Kerkrade -- Brussels 7/15/2017 [Europe 2017 Main] [Back to Photo Page]

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Kerkrade ...

The WMC-festival has been organized since 1951 in the former mining town of Kerkrade.  Once every four years, WMC Kerkrade organizes the world's most famous international festival of wind music: the World Music Contest, in all its glory with extensive competition programs, first rate concert series and many other attractive activities.   In July 2017 more than 20,000 musicians will participate in the World Music Contest (WMC) in Kerkrade, Netherlands. 260 Bands with an average of 80 musicians from 32 countries and 5 continents will compete for a place in the top of the world of wind music. 

• We arrived in Kerkrade early (so we can find an easy parking space), and took a walk to the city center to have breakfast.  The town was decorated with WMC banners and instruments everywhere including many home windows around the city.
  

• Kerkrade WMC (World Music Contest)
  Saratoga High School's Symphonic Band was competing in the Harmony 1st Division at Roda Hall.  It was a highly competitive contest, and it was already an honor to be accepted for entering the competition.  We had to leave right after SHS performance because we were heading to Brussels...

Brussels ...

Brussels has grown from a small rural settlement on the river Senne to become an important city-region in Europe. Since the end of the Second World War, Brussels has been a major center for international politics and has become the home of numerous international organizations, politicians, diplomats and civil servants. Brussels is the de facto capital of the European Union as it hosts a number of principal EU institutions such as European Council, Parliament, and Commission.
Since we only stayed in Brussels for one night, I booked a special 2-hour tour from tuk tuk tourism which gave us the highlight of the city in a very efficient way (for both time and energy!) .  The tour combined the historic old Brussels and the modern European District, and offered the convenient access to popular places without worry about the regular parking problem in the big busy city.

• National Basilica of the Sacred Heart in Koekelberg
  In 1902, King Leopold II visited the Basilique du Sacré-Coeur of Paris and decided to build instead a pilgrimage church, a national sanctuary dedicated to the Sacred Heart of Jesus.  The church, on Koekelberg hill, is a landmark on the Brussels skyline.  The cupola platform affords an excellent city panoramic view of Brussels and the wider area of Flemish-Brabant.  Unfortunately, it was a cloudy day in the morning that we could not see any good panoramic view from the hill.
  

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