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If the hit song by the Swedish group "Abba" comes to mind when you hear the word "waterloo"

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you may have a whole new picture in your mind after today's podcast.

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When we're diving into the past to learn about the Napoleonic Wars and Napoleon's defeat

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by visiting Waterloo, we'll stand at the top of the Lion's Mound with a military historian

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to get a sense of what happened here.

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Imagine 5,000 horses charging against the armies and more than 200 cannons here.

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And why it's important to preserve these sights today? Waterloo is a short train bride from Brussels

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and on many travelers day trip itineraries when visiting Belgium.

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We're also discovering Brussels, called a capital of Art Nouveau architecture

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on a cycling tour that you can sign up for if you visit.

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It's like a little jewel and you see that there is a lot of glass,

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the reason of building like that was to let the light enter in the house.

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In the period of Art Nouveau it's very important that there is a lot of light in the house.

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It's the Travels with Darley podcast, where traveling with the locals

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is a window into history, culture, cuisine and why being curious about the world can be so rewarding.

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Thanks for being curious with me and listening to this podcast.

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Please subscribe and check out other global journeys with me through my PBS

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and streaming series, also called Travels with Darley

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Just a half hour train ride south of Brussels we're exploring one of Belgium's most

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important historic sights. It was here that on June 18th, 1815 Napoleon was defeated

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for the final time, ending his career and ushering in a period of peace for Europe.

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It's where tens of thousands of soldiers perished, were wounded, or captured.

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It is Waterloo.

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Visitors can learn about this historic battle at an interesting museum on site.

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And while there's a lot to see inside, one of the best ways to immerse yourself in the history

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and get a better sense of what played out here is to climb to the top of the Lion's Mound

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to survey the battlefield.

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Quite a climb to get up here.

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Yes, you've got 226 steps.

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Oh my.

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Etienne Claude, an expert on the battle who organizes large-scale reenactments at Waterloo joins me

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to help contextualize this bloody day in history, as we gaze out to the town of Waterloo,

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and the lush green patchwork and countryside and farmland surrounding the lion's mound.

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We're up here with this amazing view, but take me back to the battle of Waterloo.

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What am I seeing?

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Describe this to me.

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Yes, you imagine 200,000 soldiers fighting in one day on the 18th of June,

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on the south side, the French divisions of Napoleon,

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with more cannons than the Allied armies, and then on the other side,

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the famous soldiers of Wellington, and at the end of the day came the Prussian Army to help Wellington.

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So it was an awful day because it trained just before the battle,

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and everybody had some difficulties to approach the famous ridge of the Duke of Wellington.

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And that's one of the success of the Duke that he imagined to put all these soldiers

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at the re-site of the ridge, and to avoid the famous cannonballs of Napoleon.

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So I would have heard the pounding of hooves from the horses. I would have heard cannons firing.

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Imagine 5,000 horses charging against the armies, and more than 200 cannons here.

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All the farms were burning, that he had to put squares to protect the army,

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so that's an awful moment, an ugly moment.

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Looking out here today, I see Waterloo, I see this beautiful farmland.

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What looks the same and what looks different?

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In fact, on this part of the battlefield, the countryside was

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approximately the same, and then on the north side, then you have for sure the city of Waterloo and

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of Braine-l’Alleud, with more than 60,000 inhabitants. So that's very different, but you can imagine

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all the landscape due to this preservation.

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Thanks to a 1914 law, much of the battlefield has been preserved,

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and visitors can more easily imagine the battle by attending the annual Battle of Waterloo

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Reenactment, each June. Another way to experience the battle is to enter the large rotunda,

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where a 330-foot-long, 36-foot-high work of art epically demonstrates the event.

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During the 19th century panoramic paintings like this were a popular form of entertainment.

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People actually traveled to see these, and there were also traveling exhibitions,

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and the paintings depicted battles, distant cities, beautiful landscapes, they showed people something

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new. Now today, even with all of our technology, I find this impressive, so I can only imagine what

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people thought back then. Often referred to as the imax of the past, only a small

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percentage of these special works are still around today, including when at Gettysburg,

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and one hereat Waterloo, helping modern travelers to step back in time and better relate to the past.

