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Happy to be going to a different location this weekend, I sat in front of my computer and googled “Things to Do In Brussels”. The usual stuff was displayed on my screen.
The Grand Place…no trip is complete without wandering around the main square and I knew at some point during this trip, I would probably end up there.
Day trips to Bruges…my god, how I wish I had the time!!!
Mannekin Pis…seriously…how many times can I watch him pee?
The Atomium…now, here is something I haven’t done.
Located in the northern part of the city between the royal estates of Laeken and Stuyvenbergh, the Atomium is a structure originally built for the Expo 58, the 1958 Brussels World’s Fair. An unusual fabrication, it forms the shape of a unit cell of an iron crystal magnified 165 billion times! Now a famous landmark and museum, it has become the most popular tourist attraction and the symbol of Europe’s capital city.
Though the trip to the northern part of the city is normally an uncomplicated one, we soon discovered that work was being done on the train lines. After riding the metro back and forth between two stations and pairing up with three Swedish women, we all found that we had to exit that station and take a specially marked bus to the Atomium.
A short walk later, we found ourselves staring up at the amazing, shiny structure that appears to have been deposited by aliens! Something truly out of this world!
Making our way to the base of the Atomium, we found our way to a long, snaking line in order to purchase tickets. 12 euros later, we again found ourselves in another line to enter to building, having to pass thru metal detectors and endure bag searches.
Finally…another line…but this time to make our way up to the permanent exhibition on the second floor.
The permanent exhibition details how the Atomium came to be, from the conception and designs of engineer André Waterkeyn and architects André and Jean Polak. Standing 335 feet tall, its nine, 60 foot diameter stainless steel clad connected spheres represent the faith one had in the power of science and nuclear power. The 1958 World’s Fair was organized, at the time, to promote the world’s technological and scientific advances, to look to a better future and to encourage world peace. There are many sketches and displays detailing the beginnings of this immense engineering project as well as many old pictures, some detailing the visits of the six million visitors to the fair, including the likes of celebrities such as Elizabeth Taylor.
Though some of the information was interesting, the area appeared to be straight out the 1950’s and cartoon, the Jetson’s…very much in need of an update!
From the Atomium map, it seemed that we should have been able to traverse the tubes to other exhibitions throughout the structure, however, we were sent back to the bottom floor after our tour of the permanent exhibition. Corralled into another area, we found ourselves in line…once again…this time to take the elevator to the top, viewing level.
Finally, arriving at the top sphere, we were rewarded with 360 degree views of the surrounding area and the city of Brussels. With bright, blue, sunny skies it was easy to see areas far away as well as the royal estates nearby and Mini-Europe almost directly beneath.
After making our way around the top of the Atomium, we ascended the stairs to the restaurant at the top of the orb, where we once again encountered our Swedish friends. Though the restaurant Belgium Taste, has a full menu, having a drink to appreciate the beautiful views through the full-length windows appears to be the norm later in the afternoon.
Once again, standing in line for the elevator, we made our way to the base of the Atomium, through the gift shop and out of the building. Heading down the avenue, we walked far enough to reach the roundabout where a vast amount of tulips were planted for some colorful pictures and then further down to a fountain, passing monuments and parks along the way.
Finding ourselves further from the bus drop off and remembering the disruption on the subway lines, we decided to make our way home via tram. Taking a tram from Centenaire, we traveled to De Wand where we encountered amazing grafitti throughout the area. Taking a few minutes, we snapped a few photos before our tram arrived. Departing De Wand, we were able to travel all the way to the Bourse near the Grand Place.
See…I told you I would end up in the Grand Place at some point.
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The Atomium
- Address: Avenue de l’Atomium, 1020 Bruxelles, Belgium
- Hours: Daily, 1000-1800 (box office closes at 1730)
- Admission: Adults (18-59 years), €12, Children (under 6), coach drivers, people with disabilities, free, Children (6 – 11 yrs), €6, Teens (12 – 17 yrs), €8, Students (with student ID), €8, Senior citizens (aged 60 yo and above): €9
- Combination tickets may be purchased with ADAM (Art and Design Museum) and the adjacent Mini Europe.
- Getting There: The Atomium is a 5 minute walk from the Heysel / Heizel metro station (line 6) and right opposite Mini-Europe. You can also depart Bourse station near the Grand place and switch at De Wand station to Centenaire (Line 19 or 23) for a more colorful journey or in the event of subway disruption.
A long way from the Pope’s Italian abode, the Dublin Castle, originally built in the 13th century, on a site previously settled by Vikings, has served many functions…military fortress, prison, treasury, courts of law and the seat of English Administration in Ireland for 700 years.
