Day 5 – Brussels

Belgium is a small country, about the size of Maryland, but it has 2000 chocolate shops. My kind of place. It produces 172,000 TONS of chocolate annually, a lot of it is exported.

Our guide took us to our first stop, the Atomium. Originally designed for the 1958 World’s Fair, this giant stainless-steel monument replicates an iron crystal magnified 185 billion times. We didn’t go inside, but you can travel through its futuristic, interconnected spheres via sci-fi style escalators to find history exhibits and panoramic views of the city skyline, and a restaurant at the top.

Brussels is the main administrative and political center—often called the de facto capital—of the European Union, hosting the headquarters of its primary executive and legislative bodies. As we drove into the city center it was interesting to see modern skyscrapers juxtaposed with Flemish Renaissance facades.

We then headed on foot to the heart of Brussels, through Les Galeries Royales Saint-Hubert, one of Europe’s very first covered shopping arcades to the market square of the Grand Place. The arcade has a spectacular glass roof and is lined with prestigious boutiques, bookshops, and high-end Belgian chocolatiers.

At Grand Place there was a college graduation happening. Lots of smiles, some tears, many grads carrying gorgeous bouquets of flowers; it was a beautiful sight.

In the square were several of the afore mentioned chocolate shops. They were like Dunkin Donuts, one on every corner.

From there our guide took us to Manneken Pis: the famous, early 17th-century bronze fountain of a young boy urinating. It is called Brussels’ most lighthearted emblem. Our guide referred to it as the most underwhelming. The boy has a wardrobe of over 1,000 outfits that are swapped out according to a rotating schedule.  We found a copy of him in the front window of a store selling nothing but rubber ducks.

Claudia and John found a beer shop and loaded up the stateroom’s mini fridge with some of Belgium’s finest!

Back on board Steve and I were invited to the Viking Explorers Society cocktail party since we’d sailed Viking twice before. We had lovely Champagne and appetizers, and had a chance to chat with other guests and some of the crew. Captain Steven was there, or as Claudia called him, Captain McDreamy. He looks a lot like her husband! She obviously has a type…

Next up – Antwerp!

Deborah