The Monkey isn't sure what to make of a city whose best known symbols are a giant molecule and a urinating child. Just about every visitor to Belgium seeks out Manneken Pis, the rather irreverent little fellow that's been peeing on a central Brussels street corner since the 17th Century. The Monkey feels that one of the more bizarre jobs in Belgium must be that of the person responsible for sorting through the cherub's extensive warddrobe of donated clothes and then dressing him on a daily basis. In this shot he's decked out in flashy designer threads.
The Monkey dealt with some overcast weather in Brussels better than his photographer did. Here, the Monkey rests in the Grand-Place, the plaza at heart of old Brussels. Behind him, the mammoth and beautiful building is the City Hall (Hotel de Ville in French and Stadhuis in Dutch). Construction on the building began in 1402. The size of the building and its 92 meter tower sought to emphasize the prestige of Brussels at a time when it vied with other cities, particularly Leuven, for primacy. To this day the building serves as the Brussels Mayor's office.
The Monkey cowers at the sight of Brussels' imposing Palace of Justice. Sitting atop a hill, the Palace comes into view from points all over the city. Still serving as Belgium's Supreme Court, some sources claim that it was the largest building constructed in the 19th Century! For those wondering, this photo is just a side view of the Palace; even a wide angle lens wouldn't fit the front facade in at any sort of close range.
Brussels is the headquarters of two well-known international organizations, the European Union (EU) and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).
The EU was created at Maastricht in the Netherlands in 1992 (click here to read more about the Maastricht Accord and the Monkey's visit there). Though the EU has offices and institutions throughout its member states, many of its primary organs are clustered in Brussels. The foremost of these are the European Commission (the EU's executive arm) and the Council of Ministers (the leaders of the member states, who hold the six month rotating presidency of the Council). Also headquartered in Brussels is the Economic and Social Committee, an advisory body entrusted with ensuring access to EU institutions for consumers, farmers, trade groups, labor movements, and the like. The civilian-elected European Parliament, while seated at Strasbourg, France, holds its committee meetings in Brussels. Brussels is thus often considered the "capital" of Europe.
With all these EU bodies in Brussels you would think the Monkey would have had time to get a photo by one or some of them, but the truth is that his visit there was very short. As the EU only continues to grow in importance, the Monkey will undoubtedly return to Brussels on a diplomatic mission at some point and take some pictures then.
NATO was founded in 1949 to provide collective defense to members against the threat of a Soviet attack. NATO's formation fomented the creation of its Eastern European counterbalance, the Warsaw Pact (1955). With destruction by nuclear arms mutually assured, members of both organizations avoided open confrontation, channeling resources into proxy wars around the globe. NATO's 19 current members are Belgium, Canada, the Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Turkey, the United Kingdom, and last but definitely not least, the United States.
Despite the end of the Cold War nearly 15 years ago, this arcane organization creeps along trying to find a use for itself, often duplicating the work of more transparent and democratic bodies like the EU and the UN. Like the obsolete Warsaw Pact, NATO's days may be numbered. As the EU expands, it is beginning to reconsider its defense policy vis-a-vis NATO, and the United States has shown its willingness (perhaps even preference) to avoid multilateral commitments, at the UN and even with NATO, where it has always had significant weight.
NATO's redundancy and lack of purpose is highlighted by the fact that a number of former Warsaw Pact states—the enemies that necessitated NATO's existence—are already in the organization, and more are set to join its ranks. The Monkey suspects these Eastern European countries are lining up to join because, after witnessing NATO's attacks in the former Yugoslavia, the best defense against being bombed by NATO is to be part of NATO.
Though he passed the facility, the Monkey had no interest in getting a photo taken at the NATO HQ in Brussels; he has seen enough of NATO's handiwork in Serbia.
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