Brussels--good beer, chocolate and smurfs?

Yup!  Smurfs are from Belgium!  First created by Belgian cartoonist, Peyo, in 1958 but it took until the 80's to reach the U.S.  

Our first excursion in the city was of course the Grand Place.  Unfortunately every day we have been here the square has been filled with cranes either setting up or tearing down stages for musical performances, so we really haven't gotten the full effect of how beautiful the square really is.  Here are just a few pictures we took while trying to avoid the machinery in the middle!

One of these buildings houses the City Museum of Brussels and since it was a rainy day, we decided to check it out.  It was your typical museum for the most part except for one room which is dedicated to the Manneken Pis, Brussels' infamous statue of a little boy peeing that dates back to 1619.  There are over 700 costumes for this little statue from everywhere around the world but unlike most of the countries that chose to send costumes that represent their national dress, the United States chose to send a miniature version of the iconic white costume worn by Elvis in Las Vegas!  The highlight of this museum was an exhibit of black and white photographs from the 40's and 50's of the city and its people.  These were incredibly moving and captured the rebuilding of the city  after the war.  A surprising fact to learn, Belgium was established as a new state in Europe in 1830. 

Using the Hop-On, Hop-Off Bus Tour we visited the Atomium.  This was created for the 1958 Brussels World Fair and stands 335 feet tall.  We were able to go to the top-most sphere for an incredible panoramic view of the city.  You'll notice in one of the pictures workers cleaning the panels of one of the spheres.

The Royal Palace was our next hop-off.  This is where the current King of Belgium (Albert II) works, but not resides.  We noticed many similarities to Buckingham Palace.  

By now it was time for yet another coffee-break.  Here's Tom enjoying his cappucinno with his new best friend . . .
 

who ditched him for a lady next to us who actually had food to share!

Here's a picture of one of the first ever indoor malls, a vision of a Brussels architect who designed this in 1847.  We enjoyed a lovely dinner at one of the restaurants here for our last night in Brussels.

It's 11 pm and we are packing our suitcases, heading out in the morning for our next stop.  We just watched several hundreds of roller skaters and bicyclists go by our hotel on a major street here in Brussels, being escorted by the police. I guess they start their marathons a little later than we do in the midwest.  As we have witnessed all week, it's a bustling city that stays alive until the wee hours of the morning.  It was a fun city to experience, but we're ready to move on. 

Happy trails,
TnT