As I said ... there was indeed a clue in the Museum of Musical Instruments but I just had to think about it .. as usual it was hiding in plain sight ... besides having a multitude of instruments in the museum, there were many reproductions of period paintings showing musicians at work and at play ... a continuing motif in those paintings was some sort of celebration at the Grand Place ... but in an unrealistic view the paintings also showed the area outside of the Grand Place ... or any paintings not in the Grande Place had the musicians playing against the back drop of a large structure that was part of a tall stone wall ... the area outside the Grand Place in the other paintings also featured this structure ....
I inquired about it and it turns out this structure was one of the 5 original gates that allowed access (or prevented such) to the Middle Ages version of Brussels ... only one of these original gates remains ... it is called the Porte de Hal ... that was my next stop ...
The tower/gate that is Porte de Hal is about 10 - 12 stories tall and about 50 feet in diameter ... so it housed military as well and was an observation/defence post as well as a gateway to the city. Today it is a small museum ... complete with elevator to the top resulting in a great view of Brussels.
There were several displays on the 6 floors within the structure ... all of them related to the period that the gate was in use ... military weaponry, various guild office insignia, emblems and torches, religious artifacts and paintings depicting the celebration of various festivals ...
And just like that ... in a small display ... stationed in a corner was ... the grail ... and then everything clicked into place ... the skeleton of the unknown person found in excavating the Porte De Hal ... and on display ... was that of a Knight Templar ... the guild order of office 'necklaces', which were the precursor to the Masons ... they were guarding the grail ... the weaponry on display ...was there of course to defend the grail .... the old man seemingly sleeping at the entrance to this floor ... was a grail guardian ...
I left the Porte De Hal ... and completely by accident found myself at Restobieres ... closed the day before but now open ... I had a Chimay and thought about my next step ... how would I get the grail out of there ... and why was it in there in the first place ...
I finished the Chimay and I started walking towards the Grand Place ... it didn't take too long to sort out I was being followed ... I ducked into the first pub that I came to ... Fleur en Papier Dore ... and quickly ordered an Oud Beersel Lambic ... available nowhere else in Brussels ... it was soft, tart and slightly acidic ... after that I laughed and realized I was being paranoid ... no one was following ...
I left the pub and again, headed towards the Grand Place ... once there, I made my way behind the Place to a little place called Becasse ... why ... just because ... here I ordered a Timmerman's Lambic Doux ... which is served in an earthenware jar for you to pour on your own ... folks around me were laughing ... I realized I was drinking directly out of the jar ... I laughed with them and then filled my glass ...
How the hell was I going to get the grail out of the Port de Hal ... I finished the beer and walked over to Mary Chocolatier ... this establishment ... most agree ... makes the best chocolate in the world ... I am allergic to chocolate ... if anyone was going to hide anything from me, it would be here ... there was a small TV monitor in the corner and it was displaying the Port de Hal ... I took a deep breath and walked in ... moved quickly to the monitor ... a mid sized van was in front of the Port De Hal and a number of things were being carried out of the Hal and being placed in it ... I knew right away it was the grail ... but where was it being transported to ...
I quickly left Mary Chocolatier ... and made my way to the Grande Place .. now crowded with tourists and school kids ... I needed to get away from the crowd ... t'Kelderke is a small basement restaurant right on the Place ... I ducked in there quickly and got a corner seat ... I ordered a Blanche du Bruges .. a wheat beer and then I ordered Chicons Au Gratin ... the Brussels classic dish ... Belgian endives wrapped in ham .. baked in a creamy cheese sauce ...
I needed to find out quickly where the grail was moving to ... I ordered another beer and this time it came in a chalice ... not only that, it filled to the brim and running over ... ah ..Monsieur ... your cup runneth over ... pardon ... I gave you the wrong beer .. it was meant for the gentleman in the other corner ... he is in a hurry ... he is traveling to Perigueux, France tomorrow ... I turned to look and yes ... I was being followed ... it was the sleeping old man from the Hal ... it seems I'll be on the move soon ...
To quote from verse 1012 of the Krome Koan,
' ... a well balanced diet is a beer in each hand ...'
The G.R. Ale Hunter (aka The Night Templar)
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