Brussels--a city of (fill in the blank--because I have no clue)

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While traveling around the world we choose our destinations to give us great memories of this epic journey. Most times we will pick winning locations, other times we pick some less than desirable locations. Brussels falls into the latter category for us.

We board the train in Paris and head towards Brussels. The train ride is quite nice and we take full advantage of our Eurail Pass and sit in the first class section. After a relatively short train ride, we arrive in Brussels. Our arrival date is the 18th of July. Stepping off the train, we give ourselves a few moments to regroup and figure out how to proceed in our new location. We determine that we need to find the trams, so we head over to the information center in the train station. Not much assistance here. We get a map of the city and were told to catch the tram out the side door. Stepping outside the train station, we are bombarded with the sea of panhandlers once again. Some are bolder than others. I look over on the curb and see two scraggly looking characters sitting with a hand out cup in front of them. The one guy has a beer in his hand and another by his side. Now that, my friend, is pretty bold. He should have just made a sign that said “Please help support my drinking habit”.

We were staying at the Hotel Beau Site. The directions to the hotel were simple enough. From the train station take Tram 81 to Louise Street, take the first street on the right and the hotel is 50 meters up the street. We are learning very quickly that people generally suck at giving accurate directions. It apprears that anytime someone gives directions, you need to double the distance. I guess this is some type of math they teach in the European school system. We take a short hike to the hotel and get checked in. The hotel is nice enough and serves our purpose for the next three days. Although they had free WiFi, the router was pushing a weak signal and we could only get intermittent reception.

Lynne and I have modified our travel outlook to give us a more leisurely pace. We have found that we have not been booking enough time in any location and have grown tired of hit and run type touring. We have begun to factor in our travel days to allow us additional time on the ground in any given location.

So here we sit in Brussels--home of world famous Belgian waffles, Belgian chocolate and the Capital of Europe. Yes, I did say the capital of Europe. Brussels is considered the Capital of Europe because it is the home of the European Union (EU). This is where European policy and financial decisions are made that affect the nations of the European Union as a whole. I will add that Brussels is also the home of NATO.

You would figure that Brussels and all of its significance to the world would offer visitors an opportunity of a lifetime-- Guess again. One of the things that jumped out to us was the number of rainbow flags being displayed around the city. We figured Brussels was to Europe as San Francisco is to America.

Our first day of exploring was at a leisurely pace. Travel days are typically not the best day to explore. We purchased an all-day transport pass so we jumped on multiple busses and trams to get a quick lay of the land. Our travels take us to the outskirts of town. During our initial assessment of the city, we can’t help to notice the abundance of trash and garbage around the city. Graffiti is painted on just about any surface imaginable. We even see business vans, busses and trains destroyed by these delinquent artist.
As we head towards the outskirts of town, things begin to take on a rather gloom appearance. Lynne and I agree to jump off at the next stop before we got into a neighborhood we would regret being in. After dismounting our public chariot, I look over and see a little corner restaurant with a variety of kabobs and wraps. We order a sandwich and sit outside. WOW-these were great sandwiches and at a bargain price. We both ate a great meal for under 8 Euros and we were full.

We decide to head back to the room to relax for the rest of the evening.

The next morning (19 July), we get up, have our free breakfast at the hotel and hit the streets. We begin exploring by using the public transportation. We head out towards the Grand Place (the central market square). The weather is nasty and a cool rain is falling off and on. Tourists pack into every sheltered overhang when the bottom falls out. We there is a break, everyone proceeds with their touristic activities. It’s pretty comical watching this scene unfold. As you can probably tell, we have made a great pastime of just observing and watching people.
The streets are lined with souvenir shops, Belgian waffle stores, chocolate shops and establishments specializing in fine stitchery. We make our way through the streets to find Brussels most notable statue, Mannekin Pis. We follow the signs and I expect to see a large statue of the little boy peeing. We spot a crowd of people and see a small statue on the corner of a street. I laugh a little and say “where is the real statue.” As it turns out, this was the real statue. Needless to say, we were both a little disappointed with this landmark.

We head back to the central station and decide to take the hop-on, hop-off bus around the town. This one was actually pretty reasonable and was valid for 48 hours. We sit up top in the open air of the double-decker bus. We are quickly chased down below by the rain. 10 minutes later the weather breaks so we head back up for a better view of the city. We pass by multiple historical sites and make a note of where to stop tomorrow. Although the hop-on, hop-hop service is great, they have limited stops and they are not in the best locations. The city is transforming itself into a festive occasion, parade routes are marked off, tents are being set up and bleachers being assembled for the celebration of Brussels National Day which will take place on the 21st. We would miss this event by one day due to our travel plans. We return to the central station and stop by a market for supplies. We head back to the room and have a quiet dinner in the room.

On Sunday, 20 July, we get up, have breakfast and hit the streets again. We head to the central station to catch the hop-on, hop-off bus again. Rain is sporadic and Lynne and I discuss picking up some umbrellas but decide to hold off on this decision due to the weight of our packs already.

We head out to the Expo site. Brussels was home to the 1958 World Expo and has one landmark which dominates this site. The Atomium is a massive structure which has become the Eifel Tower of Brussels. The Atomium is the visual representation of the concept of an "atom". It symbolizes an elementary iron crystal with its 9 atoms and magnified 150 billion times. It honored the metal and iron industry and the belief in the atomic power. The monument is coated with aluminum, weighs 2.400 tons and is 102 meters high. Each sphere has a diameter of 18 meters.

While checking out the Atomium, we notice a huge crowd on the far end of the grounds. They were all looking into the sky. We quickly realize what the attraction was all about. They had a zipline from the top of the Atomium and people were flying through the air in a 102 meter decent to the bottom. I grew excited about the opportunity to check it out so I asked how much it was. The guy told me it was 25 Euros and I grew more excited about the prospect of this high energy adventure. My hopes were quickly shattered when he said all of the reservations for the day were booked already. Now that sucked. I marveled at the sight of these folks screaming towards the high speed and was saddened by missing the opportunity to do it. I consoled myself by telling myself there would be other opportunities again during our travels.
We jumped back on the tour bus and cruised around the city a little more. There was nothing much more significant to report for the remainder of the day so I’ll spare you the details. We did sample some of the local specialties such as the Belgian waffles and chocolate while we were in Brussels, but would not keep Brussels to a place to visit again.

On Monday, 21 July, we departed Brussels enroute to Aachen, Germany. So you’re saying to yourself, “Aachen, Germany? What the heck is in Aachen Germany?” Great question. Read our next update to discover what has drawn us to this boarder town.

We are still a little behind in getting these updates published. I am working on getting them done, but we are having a blast and trying to squeeze it into the agenda. Marianne, please be patient, I promise to publish the photo of the Egg Man real soon.

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Photos

Alright Meow
Marco takes a ride on the wild side

Comments

[PRIYA]

travel
very nice and best site to know about tourism areas