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To our delight, Brussels greeted us on the way to Vilnius Airport. As soon as we got into an Uber car, we felt a strong scent of Belgian fries that were pleasantly crisping in the driver’s mouth. It seemed that Brussels was sending signs it was waiting for us to finally come.
It wasn’t our first flight, but this time it was exceptional. During the pre-flight safety briefing our attention was caught by one of the flight attendants. She demoed it as if she were Charlie Chaplin himself, or at the very least — his charismatic daughter. It was so hilarious the passengers were giggling endlessly. We thought views like that could only be found on the web. As if that wasn’t enough, the taxi driver in Brussels acted like a character from the movie “Fast & Furious”. Despite the crazy night drive, we got home safely. We are frequent Airbnb users, so we stayed at a local Belgian guy. We met John — our host, who showed us around and introduced us to his house rules. Since we could barely keep our eyes open, we dove into deep dreams right after.
After a good night’s sleep, we started our first day bursting with energy, determined to walk kilometers on foot. Even though we planned out the places we wished to visit, we didn’t have a precise route in mind. We usually mark these places on Google Maps and map the route spontaneously on the go.
The moment we went outside, we sensed that the city was suffering from air pollution. Constant sneezing and ticklish nose weren’t the only reminder. There were plenty of stone sculptures wearing respirators too. Looks creepy, but communicates the message clearly. Nevertheless, we were delighted to see avenues of trees amongst man-made giants of concrete. Without trees, respirator-wearing sculptures wouldn’t be the only ones.
On the way to the old town, we visited Mont Des Arts, which is also known as The Hill of Arts. On its highest point you can see a wonderful panorama of the city. Here you can also find the Royal Library of Belgium, the National Archives, the conference center named “Square” and a large garden which spruces up with colorful flower ornaments during the summer. Unfortunately, we were visiting Brussels in autumn, so we didn’t have a chance to look at the sea of colors.
We continued our trip through mazy streets of city center and reached one of the biggest attractions of Brussels — Manneken Pis — a 60 cm tall sculpture of a peeing boy. According to Belgians, it illustrates their sense of humor.
— Where is that boy?
— Behind those people. He’s wearing a costume. — Eivinas oriented me.
On that same day, a festival of Cuban Days was taking place, so the bronze sculpture was dressed in a national Cuban costume. By saying biggest attraction, we mean a bunch of people trying to get close to it for a selfie. It appears the sculpture is part of a trio, which also includes a squatting girl Jeanneke Pis and a peeing dog — Zinneke Pis. Yes, we visited those sculptures as well, but we didn’t realize why people were attracted to them, just like bees to honey. It’s hard to say, what was more amusing — the boy peeing into the fountain, or people admiring it. As you can expect, the biggest fans go straight for the candy shops nearby, to purchase chocolate versions of this miraculous peeing boy.
While we were visiting Brussels we noticed a spray painted sign “Animals are not ingredients” repeating all over the place — on the walls of buildings, street crossings and even billboards. Since the headquarters of the European Parliament is based in Brussels, we weren’t surprised it’s the place where demonstrations usually happen. As a matter of fact, we saw a strike related to Iran terrorism just nearby. Also, as we wandered the streets, we discovered an alley where a fight for the rights of homosexuals, bisexuals and transsexuals takes place in a form of street art. We believe the respirators we’ve mentioned before are part of a movement too. Even though Belgium is an economically strong country ruling Europe, there are still plenty of people struggling with poverty. We’ve seen beggars and homeless people with children living on the streets.
We continued our trip following our smart map and eventually found ourselves in the Grand Place — a square of grand palace. It also reminded us of Sukiennice’s marketplace located in Krakow’s old town. The square’s exceptional gothic architecture, cozy restaurant terraces and the scent of Belgian chocolate lured us to stay a bit longer. We saw a horse-drawn carriage that offered a 50 euro royal trip around the square.
— Fifty euros?!
Let’s say we were a little greedy and decided to save those euros for Belgian waffles instead.
Feeling full and with chocolate still dripping down our fingers we moved on to quite a hipsterish place called Halles Saint-Géry. It’s a former marketplace built in 19th century that was transformed into a bar and exhibition center. As soon as we entered, a strong aroma of mint pleasantly tickled our noses. Charmed by the smell, we ordered a “Mosquito” drink, which by the way was served with a straw made of pasta. Although there are as many opinions as taste receptors, we do recommend visiting this place and trying it for yourselves.
