Brussels - A fun weekend in the EU capital!

Photo. A building by the Grand Place in Brussels. © Travel Explorations.

Brussels` famous market square Grand Place is the only UNESCO World Heritage site to host an annual beer festival (in the first weekend of September). Brussels is home to a number of famous breweries where visitors can learn all about the process that goes into making some of Belgium’s finest brews. We didn`t have time to visit the breweries so we spent our time tasting the result of the brewing processes.

The best thing of all in Brussels is meeting people, both the nice locals and travellers from other countries. Brussels is really a place that make people happy.

Watch a selection of photos from my adventure in Brussels on Travel Explorations` Facebook page.

Which beer shall I choose? It`s was so difficult to choose: "I think I have to drink them all!"

Photo. Ready for tasting of Belgium beer. © Travel Explorations. A huge number of beer brands here. No one take the beer more seriously than the Belgians.

It is the headquarters of the European Union, and the European Parliament, where over 20,000 office workers live and work making rules which routinely affect the lives of millions of Europeans.

Brussels has grown from a 10th-century fortress town founded by a descendant of Charlemagne to more than one million inhabitants. The city has a population of 1.1 million and the metropolitan area has a population of over 1.8 million, both making it the largest in Belgium.

Since the end of the Second World War, Brussels has been a main centre for international politics. Hosting principal EU institutions as well as the headquarters of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), the city has become the polyglot home of numerous international organisations, politicians, diplomats and civil servants.

Brussels is officially bilingual, with both French and Dutch being spoken in the city. All road signs, street names, and many adverts and services are shown in both languages, but that didn`t help me much. What about English? Even Spanish and German could help me little bit.

In Brussels, you can't avoid the Grand Place, as it’s considered the most splendid market square in Europe and located in the centre of the Old Town. Brussels will find a city of beautiful older squares and buildings. Surrounding the Grand Place is a maze of narrow streets, many containing some of Brussels' best restaurants and shops. The nearby Rue des Bouchers is a tiny street, lined with restaurants spilling out onto the sidewalks, many specializing in the Belgian delicacy of mussels.

Photo. Manneken Pis, or the peiing boy, a tourist attraction and symbol of the city Brussels.  © Travel Explorations.   Manneken Pis is a well-known public sculpture in Brussels. It is a small bronze fountain sculpture depicting a naked little boy urinating into the fountain's basin.

The little boys stands there peiing continuously both day and night. I could observe people flocked around the little boy, eagerly taking photos and filming as peiing was something sensationally. I wondered: perhaps I should put a diper on this boy, and then he probably would got some privacy. There are several legends behind the statue. The other more amazing than the other, but very fascinating.

The famous statue is located at the junction of Rue de l'Étuve/Stoofstraat and Rue du Chêne/Eikstraat. To find it,  take the left lane next to the Brussels Town Hall from the famous Grand Place and walks a few hundred metres southwest via Rue Charles Buls.

The architecture in Brussels is diverse, and spans from the medieval constructions on the Grand Place to the postmodern buildings of the EU institutions. Main attractions include the Grand Place, since 1988 a UNESCO World Heritage Site, with the Gothic town hall in the old centre, the St. Michael and Gudula Cathedral and the Laken Castle with its large greenhouses.

Another famous landmark is the Royal Palace. Brussels Town Hall is one of Belgium's finest civic buildings. Not only because of the numerous sculptures adorning its walls, but also because of its perfect proportions and the incomparable beauty of its tower, the spire of which is topped by the archangel Saint-Michael.

Coming up more.... 

Stein Morten Lund, 8th November 2012