th century. From Victor Horta in Brussels to his contemporary Antoni Gaudi in Barcelona, these artists had created masterpieces that continue to amaze us more than a century later.
While I have seen, observed, written and shared about Art Nouveau marvels in Brussels, there is a big repository in Catalunya (particularly Barcelona) as well. The Art Nouveau movement began in Catalan around 1888 and was named ‘Modernisme.’ Propagated majorly by Gaudi in art and architecture, this was also a literary movement until 1911. Gaudi is, of course, the most famous, since he managed to create a unique personal style outside the realm of Modernisme during the period. Born in Reus in 1852, Antoni Gaudi i Cornet always wanted to study Architecture and did so, graduating in Barcelona in 1878.
Gaudi believed that he had Mediterranean heritage and was deeply influenced by the nature and art there. If you notice the motifs and shapes closely in most of his works, there is a distinct flavour and fragrance off the sea – its waves, the flora and fauna. This set of seven tiles, repeated in a pattern to create this Mediterranean atmosphere is no less than a work of astounding art. They include fossil shell, starfish and algae. These tiles were meant to be used in Casa Batlló, but the plan was scrapped and they were installed in Casa Milà instead. I probably missed clicking these tiles on the Passeig de Gràcia, the footpath right in front of Casa Batlló.
Maritime tiles
The motifs and symbolisms in Park Güell are better examples of Gaudi’s work in this phase of naturalism. From the iconic mosaic Salamander to benches in shape of a sea serpent, Gaudi has bared his love for nature in this park commissioned to him by the industrialist Eusebio Güell. If you notice the bench closely in the photo below, there are little holes to collect rainwater for the park, designed by Gaudi. The bench has strategic curves too for hosting conversations between the visitors to prevent eavesdropping. If that does not display the genius of Antoni Gaudi, I possibly cannot fathom what else would!
In this part of the world, one would have to be on a constant lookout for statues/sculptures in public places. Some of them might have a piece of history to fall back upon, while others are installations/artworks that might be labelled as quirky. Part of the world where I grew up rarely indulges a concept of artworks on public display. I think we have more murals or graffiti in India than sculptures or installations. A lot depends on the state or central governments for permissions, bureaucracy and the intention to let art permeate into the lives of citizens. In the past few years, I have felt strongly that public artworks play a monumental role in defining a city and shaping its people. The mere mention of Brussels will make you recall the statue of Mannekin Piss, since it has reached the status of a national treasure here. I would not be writing about that overhyped piece though, there is a lot more on the internet if you’d like to search. Travelling through Belgium, I’ve come across quite a few quirky statues/sculptures. Jotting down a few of them, more will follow later.
Fonske (Leuven)
Leuven is a perfect example of the archetypal European university town. With ancient buildings, cobbled streets, enough greenery and a university founded in 1425, Leuven is often perceived as the perfect city for education in Western Europe. To commemorate the university’s 550 years, they had commissioned for a quirky bookish statue and it had been installed in 1976.
Named ‘Fons Sapientiae’ and fondly called ‘Fonske,’ the statue represents the eternal student. He refills his source of wisdom with water (or beer?) and reads along. The statue is periodically dressed in different costumes around the year. We found him without a costume since its summer, probably. The artist who created Fonske is the famous Jef Claerhout.
Horse Head Fountain (Bruges)
Bruges is one of the most beautiful cities, not only in Belgium, but entire Europe. Bruges in autumn is one of the prettiest sights that you would enjoy. Apart from canals, alleyways and ancient houses though, there are quite a few quirky installations that have a bit of history behind them. We have been to Bruges twice and discovered this horse head fountain the second time.
The troughs below the horse heads are actually filled with water for tired horses. Bruges is famous for horse carriages that impart an old world feel to the tourists. This fountain is placed in midway of the carriage route and the city rules insist that carriage horses should be fed, watered and taken care of. I could not find the artist’s details or date of this installation though.
Zinneke Pis (Brussels)
The last of the ‘piss’ series in Brussels, I like this one much better, it seems more fun. This quirky bronze statue of the third in pissing trio is a cute little dog peeing on a pole. I hadn’t known the history or etymology behind the Zinneke. Research showed that the word can be divided into Zenne-ke – zenne is the Dutch word for the river Senne and the prefix -ke is ‘little’. This dog seems to be peeing in the spot where the Senne river flowed and Brussels was established on its banks.
Zinneke is not fortunate enough like Manneken to be dressed up on occasions though. I think most people in Brussels aren’t even aware of this little one on a street corner. The statue was set up in 1998 and created by Tom Frantzen.
