Manneken Pis

I think lots of cities have little statues or buildings that have become icons to tourists and locals alike. La Tour Eiffel and the Brandenburg gate are two that spring to mind immediately, but there are some smaller ones too, such as Greyfriars Bobby in Edinburgh and Molly Malone in Dublin!

In Brussels there is Manneken Pis! It is a small bronze statue of a chubby little boy peeing into a fountain. He is truly loved in Brussels and even has a section in the Brussels City Museum dedicated to the outfits that he gets dressed up in periodically.

You can buy a statue of him to take home from all the tourist shops or even a chocolate version….was tempted, but didn’t indulge! We did come across some cool street art of Mannekan Pis, called Mannekan Peace. It was quite uplifting, considering that throughout the day we were met by soldiers with very large guns, as a stark reminder of recent tragedies and heightened security throughout the city.

Today, we have started the day with pain au chocolat and coffee, before our train to Cologne, to celebrate Grahams birthday!

– F xx