brussels.

Find the Grand Place!

I spent the weekend in Brussels, Belgium, visiting friends from school who were studying up there. Despite the cold and a 180 euro taxi ride (which I still refuse to believe actually happended), I had a wonderful time learning all about the Flemish and French divide, the current lack of government, the many times Belgium has been conquered, and so much more (I'm pretty sure I now have a better understanding of Belgium history than many of the people living there thanks to my well informed friends).

Brussels is filled with random statues. From the famous peeing boy, to the less famous squatting girl (made in retaliation to all the attention that the peeing boy was getting), they were everywhere you walked. It was a welcome break from all the big mustached statues of military men that are seen in Rome.

These two dapper guys are my friends from school, who provided me with a wonderful history and political strife filled tour of the city.

The main food groups of Brussels seemed to be: waffles, beer, chocolate, and fries. In my two days there I made sure to sample one (or more) of everything. My favorite had to be the waffles. Bought from stands and loaded with whipped cream, fruit, and chocolate sauce, they were my go to food for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Yum.

All weddings in Brussels take place in the Grand Place. It looked like a cold wedding.

The Grand Place, the popular meeting spot of the weekend, is a wonderful gilded square and easy to find due to the tall steeple sturcture in the middle. There are Carl Marx used to own a flat on the right side of the Place. It has now been turned into the most expensive restuarunt in Brussels. Capitalism prevails.



Find the Grand Place!

Welcome to Brussels version of Embassy Row. All the Embassies along this street represent the states that first recognized Belgium as a country. The American Embassy is way at the end. Supposedly if the guards see you taking a picture of the Embassy they delete every photo on your camera, so this was as good as it was going to get.

Some planes from the Military Museum.

The Royal Palace of Brussels.