Brussels: Two Days Was Probably Enough

I’ve had fun in Brussels, but that has been primarily because I’ve been fortunate enough to meet some British ex-pats for the (European) football matches that were played last night. There are a few things I’ve found impressive in Brussels, but I think it was a good idea limiting this leg of the trip to two days.

If you see a crowd of people standing around a statue of a little boy peeing like a racehorse, you must be in Brussels. Manneken-Pis is the symbol of Brussels and adorns most of the Brussels-related souvenirs. (Georgia, your shot glass will have a little boy peeing on it.) It’s just the way it is. I guess its better than having french fries with mayonnaise as your city symbol because THAT would be really gross.

The Grand Place, which is about 50 feet from my hotel, is the center of the historic city. There are numerous former guild-houses bordering a large open square and market. Most of the buildings go back to the late seventeenth/early eighteenth century, rebuilt after the French blew up the original buildings. The area and the architecture are very impressive.

Unfortunately, that’s been about it, as far as I’ve been able to find. Everything around the Grand Place is in French and Dutch, although English will get you around. My one proud moment was when somebody asked me for directions in French and I was able to help her. (Don’t be impressed. I just recognized a place where I had just been and I pointed for her. In any event, it helped her, so I’m counting it.)

The Grand Place also is surrounded by dozens of restaurants of various ethnicities that all seem to sell moules frites. By the way, I’ve had fries now at three places in Brussels and they’ve all been Big-Hunt-good.

Today, I walked up to the financial part of the city, which I guess is a mile or so away from the Grand Place. As you get closer to the financial center, more and more English appears on the signs around town. There are a lot of malls and shops in between the two areas.

One thing that is great about walking around the city is that I could allow myself to get lost. My hotel is very close to the Hotel de Ville, which, like the Washington Monument in DC, can be seen for a few miles all over town. This was helpful because I pretty much always knew which direction to head in to get back to the hotel.

Another thing that is great about walking around the city is that you go from mall to mall and then find some 400-year-old church or some monument to Belgian history. (I don’t know any, by the way.)

If I had another day, I suppose I would find my way down to Waterloo to tour the battlefield. If I've missed much more, I'm not aware of it. (I hit a number of museums in London and will again in Paris, so I'm not much in a museum mood at the moment.)

Finally, I just want to note that I found a few street vendors selling escargots. I have nothing against snails. I’ve eaten a few. They’re a’ight. But they’ve never struck me as street food before.

Speaking of food, I have had waffles and steak frites and have tried a burger from a local fast food place. Also have enjoyed coffee and pastries and people watching. Tonight, I’m planning on trying a few Belgian beers and watching some more football. And I’ll probably get some moules frites because everybody seemed to be enjoying that last night. That’s about it from Brussels. I head to Paris tomorrow and will post some more pictures on my Facebook page later.