Eat, Sleep, Breathe, Travel

A couple bright spots in cold Europe

Not sure if you’ve seen the news, but it’s been cold in Europe the past several days. Very cold. It’s actually really no laughing matter at all, as the brutal cold has caused a number of deaths and various other problems throughout the continent.

But I have come across two lighter items resulting from the otherwise bleak situation.

The Mannekin-Pis is having to hold in his pee. You may recall that the Mannekin-Pis in Brussels is one of my favorite statues in the world. Due to the extremely cold temperatures, they've had to turn off his stream to prevent freezing inside the statue's inner workings. Authorities say he will go back to peeing normally when the weather turns.

Farther east, in Ankara, Turkey, one guy is making the most of the unusual snowfall. Check out this video of him snowboarding through the city streets. It’s something you don’t see every day. (I don’t recommend trying this at home. Or in Turkey for that matter.)

Anyway, let's hope for a quick end to the cold snap. We all look forward to warm and sunny summer days in Europe.

Photo: kevsunblush via Flickr (CC)

A year to honor food in Brussels

I don’t often write about Brussels in this blog (except when I want to talk about my favorite statue the Mannekin-Pis), but it turns out that 2012 is the year of Brusselicious. The year-long event aims to show the world that the Belgian capital is a true gourmet destination.

It all kicked off a couple days ago, when more than 600 Belgian chefs threw their chef’s hats up in the air at the same time (setting a world record actually). From there, the year will feature all kinds of events, everything from food-related films to a gastronomy festival to a five-star restaurant suspended in the sky from a giant crane.

Even though the Brusselicious organizers specifically say the point of the event is to show that Belgium food culture is about more than just Belgian waffles, I would like to focus on Belgian waffles. Because they’re delicious, and because they’re classic, and because there are a number of EF College Break trips that stop for lunch in Brussels on the way between Paris and Amsterdam. If you have time for one lunch in Brussels, I say get a waffle.

I also want to talk about Belgian french fries. French fries stalls in Europe are amazing. You get a paper cone full of these delicious fries, along with the dipping sauce of your choice. I’ve had them in Brussels, I’ve had them in Amsterdam. As part of Brusselicious this year, you can do a “fritkots” walk, which is like a pub crawl for awesome french fries. You go from stall to stall, eating the different fries. I would love to do this.

Anyway, if you find yourself in Brussels in 2012, be aware of the Brusselicious unfolding all around you. And enjoy a waffle (with some fries for dessert).

Photo: soloakewlstick via Flickr (CC)

Mr. Penguin of Brussels

Brussels is a funny place. I’ve blogged in the past about Mannekin-Pis, which is one of my favorite statues in the world. Now I learn about this: a local 79-year-old man named Mr. Penguin.

The man who calls himself Mr. Penguin (actually Monsieur Pingouin) hurt his hip in a car accident in 1968. After the injury, he walked with a strange waddle-like limp, and his colleagues started calling him Mr. Penguin (I’m assuming this was all in good fun).

From that point, he became obsessed with penguins. He learned everything he could learn about them, collected every piece of penguin-related memorabilia he could find, and eventually opened a museum in his home displaying 3,500 items. These days he often can be found walking around his Brussels neighborhood wearing a penguin costume. Eventually he hopes to be laid to rest in cold Antarctic waters in a coffin decorated with penguins.

I think this guy is great, and it speaks to the fun personality of Brussels. One of my favorite things about travel is getting a feel for each city's personality—every one is different—and I like Brussels’s personality. Mannekin-Pis, Mr. Penguin, Belgian waffles. If Brussels were a person, I’d want to hang out with him.

By the way, Mr. Penguin’s fame actually goes beyond Brussels. He has appeared on many TV shows over the years, and he was an honored guest at the Amsterdam premiere of Batman Returns back in 1992.

Photo: Tim.Schultemaker via Flickr (CC)

World's best ceiling art

I like ceilings. They keep the rain from falling on my head.

Some ceilings I like even more than normal. Some ceilings are more than just the top of the room. For centuries, people considered ceilings to be symbols of the heavens, and many ceilings around the world have been transformed into amazing works of art. In my travels, I have seen a number of them, so I was interested in looking through this gallery of the world’s coolest ceilings.

Judging from the photos, I’d have to say I’d most like to see Kyoto’s Dharma Hall in person. It’s a cool spooky painting of clouds and twin dragons rampaging across the ceiling. I also wouldn’t mind setting my eyes on the emerald green ceiling in the Mirror Room of the Royal Palace in Brussels. Apparently the green color comes from the shells of more than a million Thai jewel beetles embedded into the ceiling. That’s a lot of jewel beetles.

Note that the list doesn’t include the Sistine Chapel ceiling (too mainstream, I guess). I think that’s a mistake; the Sistine ceiling is as impressive as its reputation suggests. A bit crowded, I suppose, but that's the price you pay for being one of the world's true artistic masterpieces. 