The Bandundu Water Jazz Band (Tervuren)
I must admit that this is my favourite in the list. The Bandundu water jazz band is one of the unique ones that I’ve ever seen. Situated in Park Tervuren, just on the outskirts of Brussels, this large installation was created by Tom Frantzen in 2005. The animals in the band represent the ones that are displayed in the Royal Museum for Central Africa in Tervuren. The frogs play the accordion and trumpet, crocodiles play the double bass and drum, and a hippo plays the tuba. All the animals are placed on round leaves of water lily that are arranged like a rotating gramophone record.
Totem (Leuven)
We have just been to Leuven a week ago and this giant Thai jewel beetle installation on a pole was surprising to say the least. Situated right before the huge bibliotheque of KU Leuven, this was created by world-famous Belgian multidisciplinary artist Jan Fabre in 2000. The university wanted to commemorate its 575th anniversary and commissioned Fabre to create an installation as a gift to the city of Leuven.
Fabre conceptualised the beetle as the memory of nature, an ancient computer that has been here long before human existence. He named it ‘Totem.’ The beetle represents the collective memory of humans and is placed before the library, which is the repository of knowledge and books. Sounds intriguing, right?
I will keep writing about more such sculptures/statues across Belgium whenever I come across them. There are a lot of historical ones, not necessarily quirky.
I learned about Beguinages for the first time last year while visiting Delft, Netherlands. It wasn’t called a Beguinage, rather Klaeushofje in Dutch (a courtyard of 12 houses for Catholic single women), established in 1605. I had no idea that it was part of an order, or something important in world history. The courtyard was not a large one but it had small apartments surrounded by gardens that are open to public. I was just thrilled to visit a courtyard that was originally built in 1605 and still retained the ancient essence of that era.
Klaeushofje in Delft
Cut to 2021 – we made a day trip from Brussels to another ancient city in Belgium – Leuven, just 26 kms away. As I always research a bit before a trip, Leuven seemed to be insistent on a visit of the Grand Beguinage (Groot Begijnhof). Intrigued at having learned a new term, I looked up Beguinages on the internet. The extent of history that came up is stunning and awe-inspiring.
The Beguine movement started in the 12th century when single women (unmarried/widowed) decided to form a community and live in a semi-religious environment. Women were supposed to live and be cared for by their father/brother, husband or son. The only other choice they had was to become a nun. Doesn’t the first part sound pretty familiar even in the 21st century in most parts of the world? However, at the beginning of the 12th century, single women in the ‘low countries’ (Netherlands, Flanders, Belgium) had few options to survive in the patriarchal society. The convents were mostly full and could not accommodate most of them. They started to devote their life to serve the poor and work for the society without taking religious vows. A new lay religious order was created under Christianity, termed Beguines. They were pious and religious but weren’t bound by the rules of the convent. The Beguines could leave the order at any point of time and get married to start a family. It was more of a spiritual order than a religious one. Some Beguinages were built by the local town officials while others were built by the Christian authorities to house these women. The Beguinages are a beautiful example of communal living by, for and of women. They were architectural marvels as well. The structure included huge open spaces, gardens and cobbled pathways around each house/apartment. The houses were very similarly constructed to each other to impart that community vibe. Bit of utopian socialism in the 13th century, eh? But like every other movement, the Beguines declined since the Council of Vienne by the Catholic church in 1312. Their ambiguous religious status created confusion in the society and in some regions, Beguines were termed obnoxiously religious as well. Marguerite Porete, a mystic Beguine was burned in Paris in 1310 on charges of heresy. Most Beguine orders were absorbed into Christianity hence but some of them survived, especially in Belgium and Netherlands. The last traditional Beguine passed away in 2013 in Kortrijk, Belgium.
We made it a point not to miss the Grand Beguinage in Leuven. It was established in 1232 and is one of the oldest Beguinages in Western Europe. The gate mentions the date it was built and leads to the St. John’s the Baptist Church post the entrance.
Gateway to the Grand Beguinage
None of the oldest houses exist in the Beguinage now. They were demolished and rebuilt in the 16th century during the religious upheaval. There are around 100 houses nestled within 12 alleyways that surround them, including bridges on a narrow portion of river Dijle. It is almost a little town in its own right. I particularly love the local and traditional Flemish Baroque architecture from the 16th-17th century, that is evident in these houses. There are hand pumps and wells from bygone eras that remind of the life Beguines had.
Baroque houses from 16th centuryHand pump
This Beguinage was in dire state in the 196os as the inhabitants couldn’t maintain the ancient houses in their deplorable financial state. The Catholic University of Leuven purchased the property and restored the houses. They turned quite a few apartments into housing for students and visiting professors. The premise is accessible for public viewing but most of the houses are private now. The site was announced as a U|NESCO World Heritage site in 1998.