Next stop — the Royal Gallery of Saint Hubert, an ensemble of glazing Belgian chocolate shops and luxurious boutiques. We stood in front of the window slobbering over delicious sweets, giving out our inner childs. Before long, we were inside buying chocolate covered strawberries. In fact, just like waffles, chocolate covered strawberries can be found almost anywhere. Even the locals join tourists for a yummy feast.
The next day we left for an important meeting at the European Parliament, where we secretly fantasized, that we’re the ones passing laws today. Right after the security check we dove into the tour around the parliament and ended up in the hall of plenary meetings — a place where significant decisions are made for a brighter Europe. While on tour, a painting named “I wasn’t, I’m not, but I waitinyou” caught our eyes.
— Maybe it’s a mistake?
It turns out “I waitinyou” means “I will wait for you”, which we only understood after reading the description. To our surprise, the piece of art was painted by a Lithuanian artist Jonas Gasiunas and currently belongs to the European Parliament art collection. In comparison to other countries, Lithuania is quite small, however it is the painting of a Lithuanian artist that brightens the walls of the European Parliament. To us, it brings out warm feelings and sincere emotions.
As our next destination we chose Cinquantenaire Park which is located a bit further away from the Old Town. It has a magnificent Triumphal arch and two exhibition pavilions, one of which houses “Autoworld” — a museum of classical cars. Inside the museum you can admire Chevrolet, Cadillac and other model cars, as well as get into a real F-1 model. In addition, you can climb onto the top step of the victory podium and become a winning racer for a moment.
— Get into the racing car, Aiste. I’ll take a pic.
We’ll be honest, we’re not huge fans of museums, but we had a great time.
One of the last places we wanted to visit that day was “Atomium” — a construction depicting an iron molecule, magnified 165 billion times. It’s located around fifteen metro stops from the city.
“Atomium” is not only a symbol of Brussels, but the whole Belgium as well. This sentimental place brings Eivinas memories. It’s been 14 years since the last time he visited here, it was during a student exchange program at school.
— Do you recall any old memories?
Even though Eivinas hasn’t experienced deja vu, he felt a strange feeling.
— It’s been such a long time.
Judging from the outside, “Atomium” seemed unaffected — still of impressive size and exterior. However, as soon as we went inside, we were a little shocked. After having paid 15 euros each, instead of a usual “Welcome”, we were swiftly captured next to an employee wearing Tintin’s costume. They did this only to hand us those photos and keychains worth 20 euros at the end of the tour. It made us feel as if we’ve entered a money-making machine. However, we tried not to put much meaning into it and ignored the fact altogether. To be honest, getting to the highest point of the construction is worth it, because you get to see an amazing panorama.
The best part of the tour was the nucleus. Despite the not-so-new technologies, the mixture of LED light show and electronic music reminded us of “Kraftwerk” — the pioneers of the genre. Since we admire electronic music, we both agreed this would be the perfect place for “Cercle” events.
We were tired as hell, but didn’t want to go home yet, so we went back to our beloved Grand Place to taste some Belgian beer. Even though we aren’t beer experts, the combination of Duvel and salty “Kellogs” impressed us. Cheers!
Our third morning started with breakfast at “Café Belga”. According to locals it’s one of the most popular bars in Brussels located near a pond brimming with wildlife. Once inside, we were stunned by its hipsterish interior. An oblong zinc bar, leather sofas, wide windows, wooden tables and chairs fit together with tabletop fans hanging from the ceiling, neon lights and bartenders unhappy with their lives. As you can imagine, the atmosphere was alluring and authentic. In short, it’s not a luxurious, but rather an exceptional and attractive place.
Guess where we went afterwards? Right after breakfast we have returned to the Grand Place to spend our last moments in Brussels and wait for a flight home.
— Eivinas, do you have anything to add?
— Yeah, some facts. During our short weekend trip we ate six Belgian waffles, one portion of Belgian fries, a pack of “Speculoos”, had two Belgian beers, ten cups of exquisite taste coffee and several bottles of water. Also, walked fifty-six and flew two thousand nine hundred sixty-eight kilometers. Brussels, you were wonderful! Au revoir, Brussels and bonjour to our next trips!
One more thing, for someone who is interested in history and politics we recommend visiting the Parlamentarium — an interactive center, which has been visited by more than 2 million people to this day. It provides detailed information on social and ethical problems of the world, as well as records of historical events that have shocked Europe. The Parlamentarium offers plenty of activities ranging from interactive voting to exploring the map of Europe and hearing about each country individually. If you want to go through the whole program, be prepared to spend at least several hours. All the excursions in the Parliament are free of charge, so take your time and pay a visit.
Until next time!
Aiste & Eivinas