The essence of Brussels

Every city has an essence,  the basic foundation underneath every architecture, history and conversation. In New York, that's freedom, in Rome it's romance, in Paris, fashion, in Johannesburg commerce, you get the point. Locals usually can't consciously pin point what it is but a foreigner will always smell it. 

Brussels, being 3 hours away from Paris, was part of my itinerary. It had all the characteristics of a Western European city, a well-defined transport system, paved streets beautiful architecture, supermarkets, lots of good and cheap restaurants especially of Eastern Cuisine, rainy November weather and lots of tourists. It takes a bit of effort to get past the superficial camouflage but when you do, you are in for a treat.

A bit of  walking around the Bruxelles commune and perhaps a free walking tour will lead you to confectionery shops that sell truly Belgian treats particularly 'gaufre de Liège-Luikse wafel' (Belgian waffles), Couque de Dinant (sweet biscuits), Speculoos (ginger bread biscuits),  La Dame Blanche(hot fudge sundae) and so much more.

Belgian Speculoos

If you speak neither Flemish nor French nor German you will have a hard time like I did as the Belgians are not letting go of their past colonizer's languages anytime soon. If you are accompanied with a true local you will get a panoramic view of the city not from some tourist tower but a quite ordinary parking lot, You will be amazed by the beautiful 300 year old buildings at Grand Place whose illumination make for even better pictures at night.

Grand Place

Guild Halls

Saint Michel on top of the City Hall

Guild halls of the Grand Place, grand aren't they?

Mimicking statues and paintings can be quite addictive

A statue you can rub for goodluck 

In a church

Brussels from a parking lot

In the midst of wanderlust you will start to get into the spirit of Brussels once you see the statues. You'll probably see many statues of children or dogs in not-so-public poses.

What's with Belgian and public excretion?

It will truly sink in when you come across the landmark statue of the city. It is not some grand statue of some famous person but one of unnamed naked boy urinating into a pool. That will be the Manneken Pis which does a great job at capturing the irreverent spirit of Brussels. 

The grand Manneken Pis

Couldn't mimick the boy

The are hundreds of legends attached to the statue. Some believe that a boy named Julianske who seeked refuge in a tree found urinating to be an effective way to drive away troops. Others believe that a wealthy merchant visited the city and had his boy missing. He commissioned a search party who later found him urinating in a garden, the merchant built the statue to say thank you to the city. Either way this 400 year old statue captures the motto of the city, 'Be ever playful'. Just as the statue of liberty  symbolizes freedom, the Manneken Pis symbolizes play. This motto is taken very seriously that a female conterpart, the Jeannekke Pis was constructed in 1987 not only for gender equality but to also symbolize tenderness.

The Jeannekke Pis is caged for security

Once again I couldn't mimick the statue

The Manneken Pis has drawn much attention over the years that it has been stolen several times. The soldiers of King Louis XV of France started the record, so much upsetting the city that King Louis donated a medal of honor and a custome for the statue. This initialized a tradition of dressing the boy up, a tradition taken very seriously that it has become very competitive for a custome to be accepted, keeping the boy happily dressed throughout the year. 

Later that day I went to visit the City Museum where I found the Manneken Pis clothed in national attire of different countries. Excuse the camera quality, the statues are inside glass cages and I was rushed since the museum was about to close.I was happy to find South Africa and a couple of other African countries made the cut.

City Museum treasures

Mexican

South African

African costume that made the cut

I stayed in Brussels for a little over 36 hours but it was memorable. It is true that adulthood requires lots of effort and strength but it is even more important to have fun while at it. 

Playing in the rain