Brussels was weird ngl

November 13, 2019

Brussels was weird ngl

October 27 - November 1

Brussels & Ghent, Belgium

Brussels... Man, I don't know. The entire time I was there, I felt like Brussels was trying to be really cool because they're the European capital, but... failing a little bit? It's like we were drinking Pepsi, but they were trying to pass it off as Coke, you know? Not objectively bad. In fact, quite good. But we knew we were drinking Pepsi... If we'd wanted Coke we would've gone to Paris. You catch my drift? By the end of day 1 I was already feeling just a little luke-warm about Brussels, so the trip... Got weird fast. And we'll come back to that. But first, a little context.

Trying to take a cool pic in Brussels...

I was there with my class, New Media and Changing Communities, and we were there for 3 days before heading out to spend 2 in Ghent. Why would a media class go to Brussels? Because turns out, the EU is at the forefront of big media and data regulation. So, folks, we went in! We got a tour of the EU parliament by a press officer and attended a lecture on combating Russian disinformation (very real) by one of the top Russian experts in the world. We went over to Microsoft, Brussels, who have an office there for lobbying purposes.

My class in Brussels

The EU part of the trip was really cool. Would I recommend a self-guided audio tour of the EU parliament on your next visit? No, probably not. But going through with a press officer, and hearing little inside tidbits of information... That was cool. (Turns out no one in Belgium is a fan of the French. They're apparently a real pain in the EU.) And talking to an expert on Russian disinformation was seriously insane. The whole world right now is trying to figure out how to handle these big new media platforms like Facebook and Google, and how to regulate them, and what to do about "fake news". So hearing straight from someone working on it? Very cool.

One of the big conference rooms in the EU parliament

EU press workroom (free to use for any journalist covering the EU)

Brussels is the most diverse city in Europe, but the city itself is kind of overshadowed by the EU. The EU quarter isn't very beautiful. It's an old converted conference center and is designed to basically be its own ecosystem. Meaning in that area, there are EU delegates flying in and out, and a really strong international community. So it creates its own little bubble of culture, which is very academic and kind of stark and new. Outside of the EU bubble, there is the rest of Brussels. Which again, felt a little like a watered-down Paris. It was beautiful, and I loved being able to speak French. But "the top sites" weren't all that impressive. If I was traveling alone, it would've been a day-trip situation.

One of these top sites is called the Atomium. What is the Atomium you ask? Well, only my new favorite landmark! Remember back in yesteryear, when we all got together to throw world fairs? Well, in 1958, Brussels decided it was their turn! Well, you may remember that the *queue french accent* Tour Eiffel was built for the 1889 World's Fair in Paris. Allegedly, the Atomium is the Belgians response. Now, I haven't REALLY found anything to support that, that was just the word on the street. And the Belgians hosted a total of 11 World's Fairs, so I'm not sure why they would wait until 1958 to try and clap back at the Eiffel Tower? Or why they were still feeling competitive about that one? Needless to say, the Atomium does not have the same iconic appeal at the Eiffel Tower. And let me tell you, it is not worth the 30+ min wait to go to the top. But it is a marvel to look at! It's designed to look like a unit cell of an iron crystal. And I don't know what that means, so to translate that for us less iron-crystal-inclined, it's made to look like an atom. I know, clever right. Atom. Atomium. Good stuff. Fun wordplay.

The Atomium

The Atomium from a different angle

View from the top ball of the Atomium

Just near the Atomium, you will find the 8th wonder of the world, LITTLE EUROPE! Oh yes. We convinced Danish International Studies to pay $30 each for our admission to Little Europe. We got super lucky too because THEY WERE DECORATED FOR HALLOWEEN! If there's anything I like more than a miniature, not-to-scale replica of Europe's finest, it's a miniature, not-to-scale replica of Europe's finest decked out for Halloween. Below are some of my favorites.

