When
Bryson decided he was going to come back to Spain to visit me, I madly began searching
for Christmas destinations for us. Naturally,
he was given the deciding vote because he was flying halfway across the
world. The final decision was Belgium, a
country that was not on the top of my travel desires but one that I still
wanted to see, especially since my mama spent a small portion of her childhood
there. I can now say that I am so unbelievably happy we chose the
little capitol of Europe for our Christmas adventures—it was an incredible
trip!
Along
with Bryson, my travel companions included Keely, Becky, and Emily. We were the traveling dream team with the
perfect amount of organization, easygoingness (yes, that is a word), and at
times, total chaos. Sometimes we had map
issues and we might have been a little offensive with our lacking French skills,
but at the end of the day it was nothing that a cone of pomme frites couldn’t solve.
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| my fantastic travel buddies |
We
spent a total of five days in Brussels, including Christmas. I loved this city
for a variety of reasons, the top ten of which I will now illustrate for you. I’m nearly certain that the Brussels Tourism
Industry will see this post and hire me to be their newest witty and adorable
publicist, allowing for me to return for more waffles.
Kate’s Top 10 Brussels
Favorites
10) The Ugliness: Brussels isn’t exactly
what you’d call a charming or quaint city.
It’s pretty industrial and the mishmash of old gothic architecture,
stark skyscrapers and bizarre modern “artistic” buildings gives it a distinctly
hodgepodge feel that is, in a word, brilliant.
Walking through Brussels felt like being in an old comic book (more on
that later) that the author had designed in multiple sittings. Cobblestone streets give way to a towering
industrial district, all of which is built over an underground river that was
covered a century ago because of its polluted stench. Brussels is ugly and unapologetic, and it
works!
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| Emily and the church |
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| the not so sweet-smelling river |
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| weirdest building ever |
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| The Grand Place (not to be confused with "palace") |
9) Transportation
and Accessibility: Despite the brief transportation strike on the day we
arrived, which left Bryson, Keely, and I stranded underneath the subway tunnel
looking for a taxi for 45 minutes, Brussels’ transportation system is a well
oiled machine. You can take a train to
Paris or Amsterdam in under three hours and the prices are all completely
affordable. Also Brussels has trams,
which I adore. They make me feel like
I’m at Northwest Trek with bison and baby deer roaming around.
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| metro lovin' |
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| ever so central |
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| tram-induced joy |
8) Museums: During our stay we visited
the Africa Museum and the Comics Museum, both of which were wonderful. The former was filled with artwork and animal
specimens from all over Africa, but most specifically the Congo. Bryson and I found ourselves in the
underground rooms of the museum that were packed with elephant skulls and clay
masks. It was a very surreal and
powerful experience. The Comic Museum
was considerably more lighthearted, although many portions had interesting
political cartoons such as historical depictions of dictatorships and the
like. The real star of the show was
TinTin, not surprisingly—Belgium is quite proud of their claim to fame in the
adventures of this little blonde boy.
However, the Smurfs are also a byproduct of Belgian artists, so they
made plenty of appearances as well.
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| from the photo exhibit |
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| butterflies |
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| sobering skulls |
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| the boy himself |
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| permanent exhibit? |
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| look close, I'm famous! |
7) Post-Colonial Culture: The modern
repercussions of Belgium’s colonization of Zaire, the country my Mama Zeryn
grew up in, are readily visible in present day Brussels. Thousands of Congolese (along with Algerians
and Moroccans) have immigrated to Brussels in the aftermath of the colonial
relationship. The result is a handful of
neighborhoods that are referred to as “Little Africa,” filled with tropical
fruit, lots of artwork, and aromatic teas.
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| morning shipment |
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| market window |
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| flea market |
6) Street Comics: Brussels is undeniably
proud of TinTin, the Smurfs, and Nero.
This fixation has resulted in hundreds of comic strips that adorn the
city. Painted on buildings, bridges, and
sidewalks, they add to the chaotic organization of the already eclectic city and
make every day feel like a scavenger hunt for a new one!
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| full scale |
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| when you run out of wall space... |
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| it wouldn't be Brussels without some Tintin |
5) Languages: Because Belgium has three
official languages, everything in Brussels is written a multitude of ways. Dutch is spoken by about 60% of the
population, French 39%, and German less than 1%. Brussels is located on the French-speaking
side of the country, so it was the most common language we heard. However, the linguistic hodgepodge made every
sign enormous and left us hoping that English was somewhere on the list (it
usually was!).
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| what?! |
4) Breweries: I never thought I would
spend Christmas (and Christmas Eve…) in a brewery, but there’s a first time for
everything. While the breweries of Brussels
can’t hold a candle to my family, they are magical places that provided a nice
substitute this year. Belgian beer is
delicious, the ambience is something akin to the Pacific Northwest, and you can
order cheese cubes with mustard. Also,
they sometimes play French versions of “The Lion Sleeps Tonight,” which is even
funnier when you’ve had a few of the aforementioned beverages.
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| Delirium Brewery |
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| a Christmas Eve nightcap |
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| delight |
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| what comes after a nightcap? |
3) The People: Spanish people are
supposedly known for their hospitality, a fact that I tend to agree with, but
the people of Belgium blew the Spaniards out of the water. During the transportation strike, a taxi
driver only charged three of us a total of 20 euro for a 45 minute cab
ride. A Congolese man who worked in our
hostel brought me a guidebook of the Congo wrapped in Christmas paper for me to
send to my Mama Zeryn, after I mentioned that she lived in Zaire. After one of our train rides, a man from
Ghent drove Bryson, Keely, and I to our hostel while showing us the city. If you have to go somewhere you don’t speak
the language and may unintentionally look like a fool, make it Belgium. The people are out of this world.
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| these guys are pretty great too |
2) Food: I know you’re all surprised that
this isn’t number one, but I assure you it’s a very close second. Hot waffles on every street corner filled
with sugar, drenched in chocolate, or adorned with fruit. Steaming cones of pomme frites smothered with an overwhelming variety of sauces. Chocolate smoother than silk, mulled wine
filled with spices, pizza dripping with cheese, endless varieties of kebabs,
beer that makes you want to give up water… This exploring epicurean will be
returning to Brussels.
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| perfection |
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| Christmas dinner |
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| if I can't have my mama's cooking... |
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| convinced yet? |
1) The Smell: The aforementioned delights
result in an aroma that places Brussels as the winner of the title: Best
Smelling City. Córdoba smells like old men and
jamón. Amsterdam smells like canals and pot. Brussels smells like waffles, French fries,
hot wine and chocolate. End of story.
I will
finish this excruciatingly long post with Brussels’ claim to fame that didn’t
make my top ten list… Mannekin Pis. This
statue (which literally is named “Little Man Peeing”) is a bronze sculpture of
a small boy urinating into a fountain. Mannekin
Pis is the most famous landmark in Brussels—he is dressed up in different
costumes throughout the year to depict different seasons and holidays. I don’t really get what the fuss is about,
but I chalk it up to Brussels’ generally eclectic preferences.
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| Merry Christmas! |
