Our first full day in Brussels

We awoke early the next morning, and ate breakfast at our hotel. It was interesting to note just how much people in Belgium seem to eat. I had always thought that portion sizes were large in the US, but they are at least as large in Belgium. And people clean their plates out too. We discussed with some level of wonder how everyone in Belgium seems to manage to stay so thin. Eating only quality food perhaps? Drinking wine with their meals? What could it be?

We had decided that today we would take a tour bus around Brussels, seeing the sights. But, after leaving our hotel and feeling the bitter cold, we realized the first order of things would be to purchase a scarf for Lisa. We found a nice blue one that she wrapped around her neck.
Still cold. But, that did help.

We found a tour bus, and were driven around the sights of Brussels. The Royal Palace. A Great War memorial. The seat of government of the EU.
Our bus driver was a little scary, and got honked at by other motorists on numerous occasions. It was fun, though.

We got off at the Atomium. The Atomium is a hugely magnified compound of
iron: nine atoms, each represented by a huge steel ball, connected by steel tubes. It was built in the 1950s, for the World Fair, but remained after it was over. The fascinating part is that each of the balls is hollow and has rooms inside that one can walk around in. The tubes between the balls contain escalators and stairs, and the vertical tube even holds an elevator which can take one to the top sphere.



We walked around inside; the insides of the spheres are museums, showcasing Belgian art, architecture, and industry. Disappointingly, the elevator that takes one to the top sphere was out of service, so we only made it half way up. We did enjoy some hot chocolate from the middle sphere though.

We soon returned to the bus and saw many more of Brussel's landmarks.
There was one particular landmark that is especially well-known in Brussels that we found somewhat amusing: the Manneken-Pis.

I have always thought that most cultures have certain strange traditions and legends. In Celtic tradition, for instance, there was said to be a woman who was pregnant for a period of years, and yet could outrun the fastest horses. The Japanese seem to have yet even more bizarre traditions, which border on the incomprehensible. However, I am unsure if anything is quite as strange as Belgium's apparent infatuation for the Manneken-Pis.



According to tradition, centuries ago, enemies of Brussels wanted to destroy it. They had huge cannons pointed at the city, the fuses were lit, ready to fire. Fortunately, a young boy walking by noticed it, and extinguished the fuses using a simple method that is reflected in the statue of him still on display today.

You're probably wondering where the people who had lit the fuses had gone, and why they couldn't stop a young boy urinating on them. Or why re-lighting the fuses would be more than a trivial procedure. Or why in the world the boy felt the need to strip naked before extinguishing the cannons. Naturally, you are thinking far too hard.



What is especially disturbing is the number of replicas of Manneken-Pis that can be found. Souvenir stores have rows upon rows of replicas of Manneken-Pis in different sizes. Candy stores have candy shaped like Manneken-Pis. We even found a store with a Manneken-Pis cut-out that would allow one to have their photo taken with their face shoved in a Manneken-Pis cut-out. It is disturbingly ubiquitous. Bizarre.

Anyhow, we stopped at a cafe to try some more hot chocolate. Here, we were given mugs filled with hot milk, and then a stick with a block of solid chocolate on the end. One dips the chocolate into the milk and stirs it around until it dissolves, and then drinks it. It was delicious. We were hoping we could acquire some to take home with us, but the maker seems to only sell them in bulk to cafes. We did also enjoy another waffle with cream on it.

Strangely, the concept of a couple purchasing a single substantial portion of food and then sharing it is rather foreign in Belgium. We were asked, with a very strange look whether we really wanted only one waffle and not two. Then, the waffle came with only one fork. We had to ask for another. Hopefully it is not too incredibly discourteous for us not to each purchase a huge waffle.

That evening, we strolled down a nearby alley which was lined with restaurants. Waiters were outside, begging people to visit their establishment. We settled on a very nice cafe and ate a three course meal. I had an assortment of clams and oysters followed by sea bass.
Lisa had a cheese croquet and a steak. All very nice. We ate in front of a fire which warmed us nicely.

It had been an enjoyable day, discovering this strange, almost exotic culture. So different from the US, or Australia, or England. Finally, tired, we retired to our hotel and to bed.