It's the 175th edition of Bullet Sunday from Casa de DutchBitch! Reading about all the ugliness going on back home over health care reform, I can honestly say that there's no place I'd rather be right now.
Today we decided to grab a train and make the 2-1/2 hour journey down to Brussels in Belgium. Dutchy hadn't been there in 10 years, and the only time I had been to the city was for a 25 minute stop-over during a delivery.
• Cartooning. The first stop on our itinerary was the Belgian Comic Strip Center. I had heard nothing but good things about the place, and so I was a little let down to see that the building itself was kind of boring...
Just goes to show that you can't always judge a (comic) book by its cover, because the inside of the museum is stunning...
Highest possible recommendation if you have even a small interest in comic books and sequential art. There's precious little mention of any English books, but the pictures tell the story in any language.
• Atomium. After goofing around the museum, we took the subway out to the site of the World Expo 1958. Because this is where the giant Atomium structure can be found. It's pretty cool, well worth the trip outside the city, and will give you some great photos to remember you trip to Brussels...
Or an elevator up through the center column...
Once you reach a globe, there will either be some kind of exhibit or windows where you can look out...
Sweet! Hard to believe this place was built over 50 years ago.
• Food. The DutchBitch tells me that Belgium is also famout for Patatjes Met, which they call "Frites avec Mayo." Naturally, I could not pass them up. They are a bit thicker than Netherlands fries and not quite as crispy, but inevitably delicious, as you can imagine...
But the one thing that I simply had to eat was a Belgian Waffle, which they call a "Brussels Waffle" here. You can get them topped with a variety of stuff (including Belgian chocolate) but, being a purist, I just got mine with sugar and creme...
Yeah, orgasm-inducing delicious. Considering it cost $6.75, it had better be. Wish I could say the same for my $7.00 "Super" Coke, which was a watered-down horror story (lesson learned, ALWAYS order from the bottle, even if you have to buy two of them). While I am happy to eat the smaller and more sensible portions in Europe (vs. the massive portions they serve in the USA), I am consistently disappointed in the tiny size and HUGE cost of their Cokes. You always end up getting ripped off for what is essentially sugar-water.
• Square. The Market Square in Brussels is bordered by beautiful architecture on all sides. I could have spent half a day just looking at the buildings here...
• Peed. With some time to kill before our train back to the Netherlands, we decided to visit a famous Brussels attraction... "Manneken Pis" which means "Young Man Peeing." There was quite a crowd, but eventually I managed to get a shot of the little guy...
And thus our one-day invasion of Brussels had ended, and our mission to find something interesting to do for the day was a smashing success! Not bad for my last day in the Netherlands.
I love comments! However, all comments are moderated, and won't appear until approved. Are you an abusive troll with nothing to contribute? Don't bother. Selling something? Don't bother. Spam linking? Don't bother.
PLEASE NOTE: My comment-spam protection requires JavaScript... if you have it turned off or are using a mobile device without JavaScript, commenting won't work. Sorry.
Atom Entries Feed Comments Feed
Fantastic!!!!
Thank you for sharing!
Wow…just.wow. Totally awesome! Glad you’re having a great time, and I love seeing it through your eyes.
Atomium looks awesome! And waffles… yum! Brussels, gotta keep it in mind if I get across the Atlantic one of these days.
Very cool. Thanks for sharing your pics!
Out of your list of Brussel visits I went to all of them except for the Atomium and the specific fries place.
I actually met up with a friend in Brussels. When asked where we were going to meet we agreed to meet by the peeing boy. 🙂
I also when to the comic strip museum. I was actually surprised how many comics were Belgian. And also discovered a couple new ones.
My father was born in Belgium so it was a quite special visit for me. I hope to go back sometime in the future and see more of the country.
I loved Brussels! But those pics of inside the Atom almost made me puke. Ack!
That series of stairs and escalators reminds me of Space Mountain at Disney.
And yet again you tease us with another serving of Patatjes Met. Damn you, food tempter!
As always, I love your travel photos! Thank you for sharing your trip with us.
So is Patatjes Met the gelato of the Netherlands…as in you run into a stand selling them like every 5 minutes? Because I could get used to that.
That was built 50 years ago? WOW. You just blew my mind. (Doesn’t take much)
Glad you’re having a great time, and also I’m slightly jealous.
Amazing pictures Dave!!!!
Thank you for providing me with beautiful pictures that take me out of my life for a moment or two. I love it when you travel because I get to see a glimpse of places I may never get to go.
🙂
This is making me more impatient for my vacation! Genieten van Nederland
Wow! How cool is that! I’ve been all over Europe, and even in Belgium, but never in Brussels. Someday.
Geez! I remember reading about that World’s Fair in “Life” magazine and “My Weekly Reader” when I was in grammar school. (Not to date myself or anything) I’ll be looking forward to more of “Dave’s Fried Potato Tour” of Europe. Can’t wait to find out how they make ’em in Roumania, next.
“The globes are reached either by a system of stairs and escalators…”
And gaawwddaaamnnn!!! Those were a LOT of stairs!!!
Thanks for a great mini-vacation to Brussels 🙂
Great pictures of the Atomium! That and Belgian waffles….sounds like a worthwhile trip.
The last time I stood around peeing into a fountain like that the cops picked me up. And people are lining up to take pictures of this peeing young man? Clearly I need to take my pee act to Europe where they seem to embrace these sort of things.
Those fries look absolutely delicious (except for the mayonnaise). I love your travel posts – you’re the (cuter/wittier) Rick Steves of the internet.
Marvy pictures, as always. Helps me to almost think I’m there.