In 1938, it was decided that the inauguration of the first President of Ireland, Douglas Hyde would take place in the castle. Since this time, the complex has hosted this ceremony ever since as well as official State visits, State dinners, informal foreign affairs engagements, state banquets and government policy launches. The castle also acts as the central base for Ireland’s hosting of the European Presidency approximately every ten years.
My next destination was the State Portrait Gallery and the State Dining Room. The room, filled with a collection of portraits of Irish Viceroys gracing the walls since 1849, has acted as the area where State dinners were held and continue to be held today. The dining table is set with Waterford crystal and the Irish State dinner service, featuring the national emblem, the gold harp, so that tourists can get an idea of what a dignitaries might enjoy.
Built in the last century by architect Ricardo de Jaxa Malachowski, it stands on the site of an older church, San Miguel de Miraflores. Though the beauty of its grand colonial exterior clearly outshines the interior, the interesting stained glass detailing the scenes of life and miracles of Jesus and the image of the Miraculous Virgin, from which its name is derived, on the altar are worth stopping in to pay a visit.
As the tour guide assembled our group at the entrance, we all stared up at the great adobe and clay monolith to our left. A massive structure, it is truly amazing that it has not succumbed to the development of the city which surrounds it on all sides.
Guided around the plaza that surrounds the pyramid, we were briefed on the history of the pyramid and the Lima people who resided in this area and gazed upon the displays designed to give tourists a representation of life when the pyramid was built. Separated by a large structured wall dividing it into two separate sections, one side was an area of offering and for religious ceremonies and another served as an administrative area.
Our guide enlightened us with much information detailing the changes that Huaca Pucllana endured around the year 700. By the year, 800, the highest parts of the site became an elite cemetery of the Wari culture. Many tombs and burial bundles have been unearthed on this apogee, the most recent being in 2010, when the remains of an affluent woman were discovered along with four children, who were believed to be sacrificed to accompany her to the after-world. Open tombs can be inspected which contain various elements such as clothing, household items and ritual objects.
Finally, we made our way down the pyramid and back to our entry point, which was also our exit.
Entering through the main Famedio, a Neo Medieval style memorial chapel made of marble and stone, I first stopped to gaze upon the beautiful blue ceiling and the tomb of novelist, Alessandro Manzoni before making my way through each of the hallways. I particularly loved walking along the outer edges of the open-aired corridors so that I could admire the building’s architecture, the courtyard and the ornate tombs that line the area.
Before making my way into the cemetery’s immaculately groomed grounds, I then walked the full length of the building’s lower level, exiting at the center, where I could examine the map and the locations of the cemetery’s famous occupants. In this area is also a structure comprised of metal tubes and black and white stones centered with a small clay bowl placed inside the main formation. Surrounded by memorial plaques, I was informed by a fellow bystander that it is a monument to the 800 Italians who perished in Nazi concentration camps and the bowl was filled with soil from the Mauthausen concentration camp.
Wandering the grounds, through the avenues of trees, should be reserved for an unhurried pace as to absorb entire beauty of the surroundings and that’s just what I did. It was impossible not to want to stop and inspect each monument, so detailed and individualized were they. Many of the tombs and funerary monuments are of such an extravagant size, it is almost as through you are walking through a neighborhood of homes.
Opened in 1952, the park is named for George Maduro, a Jewish law student from Curaçao. After fighting the Nazi occupations forces as a member of the Dutch resistance, he died at Dachau concentration camp and was the only person of Antillean descent to be awarded the Knight 4th-class of the Military Order of William. After World War II, his parents donated the necessary capital to build the park in honor of their only son and a replica of his birthplace in Curaçao was added to the park in his honor.
Having traveled throughout the Netherlands, I have seen much of its beauty and many of its municipalities. As I moved to the rear of the property with reproductions of many of the Netherlands’ cities, I developed a game to check out each city exhibit before reading the accompanying signs and identify it by its buildings and landmarks. As an avid photographer, I especially enjoyed positioning my camera to get the best shots of these tiny cities…with the results, in some cases, you have no idea that you are looking at a photo of a model, so detailed are the displays.
Another attraction, explains the beginning of the Netherlands in 1572. Hof van Nederland (Dutch Court) is located at the rear of the property and unlike the small-scale displays, is life sized. The best part of the entire park, however, is that the entirety of the net proceeds from the park go towards various charities in the Netherlands!
Paying our entrance fees, we began the arduous climb (over 300 steps) to the top of the Dome. Though I had to stop a few times and my legs were quite shaky, we reached the top and Oh! What a view!
