Brussels and Ghent

August is the month of vacations in Western Europe, when all the local vanish and the train stations are packed with people carrying suitcases and speaking every language but the native one.  While I don't teach and do not get a summer vacation of that sort, my university closed for a couple weeks in July and I took the chance to see some sights with my family.  Some I'd seen and shared before, but I did get to a few Belgian ones that were new to me.

Brussels: The Manneken Pis

There are many varied stories about the origins of this statue.  Some hold that it was the gift of a father to the city when the townsfolk helped him find his lost son.  Others say it commemorates a boy who helped stopped enemies by peeing on their bombs.  The Manneken Pis (or little pee man) is one of Brussels' most famous sights.  The statue even has costumes for different seasons of the year and is decorated for city events.

That being said, it is a tiny statue, maybe two feet tall, on a fountain in the middle of an otherwise nondescript neighborhood in central Brussels.  The area looks like this:

 

The Manneken Pis is hidden just barely by the chocolate shop on the right in the photo above.  There are three chocolate shops visible in that photo, two of them being Godiva and Leonidas.  Neuhaus has a location just up the street, as do a few others.  There are also several waffle and ice cream places.  I found it an interesting cross-section of tourist interests in Belgium.

Brussels: Atomium

The Atomium was built to be the centerpiece of the World's Fair(?) in 19**.  The name is a mash-up of "atom" and "aluminum," as the main theme of the fair was progressing into the future through new technology.  At the time, it contained the fastest elevator and long escalators in the world.

 

The Atomium is a striking tower in Brussels' skyline, and it contains exhibits on the fair it was built for and a few temporary modern art installations.  That's all.  I wasn't overwhelmed with it.  The story of the exhibits didn't flow well, and the audio guide was difficult to understand.  In fact, some of the audio guide monologues were matched to the wrong parts of the exhibit.  The best part of the visit was taking visits of its exterior, and seeing Brussels from the highest dome, as shown below.

Ghent: Clock Tower

Ghent is a university town and one of Flanders biggest cities.  Its skyline noted for the three main towers, two churches and a bell tower all lined up in the central square.  I was able to visit the bell tower, and it was a lovely short trip.  The main attraction is climbing the tower itself, starting at the base with a room that originally stored important civil documents and now stores the remaining original of four guardians statues on the bell tower (accompanied by three reconstructions of the others).  As you climb, the higher floors hold displays about how the tower was remodeled over the years and the dragon statuette that used to crown it.  The dragons were built to breath fire on major holidays.  My favorite part was the bells, as the tower both has some of the original bells founded centuries ago and information on how the bells are founded.  You can also see the machinery that plays the carillon each hour and walk around a very narrow walkway at the top to get a view of the city.

Taking the stairs, though, is for people with strong calves and no fear of enclosed spaces.  The hallways are extremely narrow.  Most of the floors are also accessible by elevator.  My favorite part, though, was that I was lucky enough to be at the top when the bells rang the hour.  I felt surrounded by the sound, and it was amazing.