In all my time in Belgium, I never wrote about the most famous Brussels landmark on this blog, although we paraded almost every visiting guest there. The one that attract several hundreds visitors a day, that everyone upon viewing feels disappointed but still takes a picture near this wonderful artifact.
I am not talking about the Grand Place, which is perhaps one of the most stunning squares I have ever seen, phenomenal in its grandeur and over 1000 years old.
Nor am I talking about the Atomium, built for the 1958 Expo, or the mini-Europe, which sits next to it.
But the true draw to visit Brussels rests with a statue of a small peeing boy, the wonderful Manneken Pis. Tourist are always disappointed by his size, which is that of a tiny boy, and the fact that he is mounted in a closed gated area. I guess they were hoping to pet him. His story is also very confusing — he may have been a boy who (with his enormous bladder) stopped a fire. Or perhaps he was the boy in the tree who peed on the opposing army during the wars.
When I see the sight of disappointment on tourist faces, I feel the need to tell them “go eat the fries, go eat the waffles, go buy some chocolate!” Because really, that is so much better than the peeing boy. Even if you are there when he is dressed up. Even if you see the peeing girl, or the peeing dog. And don’t buy the chocolate mold of the peeing boy — leave the area and find some good stuff.
Why do I bring this up now? Because on the french television tonight, they had a program called Manneken Pis, where they conducted interviews with Belgians who identified themselves with the peeing boy. There are singing clubs who have Manneken Pis anthems, there are people who make outfits for him, there are police who have sentimental feelings for him. And it just reminded me of how I really don’t get Belgians, and I probably never will.
