Brussels is a mere 90 minute train ride away from my home in Aachen. Thanks to the high speed Thalys (affordable, convenient and almost luxurious) one can take the train from Hauptbahnhof here directly to Gare du Midi/Zuid (south station) in Brussels. I met a nice girl from New Zealand who lives in London but was returning from three weeks of traveling through different parts of the continent. Always nice to chit chat with people on the train.
I was on my way to Brussels because a friend of mine from college was touring different cities in Europe and Brussels happened to be on her list. Well I figured it was as good of a time as any to force myself to see the city thats so close (yet so far away). I took the train after work and by eight o'clock had checked into my accomodations at my hostel. The hostel was quite clean and comfortable and would recommend it to many travelers (not just backpacker but also family friend and affordable).
Manneqin Pis...not as impressive as you think.
Brussels of course doubles as the capital of Belgium. And Belgium is listed on several indicies as a failing state. I can point you to Monocle's September 2008 issue where Bruno Wasterfield goes into detail about the difficulty of living in a bilingual state. Belgium sufferes from a national identity crisis and much like its European relative, Austria, can't seem to form a government to save its life. Belgium operates on a deficit which racks up to a mind boggling 9.5% of its GDP (1% of its GNP). With that being said, its got quite a few stereotypes. The bilingual debate continues to tear the country apart. The relatively affluent Flanders (Dutch speaking) want nothing to do with the suffering Wallonia. Cities like Liege (thirty minutes from Aachen) suffer from high unemployment, inadequate social and public services and a corrupt civil service.
But returning to Brussels. Brussels is a diverse and vibrant city which doesn't seem to sleep at night. Daytime acitivites may be limited (by comparison there are relatively few museums there) but in the evening things heat up in Brussels. The market area (Grand Place) is qutie beautiful and worthy of its touristic pull. Its said that the only thing to do in Belgium is eat and drink. The waffles were divine. Sadly, I didn't get the chance to try the escargot. However, the flemish steak and my beer were also delicious. Brussels has grit to it. You can tell that the people that live and work there struggle a bit. Perhaps its the weather but this is no glamorous European city. I found the people to be mostly friendly and transact quickly and seemingly effortlessly between Dutch, French and English.
Despite its faults, Brussels maintains a certain charm to it. Because of its diversity there is a mixture of French flair with Germanic pragmatism. Speaking a bit of the Francais will help you as well. Brussels is an ugly city but its residents seems to embrace that. After all, as home to the EU, Nato and a host of other international organizations, there has to be some kind of charm to the city. And, I think I found it somewhere between the neoclassical buildings and the smell of waffles. 
Grande Place under a beautiful blue sky.
Part of the National Palace. 
Street signs in French and Dutch.
The National Congress in Brussels. 
3 comments:
Enjoyed the report and the pics. You need to go to Switzerland and take some pics. I've always wanted to go to Switzerland.
Thanks Dave. In my ideal world, I'd travel the globe visiting different cities and villages, write about my experiences and how that particular country's political situation affects the region. But I digress...
I may actually be going to Switzerland in May. I have a friend who lives in Zürich so I might as well go and visit him. However, the best way to see the country is to do it yourself...so I encourage a quick hop across the pond (currently dirt cheap) to see it and then we can read about your Swiss experiences!
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