11.22.11
Posted in Travel Log (N. America & Europe) at 5:39 pm by Benjamin Ross
This is the 10th entry from my 2011 Europe Trip.
After 6 days in the UK and 4 in the Netherlands, the next country on the itinerary was Belgium, first stop: Brussels. As the capital of the EU, and located in the center of Europe’s densest transportation network, Brussels has played a prominent role in the politics of modern Europe. It’s also a great place to wander around.
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| Brussels is centered around a dense urban core. Buildings old and new rise several stories above city streets. |
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| Brussels is also very walkable, with several pedestrian malls in the city centre. |
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| Its most famous site is the Grand Place (pronounced with a French accent). |
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| The Grand Place consists of a square which is believed to have been a central market spot as early as the 11th Century. |
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| The Grand Place has all the elements of a tourist trap, but nonetheless the architecture is quite magnificent, and outweighs the rows of souvenir shops which surround it. |
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| The following images are all shots from different angles within the Grand Place. |
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| Brussels (and Belgium as a whole) has a unique linguistic history. Belgium is divided into the Flemish (Dutch) speaking region of Flanders and the French speaking region of Walloonia, as well as several small German speaking areas. Brussels is geographically located within Flanders, and is traditionally a Flemish speaking city. However over the past several hundred years, migration and social pressures have created a language shift, whereby Brussels has transitioned into being a primarily francophone city. Today, while all signs are written in both Flemish and French, most of the language heard on the streets of Brussels is French. |
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| Just around the corner from the Grand Place is Manneken Pis, another world famous Brussels landmark. Literally “Little Man Pee” Manneken Pis has been continuously urinating in Brussels since 1619. According to tradition, he is often dressed in costumes covering his genitalia, and sometimes reflecting themes of foreign dignitaries who are visiting Brussels. |
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| Brussels is well served by its subway system, with several lines all leading towards a loop in the city centre. |
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| With Brussels’ compactness, most sites can be reached in under 15 minutes on the subway. |
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| Brussels has an interesting city centre, with several inner neighborhoods having experienced significant post-industrial urban decay. |
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| Like most European capitals, Brussels does not have many large skyscrapers, such as those which dominate skylines in Asia and North America. The Tour du Midi (above) is the tallest building in Belgium and sticks out among skyline. |
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| But much of Brussels streetscape is 3 and 4 story dense urban development typical of European capitals. |
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| Brussels’ most unique feature may be its ethnic heterogeneity. Rather unique among European cities, Brussels’ immigrant communities (and poor communities generally speaking) tend to cluster around the city centre rather than on the outskirts. I covered several large swaths of city centre, which felt entirely, well…un-Belgian, such as this dowwtown Moroccan enclave. |
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| In Moroccan neighborhoods, the streets are frequently lined with these outdoor cafes where Moroccan men (I hardly ever saw women at these establishments) would sit outside, drinking tea and conversing loudly in large groups. |
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| In addition to Moroccans, the largest foreign ethnic groups in Brussels include Turks, Congolese, and emigres from the rest of the Maghreb (Tunisia, Algeria, and Libya). After French, I probably heard more Arabic on the streets of Brussels than I heard Flemish. Brussels’ ethnic mix makes it an excellent town to sample various foodstuffs from the Muslim and Arab world. |
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| The hostel I stayed at was located in the Molenbeek district, home of one of Brussels’ largest Moroccan enclaves, and the Sint-Regimius Church (above), built in 1907. |
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| Here’s a typical street shot from Molenbeek. Most of the housing was occupied by Moroccans and various other immigrant groups from around the Middle East and Europe. As a primarily francophone city, Brussels makes for a convenient draw for immigrants of the Maghreb, many of whom learn French in school in their home countries. |
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| Brussels doesn’t have the volume of historical and cultural sites as other Western European capitals such as London and Amsterdam. But it what it does have is a broad snapshot of the multi-ethnic metropolises of which many are presently becoming. In this respect, and considering the amount of international organizations located within its boundaries, Brussels feels almost more like a world capital than it does the capital of Belgium. Next stop: Bruges |
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Nicole
said,
December 18, 2011 at 6:34 pm
Have you given up, Ben?! Don’t stop… we’re waiting to see the rest of your trip!
Evon Wong
said,
December 22, 2011 at 6:09 am
hello, will you come to Norway?
Benjamin Ross
said,
December 23, 2011 at 10:52 pm
@Nicole
Thanks for the encouragement! I’ve been working on a few other things lately, and the blog has been slacking. I have stops in Bruges, Ghent, Leuven, and Paris coming up. Gonna try to wrap it up before the New Year.
@Evon
Not this trip, but I’m thinking pretty seriously about doing a Scandanavia tour this coming summer, so Norway’s a real possibility!