Brussels/ Bruxelles

One of my favorite European cities, Brussels includes a great mix of medieval quarters and modern artistic feats. Brussels is the capital of Belgium, as well as the European Union; understandably it is a busy and bustling city with a great mix of many different cultures. Personally, I feel that the Grand Place (pronounced plahs) is one of the coolest areas of the city. The Grand Place is the main market square of Brussels. It is comprised of the Town Hall, guild houses, and the Bread House, with some cafe's and restaurants at either end. The town hall was constructed between the early to mid 1400's. At the top of it's tower stands the patron of Brussels, St. Michael. The Grand Place is also known for it's "flower carpet." The display consists of thousands of begonias and is constructed every second summer. Several other interesting tourist points in Brussels include the Atomium and Manneken Pis. The Atomium was designed by Andre Waterkeyn for the 1958 World's Fair, which took place in Brussels. It is 335 ft tall with nine steel spheres connected so that as a whole, it forms the shape of a single iron crystal cell magnified 165 billion times. Each leg contains elevators to each of the spheres which contain various exhibit halls and other public places such as a panoramic view of Brussels. Waterkeyn felt that this monument was symbolic of the era, and soon it became a symbol of the World's Fair and of Brussels. Another fun little tourist attraction is Manneken Pis. Although not an extravagant display, it is within a block or two of the Grand Place and has a fun history. There are several stories about the legend of Manneken Pis, however my favorite goes like this: During the 14th century, Brussels was under siege by some foreign military. The attackers had thought of a plan to use explosives on the city walls in order to get in. A small boy named Juliaanske from Brussels happened to be spying on the attackers and urinated on the burning fuse, and thus saved Brussels. Another cool thing that I feel is pretty stereotypical European, yet extremely cool, is that every once in a while, instead of water coming out of the boy, they'll tap it to a keg of beer and hand out cups of beer to people passing by. All this tourism certainly makes people hungry, and Brussels accomodates people with probably the coolest armament of restaurants I've ever seen. Not too far from the Grand Place, is the infamous Restaurant Row. Though not really the official name this is what me and my family would call it. It consisted of several narrow roads, closed off to auto traffic, which contained restaurants one after another. Walking through these streets people are greeted one after another with hosts to the hundreds of restaurants as you pass by. My favorite restaurant down this way is called Aux Armes de Bruxelles. This became kind of a family favorite, and a treat when being able to eat down at this excellent restaurant. Though consisting of many other choices, our favorite quickly became their Flemish Stew and a sea food platter (warm) with an amazing sauce.





http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atomium
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grand_Place
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manneken_Pis
http://www.johnnyjet.com/photos/Photo-Brussels-November-2008-51.JPG