We went yesterday to see the Brussels Flower Carpet being assembled.
The Flower Carpet is beautiful and great excuse to spend the day in Brussels. But really, it’s 20 minutes of your day. So after the last one, I decided that this year we’d come a day early and watch the set up. Sometimes the process is far more interesting than the outcome.
When we arrived, they just had the crushed granite borders and tufts of grass in place. When we checked back in two hours later, it was less than a quarter finished. So we went off to the Royal Palace—it’s only open until September 2 and entry is FREE. When we got back to Grand Place, the carpet was complete.
In hindsight, I might have returned more frequently throughout the day and taken a picture from the same vantage point. C’est la vie. It wasn’t worth missing the Royal Palace for, and there it is: a reason to come back to Brussels in 2014.
We stayed until 10 p.m. for what the press pack promised was “fireworks and concert.” That was a stretch. It was crowded, smokey, anticlimactic—the whole thing lasted only 10-15 minutes. I would not recommend it, unless you’re able to grab a spot on one of the balconies. Nicholas screamed and cried because he was scared of the noise, and Jacob cried because he got ash in his eyes.
The 2012 Brussels flower carpet is on now thru, August 15-19, in the Grand Place. There’s a light and music show every night at 10, 10:30 and 11 p.m. (No idea if this means fireworks. My guess is, it does not). Pics of past carpets can be seen here.
M O R E P H O T O S
From 2012 Brussels Flower Carpet. Shot August 14, 2012 in Brussels, Belgium
So glad you all went. I assume the pattern is printed on the “fabric” that is laid down first? What are the flowers put in (vase?) to keep them fresh out there in the sun for all those days. Glad you went to see the process. Very interesting.
There’s plastic down on the ground. The pattern is on it; it’s marked in green so difficult to see. I’m not sure how they stay fresh. Want to say I read that there is a system to water them beneath the flowers (maybe the pipes run under the part that is crushed granite), but I couldn’t tell just looking at it.
It will be a challenge this year. The carpet is up for 5 days instead of the normal 3. And it’s hot (supposed to be in the 90s this weekend) so that’s not helping.