Collecting capital cities

Time for another capital city. This time it’s Brussels, of course.

So as to avoid having to drive into the city's green zone, which only certain categories of vehicles can do and then only if they pay for it, we parked in Grimbergen, some 10km outside of Brussels.

The big parking lot was next to a sports complex, we know this setup well by now. There were quite a few cars, but only a couple of camper vans. The one closest to us opened the door at some point, and on the table sat - a rabbit. Like, I mean, literally a rabbit. Lots of people travel with their dogs, so why not with a rabbit, just haven’t seen that one before.

After a walk around town, which didn’t take long, it’s a small place, my human and Carmelo were off to check out the Atomium, THE must-visit when in Brussels. 

And fair enough, that thing is quite impressive. It was built in 1957 for the world fair, and just like the Eifel Tower (which was built for the fair in 1889), it was meant to be demolished afterwards. Obviously, that didn’t happen.

What was the fastest elevator in the world in those days, 5 meters per second, beams you up into the top sphere, from where you have a fantastic look over the larger surroundings. Right at the bottom of the Atomium lies “Little Europe”, a miniature version of Europe's most famous landmarks and landscapes. But why would anyone visit that, if you can just as well check it all out in actual size?

From there you can visit some of the other spheres and learn about the history of the world fair and the structure itself. The last space holds a sound and light installation which was specifically designed for the Atomium. 

All in all very interesting and worth the 16 Euros. Even more so, as the Design Museum, which is only a couple of hundred meters away, is included in the ticket. If you are into plastic, you'll enjoy this one. The whole museum showcases things made out of plastic. From telephones to furniture to Tupperware. And then there is a whole hall dedicated to chairs. Jep, chairs. In all colors, shapes and forms. Chairs don't do anything for me, obviousla, but I understand how useful they are for humans. But still, bit of an overkill, no?

The next day I was left to my own devices yet again and the two of them went to see the Parlamentarium, the visitor center of the European Union. Visitor center doesn’t quite cut it, though. It’s a huge complex explaining the history and outlook of the European Union. The audio guide is available in every language of the member countries. Which are? Yes? I’m listening…

The Museum of European History is just around the corner and equally interesting. On their round through the city they happened upon the Museum for musical instruments as well. They have some 5000 instruments in their collecton and the 1100 most interesting ones are on display and via audio guide you can listen to most of them. Not all are pleasant to the ear, though!

The world according to an Australian

Might not look like it, but yes, this is an instrumen

Ludwig van Beethovens idea of a name for the piano

Then of course there are various royal buildings, a very nice city center, a super cool glass roofed arcade with one shop more caloric than the next and many Belgian beer cafes. Which obviously had to be inspected a little closer.

But before, yes before, they enjoyed a couple of home brews, they had to find the bike. Which they parked at a large square. And since there is only one of those in Brussels, it would be easy to find again, right? Normally my human is clever enough to pinpoint the location on maps.me, not so this time. 

On a big building on the square it said Grote Markt. That should be easy enough to find again. But when they got to Grote Markt, it didn’t look anything like “their” square. So after another half hour of searching, they finally asked help form a young couple, showing them a photo of the arcade, which they knew was close to where they parked the bike. And these two kids were kind enough to actually take them there. 

Lesson learned! 

Without this photo the bike would still be lost                                                          

The last morning in Brussels. Not that she is very interested, but since I couldn’t go myself, I sent her to the Automobile Museum to take lots of pictures, which she could then show me. At the moment they have a temporary exhibition about Vespa. Who doesn’t love Vespa?

Carmelo's new beach ride

Now if this little guy isn't sexy, I don't know what is!

Possibly the cooles Vespa ever made

One of my ancestors, he was around in the 1920's, 50km/h tops

And then there is this little statue of a small boy taking a leak. If you’ve never heard of it, ask Google. It’s called Manneken Pis and is another must-see in Brussels. No one really knows why and when you stand in front of it it’s totally anti-climatic because it’s indeed very small, maybe 40cm? But you sure know, when you get close. Suddenly there is a Mannekin Pis barber, a Manneken Pis falafel shop, a Manneken pis ice cream parlor.