LAST DAY OF BRUSSELS BELGIUM
Our last day in Brussels was 74 degrees, sunny and we spent it learning about the Parliament, EU and visiting a Fine Art Museum.
I never fully understood the EU system so it was great to find an information center that had many historical exhibits as well as hands on unique ways of conveying information in a format that grabs your attention. We happened to be there at the same time a group of high school age kids were visiting. Watching them interact with the technology and engage in the learning was fun. You were able to move through at your own pace with a combination of reading, watching, listening and the participating. A lot of visual inclusion was used in the mock Parliament room that it made you feel much closer to the system and how it is run. There was a room with large mobile cylinders with screens on them that you move over parts of the EU and it would display current legislation in that area that they are currently facing. Lighted globes display current statistics for different parts of the world – such as how much the EU contributes in aid to certain areas of the world. The last room was staged with many types of relaxed seating arrangements and screens for you to browse through individual stories of people and how current legislation affects them or how they participated in it. Seeing the extent that the EU is involved in areas such as health, medicine, security, shared information and global warming was a real education. The Parliamentarian is a ultra modern, interactive and well-staffed environment for learning about the European Union. We both enjoyed it and walked away with a much better understanding of the EU system.
Our next stop was a fine art museum, Royal Museum of Fine Arts of Belgium. Well stocked with Ruben’s and Van Dykes we wandered and enjoyed all the pieces while listening to audio commentary. My education on fine art is definitely improving and so is my enjoyment of it.
When we arrived in Brussels we did not have much of a plan but we are leaving feeling like we saw a fair amount of the city. We even tried the Belgium waffles that people rave about for good reason, they were delicious beyond our expectations.
We were happy to see that the recent terror attack had not destroyed their tourism. Our one guide informed us that they did suffer from reduced tourist activity shortly after the attack but he felt that it is becoming back too normal. We actually saw more Americans there than most other places. We even ran into someone from Portland Oregon.
Brussels Belgium is a wonderful city of history and a center of politics. Home to the European Union and Nato headquarters it is a city well worth visiting. Beth
