O' Brave New World That Hath Such People In't

Greetings from the capital of the European Union and NATO, the bilingual Belgian capital Brussels. And what a strange place this is. It's not very pretty and very gray. The EU buildings are some of the most hideous I've seen in a long time. There's graffiti. All the road signs are in two different languages, and roads here are only slightly less sporadic than in London. But people like it here. The locals think it's the greatest city. One guy had lived in London, Paris, Sierra Leone, and Vancouver, and decided that he wanted to make Brussels his home because he liked it best. I'm starting to fear staying here too long and decide to stay (which, honestly, I don't see happening).

The hostel owner was amazed that I was staying for six nights (most people stay one or two). She wondered what I was going to do for six days. I'm starting to wonder that too.

When I was planning this trip, I considered how long I wanted to stay in each place to get the feel of what I'm looking for, but I forgot to take into account weekends and holidays, which might prove a problem, especially here in Brussels. See, the European Commission Library, which is mostly what I'm here for, obviously isn't open on the weekends, and the meetings I lined up both fall on week days. So six days quickly turns into four. So I had a few weekend days to kill the first few days doing the tourist thing. That was over quickly. I've already seen most of the tourist attractions - aside from the giant atom-shaped building that lies outside the city center that was a world's fair attraction. Those are always odd.

Now, I know what you're all wondering: But Kevin, your project is about football, why did you go to Belgium? There are no big soccer stories there. That might be true, but there are politics (or more percisely, endless bureaucracy) that I was hoping to tap into. And I mean, its the center of Europe, so I thought it would be an interesting atmosphere. I'm starting to find that I'm wrong.

Wikipedia says that soccer is Belgium's favorite sport. I don't know if I quite believe that. I watched the Belgian team get destroyed by Italy the first night I was here. I went to find the most Belgian bar I could in hopes of seeing what the Belgians thought of their team. There aren't Belgian sports bars (sports would get in the way of the massive alcohol consumption, I think). Instead I settled for a quaint Irish pub that was showing the game, but there were still Belgians there watching the game, so I thought they might have interesting opinions. Thats when I learned the horrible truth: There are no Belgian fans. People (including the Belians) cheered all three times Italy scored, but when Belgium put in a beautiful goal in the last minute, the room was silent. At first I thought it might be because they weren't watching. I mean, Belgium was down three and it was the last minute, but all the Belgians were glued to the TV. They just don't like their own team.

So Brussels doesn't like football, I suppose that's okay. So what is Belgium known for? Waffles. Check, I got one the other day as I was wandering around the city. It was delicious, covered in strawberries and whipped cream. I don't think another waffle will ever measure up. I would eat them everyday if they weren't four Euros. Instead I've been cooking and eating pasta and ham and cheese sandwiches. I know, so cultural.

You know what else the Belgians are known for, which I forgot about until I got here. The Smurfs! Everybody's favorite tiny blue community originated from this odd little country, which is somewhat fitting. I think the two do a lot as far as explaining each other. Their other national symbol is a statue of a little boy peeing. It's all over their websites and brouchures, and I almost missed it when I went to find it. It's about 1 foot tall, and hidden in the corner of the winding streets. I wasn't too impressed. Then again, I haven't been impressed by much in Brussels. Except the waffles.

And the beer. Not the beer itself, just the sheer volume of it. They're known for beer. There's a bar that has more than 2600 beers. 2600 beers. If you went every night and drank five a night, that would take you almost two years to try all of them, and I doubt you would remember most of them. It's in the Guinness Book of World Records.

When I first got here I didn't like it, obviously, but it's starting to grow on me - mainly due to its eccentricities. I'm not saying I like it here, but its interesting.

When I walked out of my hostel yesterday morning I was swept up in a wave of preparation for the city's major parade. Why would they be parading, one might ask. The answer is simple: water. It was a parade in celebration of water. What a wonderful thing that you don't have to really have a reason to block off several of the city's major thoroughfares, only a fairly common chemical substance. The parade was really cool though.

Its been a while since I posted, and that's not really due to me doing a whole lot, it is more evident of the lack of internet access I've had. But here I sit at McDonald's in the heart of Belgium, where I can always count on free wireless internet access and if I'm lucky, a power outlet.

I can't complain about the hostel though. It's clean and nice, and has multiple showers. And, despite sleeping in a room with 13 other people, I've had a relatively easy time sleeping.

Brussels is having a Smurf celebration event the day that I leave. I'm kind of sad I'll miss it, though I don't think I'll be sad to move on to another city.