If it's Tuesday, This Must be Belgium - 8/19/08

This week - all of Europe!!!!

Okay, not exactly all of Europe, but most of it.  In a small way.

A couple of weeks ago I took you on a journey around and inside the Atomium right here in good old Brussels.  Do you remember I had one photo with the Eiffel Tower in the foreground and the Atomium looming in the background?  No?  Okay, go back and look...I'll wait.

MMmmMMMMmmmmMMMMmmmMMMM (that's me humming)

Okay, long enough.  Well, the little Eiffel Tower is in a park next to the Atomium called Mini-Europe.  Which as you might expect is an area of miniature landmarks in Europe.  All of the European Union in represented, including the newest members added just last year (in case you don't know, that would be Romania and Bulgaria).  That's 27 countries in all. 

To give you a flavor of what I'm talking about...here's a view from the Atomium down onto Mini-Europe.

Since this is Brussels, they of course have the Grand Place...the big square that sits in the center of the city.  You can see the detail that went into these models.  Check out the gothic style city hall, decorated with 294 statues from the 19th century, which dominates one side of the sqaure.  This particular display shows the carpet of flowers that graces the Grand Place only one weekend every two years.  And wouldn't you know it - it was this weekend just past!!  A grand site to see. (And the manneken pis is just a short walk away)

In some cases entire streets were recreated, like this one in the Nyhavn (New Harbor) in Copenhagen, Denmark.

Going a little further north gets you to the Castle of Olavinlinna, built in 1475 in Finland.  It used to form part of the frontier defenses against Russia.

Some countries have only one or two landmarks (Luxembourg's contribution is a single highway bridge).  France is well represented with several landmarks from around the country.  Here is the church of Sacre Coeur, which sits high atop Montmartre Hill in the northern part of Paris.  On a clear day you can see 50 km away.

Of course, the United Kingdom is represented by the British House of Parliament in London.  Also called Westiminister Palace, the much recognized (and photographed) Big Ben clock tower stands at one end.

What do you think of when you think of Spain? Okay, what do you think of AFTER you think of paella and sangria?  Of course, bullfighting.  This bull ring, the Plaza de Toros in Seville, dates back to 1760.  The traditional bullfight has three matadors who slay six bulls (in this model the bull circles around the matadors).  When I was in Madrid in June I was told that bullfighting is dying out as a tradition in Spain because of its brutality.

Moving over to Italy, I'm sure everyone will recognize Pisa.  The piazza del Duomo is pretty much the attraction in this northern coastal city.  The campanile (leaning tower) is 55 meters in height and has never been straight since its construction.  Behind it is a Romanesque Cathedral built to celebrate the victory of the Pisan fleet over Palermo. (Note that this model is made entirely of small marble blocks and weighs 800 kg)

Another interestin landmark in Italy is Mount Vesuvius which looms over the Bay of Naples.  It is the only remaining active volcano on the European continent.  This is the volcano that suddenly and violently erupted in 79 A.D. and buried the city of Pompeii.  Kids visiting this model could push a button and make the volcano steam and roar...and a plate in the pathway vibrated and shook to simulate an eruption.

I might add here that all of the displays had a button that when pushed would play the appropriate national anthem.  A few of them also gave kids (and more than a few adults) a chance to turn a wheel and make the Dutch windmill blades turn, or have fire boats respond to an oil fire, or ring the bells in a church.

Off now to Germany, Berlin to be exact.  They had this great model of the famous Brandenburg Gate.

And when you walked around to the other side you could see the Berlin Wall as they were tearing it down (I can almost hear Ronald Reagan's voice).  When you pushed the button on this one the backhoe would pull down a section of the wall (which would dutifully snap back up about 10 seconds later for the next kid in line.)

You might not recognize this next one.  The Szechenyi baths can be found in the Varosliget park in Budapest, Hungary. 

Last stop on today's tour is Athens, Greece.  Situated on the highest point in the city is the Acropolis, which was built in the 5th century B.C. as a national sanctuary for the worship of the twelve Greek gods.

I think we'll stop here for now.  There is so much more to see at Mini-Europe, so I may revisit again in the future here on If it's Tuesday, This Must be Belgium.

Thanks for coming along.  I hope to see you again next week.