Weekend: Brussels

When I learned Le Tapis de Fleurs (tapestry of flowers) was on this year in Brussels I knew we had to go. It only happens every two years and combines two things I love so much — flowers and the Grand Place. I lived in Brussels as a missionary for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints 2001-2002 and fell in love with the Grand Place then. It’s one of the most beautiful city squares in all of Europe and I’ve been back four times now. I met my husband, Matt, when I lived in Brussels, too. It feels like it’s my place forever now.

I really wanted to share it with my kids so I planned a quick weekend trip. I was certain our family car would arrive from the port in time, but it sadly did not. There are six of us, and we only have our 5-seater little Prius at the moment. My oldest son has a full-time job already here so I just figured he’d have to miss it but he came home one day and said, “I figure you and dad have already been and will be here for a while so I should go and dad should stay.” 😆 He’s not wrong, but I was sad to leave Matt behind. I did not want to leave anyone behind!

Driving in Brussels is crazy, like any big city, so we drove to Waterloo and stayed there. The first night we ate real Belge Frites (fries) which are truly the best in the world—double fried, fluffy, just the right size + you eat them with a tiny fork. The story goes that American soldiers during WWII named them French Fries because the Belges speak French. I also ordered Pêche au Thon so the kids could try it. This is Belge through and through —peach halves filled with a scoop of tuna mixed with mayo, hard boiled eggs, and sweet corn. They were hesitant with this one but really liked it.

I love Waterloo because it feels like an easy, safe, neighborhood to stay in and is easy to get into Brussels (just 30 minutes) and avoid the stress of driving there. Saturday morning I parked for free by the train station and we went from Waterloo to Brussels-Centraal station. The kids loved that we were immediately greeted by the Smurfs (a familiar Belgian export).

It was a quick 4 minute walk to the Grand Place. We were there early so there were street sweepers and a lot of clean up from the partying that happened the night before. It reminds me of how the streets of New Orleans smell on a weekend morning — alcohol and vomit, urine, hot garbage…not lovely and the kids were not impressed. 🤢

But as soon as we walked onto the Place, all eyes were up and in awe. I love the history of this place from its first central market days in the 11th century, to the guild halls of the cities merchants and tradesmen by the 14th century, to it’s bombardment by the French, to Victor Hugo living in exile here, to it being a parking lot. It’s been the central place for Brussels from the very beginning.

Back when it was a parking lot in the middle of town. It was a parking lot of and on until 1971.

It is one of the must-see places if you’re traveling through Europe. While Brussels does have a lot to do and see, I feel like a couple hours in the city are plenty to see the Grand Place, eat a real gaufre (waffle), and move on. There are lots of museums and amazing food, too, but my favorite thing of all is just the Grand Place.

Back to the Tapis! This event is a big draw, and the crowds definitely thickened as it got closer to noon, but most people are just there to take a few pictures and then are off to see other things so it didn’t feel too crowded. The first Tapis on the Grand Place happened in 1971. Every two years a new Tapis is created based on a theme. This year marks 50 years since the tradition began so the Tapis was designed as a replica of the first one with the symbol of the Duke of Brabant as well as St. Michael slaying the dragon. It is made of over 1620m squared of begonias, dahlias, grasses and bark, and took 280 hours to reconstruct from the original pattern.

You can just walk onto the Place and see it for free, or you can pay to view it from the second level of the Town Hall. You can also walk into one of the cafés surrounding the Place, buy a gaufre and ask politely if they would let you view it from their second story — some places are really nice about this. There are also some stairways leading into the original bread, cloth, and meat market building on the north side of the Place that you can get an elevated view from.

And this is what taking pictures with kids is like 😆…nailed it.

From Le Tapis de Fleur website, an aerial view showing the entire work. Notice St. Michael at both ends slaying the dragon and the Brabant Lion.

We walked all the way around, my kids taking in all the sites (and smells). The sun was just starting to get really hot which brings out the best in all of us, right? So, I quickly led them to the side street with a memorial for Everard t'Serclaes. He was a citizen of Brussels famous for saving the city from the Flemish in the 1300s. The memorial is from the 1800s and the locals say that it brings luck to anyone who touches it, specifically his hand. If you touch the small frog below, it is said that you will one day return to Brussels. So far that has proven very true for me!

Do you see the frog?

We kept walking along this street to go to see the Manneken Pis (Little Pissing Man), a very famous and beloved Brussels landmark. This statue has so many legends surrounding it from memorializing a boy who put out a city fire by peeing, or a boy who peed on the invading French soldiers, but really it’s just the perfect example of “belgitude” (as the French call it), or belgianness. The fountain is recorded as being there as early as the 1400s and originally set up as a fountain for the city to come and collect water from.

View of the Fountain of Manneken Pis, etching by Jacobus Harrewijn from Les délices des Pays-Bas, 1697

Today, the original fountain is in the city museum on the Place because it had been stolen so many times. A replica stands in it’s place and the city even puts costumes on it throughout the year. I was actually surprised to see it all natural, without a costume on, this time. The kids laughed and won’t forget it, I’m sure.

As we walked back towards the place we stopped in a gaufre (waffle) shop. I think because this is such a tourist destination the waffles you’ll see are available with every topping you can imagine. Cream, berries, Nutella, caramel, Biscoff, etc. But the real way to eat them is just plain. The real Belgian waffles are a butter-heavy yeast dough with sugar pearls that melt and caramelize when cooked. They taste incredible and I haven’t been able to replicate them yet with recipes at home all these years. The kids LOVED them.

We walked back to the Place and sat at the door of Victor Hugo’s house to eat them. He was here in exile from France for a year and called the neighboring cathedral a “miracle” and described the city hall with it’s tower “a dazzling fantasy dreamed up by a poet, and realized by an architect.”

I had to stop at the Galler chocolate shop on the Place to pick up some of Matt’s favorites. Belgium is famous for its chocolate which heavily favors praline and a lot a lot of butter. You’ll see all kinds of chocolate shops everywhere, but Galler is definitely our favorite for taste and flavor combinations.

My kids were excited to see the TinTin boutique that is just off the Place too. Smurfs and TinTin are two beloved cartoons created from Belgian artists, my kids are especially enamored with TinTin and his little dog Milou (Little Snowy in English).

We walked the Galeries Royales Saint-Hubert —beautiful shopping arcade built in 1847 — and then made our way to see the Jeanneke Pis (Little Pissing Joan). My kids didn’t believe me when I said there was a girl fountain, so I had to show them. This one was placed in 1987…Matt calls it equal pee rights. The kids faces explain it all.

Their faces say it all!

Our last stop in Brussels was the cathedral of St. Michael and St. Gudula, the one that Victor Hugo called a “miracle.” Honestly the outside isn’t overly impressive or a stand out from other European cathedrals, but the inside feels special. The center is lined with large statues of the twelve apostles and dates from the 1700s. They are replicas of original statues that had been destroyed by iconoclasts in 1566. I loved seeing the Baroque era pulpit, too. It depicts Adam and Even being driven from the garden after eating the forbidden fruit with skeleton symbolizing death brought into the world. At the top, Mary and the Christ Child are show piercing the serpent symbolizing redemption.

Nola especially loved the stars in the ceiling here.

After visiting the cathedral we walked the few minutes back to the train station to head back to Waterloo. We only spent about 2 1/2 hours in Brussels and it was just right. I would have loved to have taken the kids to the Jette area where I lived, near the Basilique, but it isn’t as safe as it was back then. I don’t know that it was that safe when I was there!

Honestly, it was incredible to be back to Brussels and to get to share it with my children. So much of who I am took shape there and I am forever grateful.