People seem to be weirdly mean about Brussels. I’m not entirely sure why. It might not be as pretty as Bruges or Ghent, but there’s actually a hell of a lot to see and do, and it definitely has its own thing going on.

I arrived by train from Ghent early on Thursday morning and dutifully went straight to see Manneken Pis, the strange little symbol of the city. It’s a statue of a boy pissing. A small statue of a small boy pissing.

That’s it.

The streets around it are arguably more interesting, with a heap of impressive murals featuring Tintin, a huge Manneken Pis and various other comic characters. The giant Smurf on the roof near the train station was particularly cool.

From there, I wandered through the streets to the Grand-Place, which I loved. The buildings around the square are spectacular, their ornate facades all slightly different from one another.

I continued through part of the cultural district – although I didn’t actually go into any museums or galleries – and eventually made my way towards the Palace of Justice. Beside it was a Ferris wheel and I thought I may as well go on and get a different, continuously moving view of the city. 

Unfortunately, as I approached the ticket booth, the attendant was already telling me no. Apparently single riders – single, alone riders – were no longer allowed because there had been two separate suicides from the wheel the previous year.

So, no Ferris wheel for Dan.

Strangely, my ex also hated Ferris wheels, so it had already been a while since I’d been on one.

Denied, I continued on to a camping store and stocked up on freeze-dried meals for my upcoming hike in Iceland. They were cheaper in Belgium than they would be in Iceland, so this became one of the more practical stops of the day. It was around this time that I learned there was going to be a solar eclipse happening the next week and Iceland was in prime position for it. That later explained the even greater number of tourists in Reykjavik. 

I then headed to the Royal Palace, where I was lucky enough to get a ticket during the roughly six weeks each year that it opens to the public. The Hall of Mirrors was interesting, although nowhere near as mirror-y as Versailles. Its ceiling is covered in green scarab beetle wings, which certainly makes it memorable.

After the palace, I got fish and chips, which were actually delicious, then went to the city government building to visit the observation deck on the top floor. While I was up there, the evacuation alarm went off and everyone started leaving. Then other people said it was only a drill.

The staff themselves weren’t going anywhere, so I checked with one of them, confirmed that nobody was about to die, and stayed a bit longer. Excellent views over the city from up there. And it was free.

I debated whether to bother going out to the Atomium, the giant atom-shaped structure built for the 1958 World’s Fair. It was a bit of a trek from the centre and I wasn’t convinced it would be worth the effort, but with nothing better to do, I started walking towards it and eventually caught a bus when my feet began protesting.

The Atomium wasn’t cheap – about €17 – but by that point I’d made it all the way there, so figured I might as well make the most of it.

There was a long queue for the lift to the very top, so I first explored some of the other spheres, where they’d installed a series of light and sound displays. These were actually pretty cool and, to be honest, more interesting than the top of the structure itself.

Once you finally get up there, you take your photos, admire the view and can buy a drink or something to eat, although everything is fairly pricey. 

Experience experienced.

At the bottom I happened to run into my friend Facu, who’s from Hobart and, completely coincidentally, was also at the Atomium. We walked back through the park towards the train station before going our separate ways.

I headed back to Ghent for my final night in Belgium and treated myself to a nice meal at Mortier Gent. The next day, I caught the train to Brussels Airport before flying to Iceland.

Brussels had turned out to be much more interesting than its reputation suggested. Highly recommend.