Beautiful but Brisk - Brussels, Belgium

A couple Saturdays ago Clayton and I decided on taking a USO trip to Brussels. . . I have wanted to go to this wonderful city in Belgium since we moved here and just haven't gotten up and gone.  The USO (United Service Organizations) on base here in Germany offers a variety of trips every weekend to service members and their families and we have gone on several of these trips before (Strasbourg, Wewelsburg Castle, Paris).  The bus ride is horrid . . . but the result of being dropped off downtown without having to find/pay for parking and usually having a tour guide is worth the 5-6 hour bus ride.  It also offers the traveler some much needed sleep roundtrip (not very restful sleep I might add) as the trips usually leave around 1 am and do not return back until 1 am the following morning.

Our latest USO trip took us to Brussels . . . the city of waffles, beautiful buildings and the all-too-famous fountain of Mannequin Pis.





The day was bitter cold . . . my feet were freezing through my not so insulated rain boots.  It was neither snowing or raining but the wind chill was biting! I have to admit, the first part of the day was utter misery.  We first stopped at the Atomium, a structure built for the 1958 World's Fair that took place in Brussels, to take some quick pictures before heading into the city.  Supposedly it was built to rival the Eiffel Tower in Paris which was built for the 1889 World's Fair . . . in my opinion they utterly failed . . but it still is pretty cool.  The Atomium is 335 feet tall and is made up of nine stainless steel spheres that are connected to form the shape of a unit cell of an iron crystal . . . magnified 165 billion times of course!

We then continued on into the heart of the city . . . our guide took us on a walking tour (the miserable part of the day) and we were grateful to finally make it to the Grand Place, or central market square, in Brussels.  From there we were given the rest of the day to enjoy in our own way (the fun and enjoyable part of the day).  Our first order of business  . . obtaining a delicious waffle to eat!  We found one first thing outside of the Cathedral of St. Michael and St. Gudula.  The Cathedral itself was pretty amazing with a neat history in that it is used for weddings/funerals of both the common man and of royalty . . . but the waffle was our main priority :-) 

Having settled the first order of business we then took our time strolling through the streets around the Grand Place.  We enjoyed looking at the beautiful tapestry shops, window shopping the fantastic displays of the chocolatier shops, browsing through a leather goods store that was completely out of our price range and hit up the Tin Tin store as well.  Throw all of that in with a couple more delicious Belgian Waffles and we had ourselves a time!  One street in particular beckoned to us with the delicious smells of chocolate and waffely goodness . . it was as if our noses arrived in their own personal heaven . . . Oh yes . . we also found the shopping district and enjoyed several expensive hours in it's depths.

Mannequin Pis . . . . what can I say about this little guy . . . he is the mascot of the city and one can find mugs, t-shirts, figurines, etc. etc. displaying this fellow.  I am sure most people have seen a picture of him and he has become a crucial piece of culture in Brussels . . . what I wasn't expecting was how small he actually is!  The fountain is tucked away in an alley way surrounding the Grand Place and if you weren't looking for him (and ignored the throngs of people surrounding him) you could very well miss him altogether.  Created and put into place in the early 1600's this sculpture of just over 24 inches tall has been repeatedly stolen throughout the years.  There are many tales and legends told about this fountain, thus adding to the mystery and intrigue behind him.  He is dressed in costumes several times a week and his wardrobe consists of over three hundred of these costumes.  He just so happened to be dressed as some sort of archer/robin hood on the day we met his acquaintance.

A few things about the Grand Place . . . first of all it is absolutely beautiful!!  It is the most important tourist destination and landmark in Brussels and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.  In 2010 it was voted as the most beautiful square in Europe.  It is unique in that all of the buildings that line this market square are all decorated/designed in the different styles of Gothic, Baroque and Louis XIV.  I couldn't take enough panoramic pictures with my Iphone to capture the beauty, but I sure tried!