Big Time in Brussels

Jan & Maxine, with whom we stayed, and our guides to Lueven, took us sight-seeing in Brussels. Brussels is the capital (or center) of:

• Belgium
• The European Union
  
• Flanders
• French Community of Belgium
  
• EUROCONTROL
  
• NATO
  
• Western European Union
  
• Sprouts
• Statues that Urinate

As if that list were not impressive enough, being the capitol of Belgium, it is the capitol of of a country known for excelling in the production of:

• Trappist Ales
• Chocolate
• Art Nouveau
• Mussels, Frites & Waffles
  
• Comics
  
• Napoleonic Defeats
  
• Giant Atoms
  

Not bad for a country created just to piss off the French. With this impressive list in mind, we set out to experience as much of it as we could. Brussels was a difficult city to figure out... that could have been because we had friends showing us around, and we didn't really have to look at a map or even think about it. Our hosts led us into the Brussels metro near their home to head downtown. Their stop is adorned with characters from the classic Belgian comic Tintin and Snowy. This set the expectations for the day, all of which were met, except seeing a metro stop covered with Smurfs.

The city is divided into two sections: Upper Brussels and Lower Brussels. The naming has nothing to do with one being further north than the other and everything to do with one being higher than the other. Really... there's an elevator you can take to go from Upper Brussels to Lower Brussels.

Upper Brussels offers some good views of Lower Brussels, obviously. Also up here you can find the Palais de Justice, Belgian Parliament, nosebleeds and, occasionally, John Howard. The Australian Prime Minister whizzed passed us in a motorcade while we were waiting to cross the street. We waved but he didn't wave back.

The Grand Place, tiny pubs, bizarre statues and other interesting works of art can be found in Lower Brussels. Most people know about Manneken Pis, a statue of a small boy peeing, but not many know about his female counterpart, Jeanneke Pis. Little Manneken Pis has a colorful past, and I recommend his site for a humorous presentation of his history. These days, they dress him up for special occasions. When we were there, he was dressed as a musketeer. I have no idea why they picked this over, say, an astronaut. Jeanneke Pis, on the other hand, was installed in the 1980s to provide some much needed gender-balance to prepubescent peeing statues. She's hidden down a dead-end alley. Discrimination.

Our history walk was broken up by stops in some of the best bars in the world, of course. We stopped in the marvelous La Mort Subite for some rare gueze, the Delirium Café to flip through their selection of 2004 beers, the hidden-in-a-secret alleyway Au Bon Vieux Temps for a quiet beer beside the stained glass windows, the Flemmish hangout Café Monk for some, yes, Flemmish beers and, finally, the only brewpub in Brussels: Les Brasseurs De La Grand'Place. Phew, that was a full day and night. This may have been the most entertaining city of our entire trip. It's a wanderer's paradise. Thanks again to Jan & Maxine for such an incredible time.

Photos of scaffolds with a giant embryo sketched on them, a statue of a giant cat on a bicycle and a poster for Bruxelles Lesbains/Brussel Bad... among other things.