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It's meeting local experts at places like Waterloo that helps further bring history to life,

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and helps us learn from the past, anew. We're taking the train back to Brussels to explore the city

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on two wheels. Brussels is a great city to explore by bicycle, and I've signed up for a unique

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Art Nouveau architecture tour, with Pro Velo and guide Riet Naessens. 

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Developed in the 1880s through the First World War, the term Art Nouveau, or New Art, first appeared

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in a Belgian journal. It's characterized by long organic lines and whiplash curves, often emulating

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things found in the natural world. Especially popular in Brussels, around 500 buildings in the

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Art Nouveau style remained today, and our first stop is in the Montagne Quarter.

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This way of painting, the facade, is very typical of the turn of the century. It's made by Paul Cauchie

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and it's a picture of a tree, the tree that grows at the ponds of Ixelles, where we are going now.

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And so you see that there is gold also on it, it's real gold, it's gold leaflet,

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and the colors are also typical, the red and the green colors, and caramel, we call it caramel,

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you know, the brown color. So all these beautiful details, you just have to look up?

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Yes. It's amazing what you see even in your own area when you stop to savor the details.

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Not much further, we have another neighborhood to discover. Now have a look, we have just turned to

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corner, we left turned, and we are already in a completely different neighborhood. We have a lot

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of a new home houses here, built by Ernest Blerot. You see the balconies over there, they're really

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very typical. In this area, raw iron balconies are particularly prominent.

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This neighborhood was very fashionable around 1900, and afterwards it declined.

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The neighborhood is on the rise again, with many buildings being restored and preserved.

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Further down hill, we careen by one of Brussels' many green spaces.

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So we are here in a neighborhood called the Ponds of Ixelles, it's very exclusive, it's

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rather expensive to live. Reminds me of London, these buildings, and here to the left you have

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Flagey, an important cultural center. This art deco style building, whose many concerts

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in its outdoor cafes are a popular place to dine. Just around the corner, Riet takes me to see

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an Art Nouveau gem. It's like a little jewel, it has been built by the architect Ernest Delune,

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and here he played really with his name, the lune lune mince moon. So you have the full moon over there,

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and also at the door gate, but you also have half moon and a quarter of moon.

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On the top you have the study of the architect, that's where he worked, and you see that there is a

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lot of glass. The reason of building like that was to let the light enter in the house.

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In the period of Art Nouveau’ it's very important that there is a lot of light in the house.

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Our final stop is a townhouse built by one of our new, those most important pioneers.

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So here we are at the Avenue Louisa and we arrive at the most beautiful house of Brussels.

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It is the Solvay Hotel, built by Victor Horta. So what is so special in that house is that

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Horta received from Mr. Solvay, carte blanche. It means he could do whatever he wanted.

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The price was not important. So je was that rich that he could afford all kinds of marble,

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all kinds of luxury. The wooden steel facade and combination of materials for the carriage

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entrance are just a few reasons why this townhome is part of UNESCO's World Heritage List.

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You must imagine that this avenue, Avenue Louisa, was very fashionable in the 19th century.

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People came on Sundays to admire the beautiful houses, the beautiful facades.

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You must imagine that the Solvays were at their balcony to salute the people passing.

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So this is a place where people would walk and admire the beautiful buildings,

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and then the people that lived in them could share them off.

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Yes, that's it.

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While many Art Nouveau buildings were destroyed when the style fell out of fashion,

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today these buildings are being restored and preserved in Brussels.

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Nowadays they are not allowed to demolish buildings like that.

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Lots of upkeep here in Brussels.

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Lots of work.

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Yes, there's a lot of work.

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But it's worth it in the capital of Art Nouveau to keep this open air gallery alive,

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and definitely worth it to explore with the locals on a bicycle.

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I'm Darley Newman and I appreciate you taking the time to learn with me in Waterloo

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and Brussels in Belgium.

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If you like to travel, please subscribe to the Travels with Darley Podcast,

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where I take you around the world with locals as the guides.

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And look for my series on PBS and streaming.

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I'll see you on the next adventure.

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[Music]