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Our introduction to Brussels was stumbling
across the famous Mannekin Pis. We've all seen statues of a little boy
taking a leak. Appearently, there is more art and culture there than
meets the eye... they are all paying homage to this historical icon of
Brussels. There has been a statue of this type in this location since
the Middle Ages. In the 19th century, the French donated an outfit to
clothe the little boy, and it has become a tradition for visiting
nobility to bring an outfit for the Mannekin Pis. He now has hundreds
of outfits, and is sometimes clothed in them.
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Lesser known is the female version of the
statue, which is lower to the ground and thus must be protected from
vandals. She hides in a back alley a few blocks away from her famous
brother.
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We then happened into the Grand Place, the
"town square" of Brussels. The area was razed in the late 17th century,
and was rebuilt in 1695. Every building was created with ornate
sculptures, gold inlays, and detailed gargoyles. This building is
covered in saints... the first three floors have a different image of a
guy (presumably a saint) every few feet.
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The images make you wonder what stories are
behind them. Especially the three guys with demons underfoot.
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Gargoyles with human and animal heads guard
the building.
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The other buildings have plenty of artwork on
them, too.
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There are many references to the history
of the area. This phoenix is symbolic of the resurrection of the
area after the war.
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Swordsmen, spearmen, heralds and archers top
the spires of this building.
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There was a stage set up in front of the
building that night. Asking around a bit, we ascertained that there was
a free concert there that night. A sign in front attested to the fact
that it was a "no war" concert.
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The sight of multicolored concert lights
flashing on the statues and glinting off of the gold inlays was truly
unbelievable. The music was pretty good, too.
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To make a good thing even better, the ground
floor of many of the buildings are now pubs, with outdoor beer gardens.
We sat around, drank Belgian beer, and watched the show well into the
night. This beer comes with a very interesting glass that I can only
presume is some sort of Belgian sobriety indicator.
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By the next day, I'd been away from home and
work for about a week, and was starting to suffer from animal
deprivation. Eric caught a picture of me petting the dog statue.
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We went out for seafood on Sunday. The calamari was good,
though a bit rubbery.
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This calamari really hit the spot!
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