Brussels, Really?

Growing up and finally visiting Europe, I had heard so much about Brussels.  I really wanted to visit the place to see what it is that is so special about Brussels.  Since I was young, I was curious to visit Brussels and find out why many world organizations chose Brussels to set shop.  Well the time finally came for that long awaited visit to the capital city of Belgium, and to my disappointment, I did not see what is so great about the place.  It is old and too busy, traffic was more or less like we experience in Georgia on a given day.  Cars "flying" this way and that way, people in hurry going some place, trains, full to capacity at all hours, the restaurants stay busy, and sitting arrangements are squeezed together.  So then, what is it about Brussels that is so great?  Finding the Commission offices was a nightmare, the weather was dull and wet, the walkways covered in large uneven cobblestones were simply not walker friendly, so why is it that Brussels is what it is, is precisely my question.

I do not know whether I can attribute my feelings towards Brussels to the hostel we stayed in, which was one of the poorest places I have ever stayed? or to eat all you can bread and cereal breakfast that was served at the hostel? I really do not have answers to these questions.  On our free time, I did not feel motivated to explore Brussels or even the surrounding area where the hostel was located, I cannot express my feelings while in Brussels, all I can say is that I simply hated my experience in Brussels.

Ok, we are students from the U.S., but the security we endured at the U.S. EU Representative Offices was unbelievable.  We had to wait to be escorted inside the building, in groups of fours, and if one decided to go to the bathroom, then the rest had to wait so that the escort could resume, once the briefing was over, we had to be escorted once again until we fetched our personal belongings and out of the building, this whole scenario of security measured was overplayed in my opinion and for that reason, I would not even want to come back to that office for paid or unpaid internship!

All in all I was glad when we left Brussels for SHAPE.  SHAPE was the icing on top of the cake, I enjoyed the briefing, which was lengthy but very informative, we were even served coffee and cookies, something I have noticed is not common in Europe, we took a group photograph and got copies before we left, I did not see anybody from the highly security minded place fuss about our visit, once the officer met us at the gate, gave us our visitors passes, that was all.  We could even take photographs of the buildings outside, so if there is a place I would like to come back and visit in Brussels, it would definitely be SHAPE.

All in all, I was glad when we finally got on the highway heading back to the Chateau.  - Caroline