One of the old houses
Did you know? One of the most famous personalities of the Beguine order was Dorothy Day, the American journalist, anarchist and activist?
I love Autumn. Well, it is my most favourite season, especially when I’m in a country at the Northern Hemisphere. Autumn has never been more distinctly observed in my part of the world – India. In West Bengal, where I grew up, autumn mostly meant romanticising about clear blue skies with soft white clouds playing around, announcing the advent of Durga pujo. The colours of autumn have been evident to me only after visiting countries into the Northern Hemisphere – USA, Northern Ireland and now Belgium.
Today was a rare sunny day after weeks of rain and gloom. The winds are already rocking the leaves down and just before these coloured ones fade away onto the ground, we decided to make a little trip to the famous Park Tervuren in Brussels. It was breathtaking as we reached late and captured a bit of autumn to cherish until the next one. You will find red/orange/yellow/light green/ochre – basically a warm colour palette planted into nature that dissipate and make a comeback every year, without fail.
Here’s a photoblog of a few of them, hope you enjoy the photos. So long!
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If you know a Bengali, most of them would vouch for the fact that they look forward to Durga Pujo every year. As we keep on harping, it is not entirely a religious occasion, but more of a cultural festival. In Bengal, people from every religion can visit the Durga Puja pandals and soak into the throbbing and gay ambience of the festival. There is food, adda, friends, family, cute love affairs that may or may not last long, and the sense of oneness with a huge crowd of people milling towards an inimitable goddess. Considering the promise of such fun and felicity, most of us feel awful when we can’t be at home for pujo.
I have been away from Calcutta for the last fourteen years. There have been multiple instances of a no-show during pujo and it has gradually become a norm that we spend this time elsewhere. I think our parents have accepted this by now and they wait for us to be back during longer holidays in Christmas. While they attend the Durga pujo closer to home, we have devised a better way to keep ourselves occupied. If we can’t be with our loved ones during pujo, then it’s better to go on a road trip!
“Stop worrying about the potholes in the road and enjoy the journey.” – Babs Hoffman
Europe is a treasure trove of a unique blend of history and art, which might be bizarre at times, but nonetheless interesting. There are hidden gems that haven’t yet received the attention that they deserve from the rest of the world. Few are easily found on the internet, if you’re looking at the right place, and others might appear in books. It’s true that fiction has a very important role in bringing out artworks and places of importance to the eyes of readers worldwide. A few years ago, we chanced upon a book called The Devil’s Prayer by an Indian writer, Luke Gracias. He had travelled widely across Europe and set unusual backdrops for his story. One of them was Sedlec Ossuary or The Bone Church, near to Prague. It made a special position in our wish list of unique things to see and finally we ticked it off in our trip to the Czech Republic.
In a nutshell
Sedlec Ossuary is one of a kind, a chapel decorated entirely with human bones and skulls. There are bones of an estimated 40000-60000 humans. To all those who have begun to cringe by now at this information – it is neither gruesome nor scary. People weren’t killed so that their bones would be used to decorate this church. When you actually visit the place, it is a calm and serene one, devoid of any horrors or macabre vibes. The sole reason being – this chapel is a memorial of lives lost, it does not celebrate their deaths. There is an enormous chandelier of bones, which is a must see.
Located in Kutna Hora, a suburb about 1 hour by train from Prague, the Sedlec Ossuary receives about 200,000 visitors per year.
Growing up in India, statues or sculptures always meant commemorating historical stalwarts and landmarks that we can add later to our postal addresses. In all seriousness, I had never heard of modern art/installations in public places in India while I was young. For us Calcuttans, the biggest statue is the Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose one at a five point crossing in Shyambazar. I even doubt if it was installed for the sole purpose of creating a landmark for the important crossing of five roads. Much later while I lived in Pune, I’ve often heard people doling out directions like – “Turn left at the Shivaji ka putla.” It took me a while to figure out that the mentioned ‘putla’ is a bronze statue, installed at the corner of a bridge, while wondering if it was a shop selling Shivaji inspired figurines.
Europe, on the other hand, has been much experimental with statues/sculptures/fountains and I have been fortunate enough to be able to visit and admire a few of them in awe. Surprisingly, Prague turned out to be a haven of sculptures, even while it is called the city of a thousand spires. The main reason behind this revolution is sculptor David Cerny. Frankly, I learned about him only recently, after having seen photos and videos from people visiting Prague. There is no disagreement on the fact that Indian visitors to Europe were sparse before the EU and Schengen visa for 28 countries happened. And now there’s a boom! So, here we go, my pick of the five must-see statues in Prague.
One and a Half Minutes 