Porte de Hal

Well, the last time I updated I was planning to go to the Porte de Hal (Halle Gate in English).  So I did.  Here's a brief history and pictures as well!

It's a city gate that was used to protect the city - it was built in 1381.  It was the tallest structure at the time in the city, and actually it is still quite tall.  Of course, I thought "if I came all this way, I should just go to the top even though I don't want to because I know I'll be scared".  I'm not scared by many things (snakes, ghosts, horror movies etc. don't bother me), but I am an acrophobe.  I commonly say that's a fear of heights, not acronyms.

Right.  Anyway, now it plays host to a museum and a very interesting one at that.  Here are some pictures.

Inside in the museum

Very... VERY tall staircase.  Cool though, it has 14 statues that are modeled after important figures in Belgian history.

 The view from the top.  The whole time it felt like there was a bag of bricks in my stomach.  I didn't care for it at all.  The view was alright though.

 This isn't anywhere near the museum - it's actually close to my house.  The reason I put it here is that it shows the 'row housing' I was talking about.  That's the type of house I live in, but it's not my street in this picture.

 That's the Halle Gate again, but in the summer.

In other news, I got my bank card today (they had to send me a letter to say that I could get it, because I guess mailing it to me would be totally unacceptable...) so now I can USE my bank account.  It's February 7th.  I started this bank account quest at LEAST as early as October 8th, because that was my birthday and I remember going then.  Took a long time, but it's done!!


Alright, I shall go now.  There are some health problems at home, and I hope the person who is dealing with them will make a quick and speedy recovery! 

Oh, and one more thing worth mentioning - the sky is BLUE today.  It's blue!!!  There's sunshine!!!

That is all.

Bye now.