A few stories have crossed my eyes lately that questioned how much longer Belgium will be a country. They make the case that there is an awkward melding of the Flemish speakers and the French speakers and that history is not on the country’s side. One sticking point is the city of Brussels. A French-speaking city in Flemish territory, if Belgium were to break apart one has to wonder what will become of Brussels.
A cosmopolitan place with a large international community, Brussels has its own unique identity within Belgium. It is neither this nor that, but its own. It also happens to be a great place to visit if you like fine dining, culture and the opportunity to meet people from all over the world. Who doesn’t like that?
There is a sale right now on flights to Brussels with prices about as tasty as one of those Belgium waffles. Be forewarned, however. There is a good chance that when you are in Belgium you will be given French fries with mayonnaise on them regardless which side of the divide you are visiting. Maybe it is the mayo that is holding things together.
I remember the first time I went to Brussels largely because of the pissing boy. Every tourist spot I visited in the city sold postcards of a statue of a little boy urinating. While I found this to be an extremely odd symbol for a city to try to sell to its guests, I also was oddly drawn to that little guy and his flowing stream of pee. I had to see it, so my friend and I paid a visit to the statue after throwing back a few of the legendarily strong and tasty Belgian ales. Mind you, it was still early in the afternoon and there were still plenty of tourists around gawking at the statue. That didn’t matter to me. My bladder was about to burst and I figured that in a city where a little boy pissing is an icon, a drunk college kid doing number 1 in the streets next to the statue wouldn’t hurt anyone. The policeman who grabbed me by the collar afterward – I think it is his job to nab the legions who come to piss next to the pissing boy – didn’t really agree and let’s just say that an international incident was averted only after much conversation and only after I almost did a pee pee in my pants from fear.