Hotel Opera

Today was my last day in Brussels, and it was low-key and fun. I started by taking the Metro to the outskirts of town, where the Atomium is located. The Atomium was created for the 1958 World's Fair, and naturally has quite a bit of tacky retro-futuristic charm. Its scale is also pretty overpowering when one gets up close

I went inside and viewed the city and its surroundings from the top "ball" (the building is meant to look like an atom, naturally, and consists of several metallic balls connected by tubes). Afterwards, I went through the exhibitions in the other "balls" (they involved the 1958 Fair and the issue of immigration in Belgium).

Next, I went to the nearby Mini-Europe, which contained miniature versions of various cities, towns, and monuments around the continent. It was like a low-rent Epcot Center. Although, it must be said, Mini-Europe was a bit more ambitious in its choice of locations; there were obvious sites like the Eiffel Tower, but the park also made space for places like Notre Dame du Haut (the church built by modernist architect Le Corbusier).

I headed back to the city center at around noon. I took a late lunch, then hung out around Grand Place, where they were holding a jazz marathon. I also walked around the central area and made sure to sample chocolates from some of the local shops.

Later, I headed to Museum Square, where I saw the relatively new Magritte museum (before this trip, I did not realize that Magritte was a Belgian painter). The museum was interesting, but unexpectedly sad; the audioguides made it clear that Magritte abandoned his trademark style by World War II, but his new styles flopped, so he ended up having to repeat himself (and sometimes directly imitate earlier works) when he had no interest or enthusiasm.

Finally, I headed back to the central part of town for dinner, more chocolates, and a bit of drinking.

Today was the first day in which I didn't take an extensive early evening nap. I got tired after the museum, but drank an espresso and powered through. I think this is a very good sign.

A few observations:

• I found Brussels a tad difficult to navigate at first, because the streets would change their names every few blocks, and, even when the street names were consistent, there were two different names (French and Dutch) for the street.
• Compared with my last trip, people seemed to engage me more (i.e., when I would ask for a photo, they were more likely to start up a conversation). I don't know whether I was more open and engaging, or whether Belgians tend to be more outwardly "friendly" than Spaniards, but it was nice chatting with some of the locals.

Tomorrow morning, I leave for Bruges. I have done most of my packing (and seem to have cleared up some space in my bag), so I should be able to get out quickly. I do want to get into town at the earliest possible time, since the museums will be closed on Monday and I will have to do all of my museum-ing on Sunday. I have heard great things about Bruges and have high hopes!