For those of you going on EF College Break tours, you could find yourself under many of the ceilings in the gallery, including Ambassador’s Hall in Seville, Spain; the Church of St. Ignazio in Rome; and the Dharma Hall one in Kyoto. Wherever you go, I strongly recommend looking up whenever you walk into an old building, museum or church. You never know what you may see up there.

Photo: Ramon Stoppelenburg via Flickr (CC)

Cosmonaut suit for the Mannekin-Pis in Brussels

I’m about a week late on this, but it brought a big smile to my face so I’m going to tell you about it. Last week was the 50th anniversary of cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin’s historic space flight (first human in space). To honor this profound moment in history, the folks in Brussels have put a cosmonaut suit on the Manneken-Pis.

If you don’t know about the Manneken-Pis, it’s a popular attraction in Brussels, Belgium. It’s a statue of a peeing boy. I actually blogged about the Manneken-Pis just a few months ago; little did I know he’d be highlighted in the news so soon.

As I said last time, the Manneken-Pis is often dressed up in costumes, so this is nothing new. From holidays to world events to pop culture moments, there is no shortage of inspiration for the people of Brussels to throw a costume on the beloved statue.

But I especially like this cosmonaut one. There’s something compelling about the juxtaposition of all that the cosmonaut suit symbolizes—bravery, human ingenuity, historic achievement—with a statue of a little boy peeing away endlessly.

Nice work, Brussels.

Photo: http://en.rian.ru

Belgium’s beloved peeing statue

I love a city with a sense of humor. And I love a city that doesn’t take itself too seriously. That’s why I love Brussels and its famous statue of a young boy relieving himself.

It’s called the Manneken-Pis. Translated as “little man pee,” the Manneken-Pis is a two-foot-tall bronze statue of a little boy peeing into a fountain. It was designed in the 17th century by a man named Jerome Duquesnoy, and it has been tickling people’s funny bones ever since. The Manneken-Pis is one of Belgium's most well-known cultural icons. Again, I love a country whose most well-known cultural icons include a statue of a peeing boy.

The statue itself is naked, but locals are constantly dressing him up for holidays, events, or just for fun. His outfits have ranged from judo to Dracula to Santa Claus, and many more. According to Wikipedia, they even occasionally hook the little statue up to a beer keg, and the Manneken-Pis will pee you a beer. Certainly a once-in-a-lifetime experience.

A few EF College Break trips stop in Brussels on the way from Amsterdam to Paris. If you’re on one of these trips, you should pay a visit to the Manneken-Pis. You can find him at the intersection of Rue de l'Étuve/Stoofstraat and Rue du Chêne/Eikstraat. He will be peeing.

Photo: quique_fs via Flickr (CC)

JR’s prize-winning street art around the world

If you’re traveling anywhere in the world, keep your eyes open for giant works of art plastered on the sides of buildings. It could be another masterpiece of the mysterious French street artist/photographer known as JR.

This week JR won the TED prize. If you, like me, don’t know what the TED prize is, it’s an annual award given by TED (Technology Entertainment and Design). The group gives $100,000 to someone they think has changed the world and will continue to do so. JR’s world-changing art has been on display all over the globe—everywhere from Brazil to Kenya to Israel to Paris, Amsterdam, Berlin and many more.

Have you ever seen it? I don’t know if I have. I don’t know if I’d heard of JR before today. I hope to see some of his works some day during my travels. I love great street art, especially the large, bold eye-opening kind. And when there’s some kind of good message in there, explicit or implicit, all the better.

JR's is particularly amazing.

This is my favorite.

And this one.

Here, check out the whole gallery.

Now let's go out and travel and see some of his handiwork first-hand.

Photo: yoyolabellut via Flickr (CC license)

A week to honor comics in Brussels

Last week, an enormous Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle, a giant Smurf, a huge Betty Boop and many others floated through the streets of Brussels. They were all inflatable comic book character balloons.

I don’t often get to talk about Brussels in this blog, but I like Brussels (I’ve been through there a couple of times), so I was happy to discover a reason to write about it. In this case, that reason was last week’s celebration of all things comic strip.

I didn’t know this, but Belgium (of which Brussels is the capital) is a country with a very rich comic book history. The most well-known Belgian comics (Tintin and Spirou) are much more popular in Europe than in the U.S., but the Belgians are also responsible for a comic that is near and dear to all our hearts: The Smurfs.

Last week the city celebrated what it calls “the 9th art” in a series of events aimed at promoting Belgium’s comic book heritage. In addition to the parade of inflatable characters, there was also an exhibition of 60 comic book authors, free handouts of comic books, and the opportunity for everyday people to draw their own comics alongside professionals. The climax was a big light show at the Palace Royale.

There were also free tours at the Belgian Comic Strip Center, a popular tourist spot where visitors can learn all about the local history of the art.

So it's settled then. If you like comic strips or comic books, you must go to Belgium.

Photo: Londo Mollari via Flickr (CC license)