Buildings of Brussels

Brussels is lovely city - and 1.2m people call it their home. Majority of the buildings are quite old - boasting some magnificent architecture, whereas some of the newer buildings are as you would expect of any modern city, tall-concrete-glass-steel.

I do believe Brussels is one of those cities that should be seen along with a local or at least with a recommendation from a local. Language can be quite disorienting if you are not a French or Dutch speaker.

We were greeted by several rainy days - light and heavy and this backdrop gave the city another allure.

This was the view from our hotel room - it was like some movie.

The buildings have a lot of character, the architecture is genuinely splendid. Ornate doors, intricate windows and balconies all aging wonderfully, buildings boasting perfect geometry with brick laden facades. The inner lanes were even more charming, much to my delight. I would've loved to cycle, if not for the rains. However, there were parts of the city that seemed a tad dilapidated.

Most buildings followed an unwritten rule, of being beautiful - both architecturally and aesthetically

The culture of street side eateries and pubs was common - likely similar to many other European cities.

The sunset was truly magical, shades of pink slowly disappearing into the black of the night.

I recall this was one of the main streets, or shall we say - straat? We say several people, locals and tourists, walking, cycling, laughing, walking their dog.

The buildings were all well preserved for the most part. I loved how the new and the old merged - it's almost like you've time traveled without knowing it.

This shot reminded me of a shot I took a long time ago in Delhi. The lower half of my photo was of the famous and centuries old baoli (step well) and the upper half was tall skyscrapers. Old & New.

Time traveling - decades old buildings, in fact, centuries old architecture merging with years old architecture.

After walking around the lanes of Brussels, that were lined with this beautiful architecture, my eyes took some time to adjust to the suddenly visible tall glass and steel buildings. I appreciated all of it though, a city must thrive, and both modern and old is important, though I don't know by what measure.

This was a residential building behind our hotel.

The concept of doors heading to the basement was new for me. A lot of these standalone houses had them.

A row of homes slightly in the outskirts of Brussels.

Perfect design, like a movie.

I would love to go back to Brussels, see Antwerpen and Bruggs and hopefully, see more of Bruxelles as well.