Brussels

I’ve begun to grow suspicious that my entire study abroad program is just one big booster campaign for Amsterdam. Each day we learn about something that Amsterdam is doing perfectly that the rest of the world is failing at, like housing or public health or bike lanes or stroopwafels. I’ve become a bit of a skeptic, questioning every positive fact that they’re feeding us and wondering what they’re hiding behind all those beautiful canal houses.

But Brussels was pretty much the polar opposite, and the city much more closely fit my paradigm of what to expect in an urban area. Brussels has highly concentrated urban poverty in the inner city ringed by a wealthy periphery and suburbs. It’s a car-dominated city with horrible public transportation. There are too many government bodies, none of which agree with each other. Bloated politicians dine on expensive meals just blocks away from where minority children starve. So basically, it’s just like every American city, ever!

I don’t know whether it was the beautiful weather, the delicious food, the Belgian beer, or a serendipitous combination of the three, but I loved Brussels. They were really upfront about what the city has going for it - being the capitol of Europe, international talent, multilingualism - but were also so honest about what’s not right. I didn’t feel like I was being fed a pro-Brussels message by undercover lobbyists. I even had an opportunity to dust off my rusty French and order some chicken (Je voudrais le poulet, s'il vous plait!).

Here are some photos of my one night in Brussels -

Brussels used to have a river, but one king covered it all with concrete in order to get the Paris Grand Boulevard sort of look. Here’s the only part you can see:

This is Mannequin Pis, voted the #1 most disappointing tourist attraction in all of Europe:

The Waffle to End All Waffles:

One day in Brussels was not enough, but I have faith that those waffles and I will one day reunite.