Our $8 souvenir photo with Little Europe's orange turtle mascot

Little Europe's Halloween village

A skeleton and I in a bumper car in Little Europe (a lot going on here)

The Trolls in Little Denmark

Roasting a soldier (it is not clear if this is part of the Halloween decor or if this is what the Belgians think of the Danes)

Litte Copenhagen (you can see the Eiffel Tower from here!)

Little Finland

One of our other excursions involved our whole class making chocolate. Oh yes. We got the opportunity to make our own chocolate at Belgium's finest tourist trap store, called "Planet Chocolate", where we pretty much spent two hours dipping candied oranges into melted chocolate while our guide talked questionable English and told bad jokes. I told you it got weird! He ended the whole performance art piece by asking out one of our professors and kissing her on the hand. And I don't think it was a shtick... I think this was the real deal. It was incredibly bizarre. There we also mannequins in the shop? It's not clear if they were helping to illustrate the chocolate-making process or if they were just leftovers from a defunct wax museum.

Making chocolate

The mysterious wax figures...

After all the chocolate, site seeing, and intense learning at the EU, we needed to blow off some steam. So we hit up Delirium. Delirium is a Belgian beer, that I got the impression is more of a brand than a quality beverage. Like it is a beer, but I don't think many locals drink it. They have a whole alley called Delirium Village, which is lined with different bars. The main one, Delirium (I know, creative name choice) is famous for serving over 2,000 different beers. I am happy to say I took advantage by ordering a classic Belgian cherry beer. Across the street, they have an absinthe bar. So Emily, Zoey and I tried our hand at preparing an absinthe and sugar water drink. Which I learned is THE way to drink absinthe. I'm gonna be totally real with you. I've heard so much about ~absinthe~ and oooo danger and oooo hallucinations and ooooo it's not even legal at home... It was a little underwhelming? To be fair, we weren't like, taking shots of the stuff, we were sipping. But it was you know, it was just a regular licorice-flavored drink. No hallucinations or anything. I was pretty darn sober. Which is probably for the best, but it doesn't make as interesting a story, does it?

Cherry beer, comics, and chocolate

Drinking absinthe

Preparing absinthe

After our time in Belgium, we loaded up for Ghent. And Ghent. Ghent was the real deal. Beautiful place. She redeemed Belgium for me. (Again, Brussels was bad. Just not AMAZING.) But Ghent was gorgeous. We took a guided city tour to learn about the ways Ghent is working against becoming a corporation-controlled smart-city and keeping the power with the people. The tour was great and our guide was so smart, but the best part was when we were standing on a canal bridge, and the dude is trying so hard to tell us something important. But we were all caught watching this seagull circle a dead fish, until FINALLY! The tension was broken when he pecked out the fish's eye. It was HORRIBLE! But also even more hilarious because our guide was trying so hard to keep us focused and we were like a pack of 12-year-olds watching this dead fish. Here's a video. I recorded it. Just for you.

The fish and seagull

After our tour, we had quite a bit of free time in Ghent. So we wandered around the old city center and across the canals. It was bliss!

Ghent Castle

Our last night of the trip, our professors arranged a guided Beer Tour for us. We walked to four different pubs and tried out a few Belgian brews. The whole class, including the professor, were pretty tipsy by the end. Turns out the Belgians like to make beers that are 10.5% alc. Good stuff.

Zoey on the beer tour

All in all, it was an interesting time. In between all this, Zoey and I managed to get lost in the Brussels red-light district, we relaxed in a sauna, I bought some comic books, tried mussels, and stuffed myself with fries and waffles? I paid homage to Brussels' Little Peeing Boy and his WHOLE COSTUME MUSEUM by designing him a few new outfits based on recommendations from my Instagram followers. Also, we climbed through a bunch of boxes in the name of art, at the Wein Modern Art Museum? Truly. It was a time. A time. I don't know if I have the words to describe this trip honestly. But I tried.