May Day (May 1^st) is Labor Day holiday in much of Europe.  Here in Brussels yesterday, the holiday feeling and the sunny weather spurred us to go for a walk along the paths surrounding the Chateau de la Hulpe, and I was delighted to find the beautiful bluebells blooming in the forests, right on cue. If you’re ever in Brussels in late April or early May, you can find beautiful white flowers like a lovely tapestry, as well as the famous bluebells in the city’s Foret de Soignes.  The forest is nearly 11,000 acres and covers the southeast part of the city, with many kilometers of foot paths, bike paths and horse paths.

If you drive 15 minutes further south not far from Waterloo battlefield, there’s a magnificent site to behold in the forest of Halle village: an endless sea of bright blue bluebells that bloom wild.  I learned that the ancient oak and beech trees that made up the original Halle woods (called Hallerbos in this Flemish region of the Brabant province) were mostly destroyed during World War I.  Luckily they were replanted from 1930-50, and today there’s even a Hallerbos museum.

Stay tuned for a World Traveller post about the very beautiful Chateau de la Hulpe (Solvay Castle) just outside Brussels city limits.