One of the more ambitious days in Belgium involved going to Brussels. Like any major city, it had a double decker bus tour. The boys were still excited about this prospect, so we loaded up and headed out.
The traffic held us back a bit but we arrived in about two hours (1 hour and 59 minutes after Sammy made his first inquiry about having something to eat. We're pretty convinced some Pavlovian process occurred that he is compelled to eat as soon as his car seat straps are buckled).
The parking lot was a mammoth subterranean affair and we could almost feel the heat from the center of the earth when we finally found a spot, deep in the bowels of the lot.
The plus is that when we finally emerged at the surface, the double decker was right there!
Unfortunately, this double decker experience started off poorly and the company only made us more frustrated from there.
The driver was by himself. Usually they have a duo - a driver and someone selling the tickets and giving out maps and headphones. This harried looking guy overcharged us and told us these were the correct prices (contradicting what the website stated). The headphones were pretty poor quality and the audio system was the best 1987 had to offer.
We sat down on the top level. Given the slate grey skies and concern for rain, the roof was closed, limiting our view.
Then the bus started rolling. That was good!
We trundled along for a bit. The first stop would be the Atomium.
I feel bad. Apparently I should have known this unique structure existed, but I had no idea until the bus actually turned a corner and it became visible.
It was hard to miss at 334 feet with nine enormous spheres aligned like an iron crystal.
This metallic marvel certainly caught my attention then. It's been there since 1958 for the World's Fair and is considered one of the key symbols of Belgium.
You can find more about this building here:
This was another building that you couldn't help yourself from photographing. Like the Leaning Tower, the Colosseum, the Pantheon, it was beautiful, weird, and alluring.
We decided to visit Mini-Europe which was nearby the Atomium rather than try to ascend the various spheres up there.
Mini-Europe does not appear to have any affiliation with Disney which is a surprise. "It's a small world after all" started to echo in my head shortly after our arrival there. It did not get out of my head for quite some time.
Fortunately this place did not have any catchy, mind invading music, just the sound of some jets and the periodic eruption of Vesuvius.
It was a good choice as the kids loved exploring Mini Europe. They had models of a few places we had already been and a few that we would be going to. Several times Joey could be heard remarking, "I feel like a giant!"
Plus there were several small trains circling the area (if the park consisted of an open field with small electric trains going through it they would have been pretty happy).
Lanna enjoyed running around and trying to climb up into the exhibits (unsuccessfully) and Sammy chased the trains all day.
Every time we looked up, the Atomium loomed in the background which added an even more surreal feeling to the entire place.
They also had some replicas of knights, guards, and other things the kids could stand in. Joey was just about tall enough to be a Buckingham Palace guard.
We walked back to the bus stop after our rocket tour of Europe.
That's when our relationship with the Double Decker Bus really started to go south.
We waited for nearly an hour for that bus to show up. It should have been 15 minutes tops. The kids really handled the delay well but it was pretty infuriating.
The next stop was to get close to the city center and see the famous Manneken Pis. It's not clear why he has captured the world's attention, maybe for his phenomenal ability to urinate.
Like meeting any famous celebrity, he was so much shorter than I anticipated.
Then we decided to get some shots of Manneken peeing on the boys heads because at that point, I thought it would be pretty funny. Their expressions were excellent!
From there we walked to a nice Belgium toystore and into Grand Place.
Grand Place was breathtaking. It's a beautiful, ornate square that has been around about 900 years and influenced by many different types of architectural styles. There's gothic, baroque, and the influence of Louis XIV. It has a corner dedicated to the guild halls and, entertainingly, most of the buildings have a bright brass or gold gilding to them.
It currently is a UNESCO World Heritage site.
Apparently not everyone has enjoyed their time in Grand Place as during the 1600 and 1700's there were more than a few executions there.
A more joyful tradition started there in 1971 when they carpeted nearly the entire square with begonias. This flower carpet tradition has continued and occurs every 2 years. The images we saw for it were incredible. Here's a site to learn more about this amazing tradition:
There's some nice pictures and succinct history here:
We took some pictures when we first arrived.
After dinner we took some more pictures when the lights came on. (I find I am becoming more like my father by taking copious pictures).
We found our way back to our subterranean parking spot and made the long drive back to the cottage.
Everyone had a restful night after our busy day in Brussels.
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