city weekend in Brussels

On my way home from Liberia, in the middle of April, I stopped by Brussels to visit my friend Marita, who was interning at the EU this spring. It made for a nice weekend in this capital of the European Union – in a sense the first of spring, with tiny pink flowers in the trees.Marita’s street in Ixelles. The EU quarters, rain. Marita and I met a group of German interns at the Thursday after work at Place Luxemourg, and after a couple of beers we tagged along with them to the ‘best fries in Brussels’. I had no idea before this, but apparently, fries is the shit in Belgium. You can buy them everywhere, in a cone, with mayo on top. But hey, I’m not complaining. I’m all for the fatty and salty. Grand Place and the tourists.  The touristy street in Brussels, just off Grand Place. Outside this impressive cathedral, we asked a Russian guy to take a photo of us. He, in turn, asked if he could use his fish-eye lens. Well, he didn’t seem to know how to get the focus right, but the result was pretty cool anyway. Me, eating the traditional Belgian waffle. Good, really good, but it does not beat our Swedish ones. In my humble opinion.  The Royal Palace. Brussels (kind of) from above. To the left, you have the Royal Library. Not that impressive, in my opinion. Straight in front, the cathedral. Slightly to the right, behind the houses, lies Grand Place. Behind, you have the Royal Art Museum. So, yeah, this is pretty much in the middle of everything. Funny-looking house front, right? Gives a completely new meaning to green architecture. The view from the main entrance to the Swedish representation to the EU. Apparently, this park isn’t all that safe, at least at night. And I think I witnessed some dealing there, while sitting on a bench waiting for Marita. Odd. Still, it was a nice little park when the sun was shining.Me, eating something else traditionally Belgian: moule frites – that is, mussels with fries. Delicious – but then again, I love most things that are soaked in garlic.