Appreciating European Heritage in Brussels….
On a day when 52% of England voted to conclude their long standing links with the European Union we remain fully committed in ensuring our young daughters do not share this insular point of view…. We fully intend to bring up our daughters as outward looking global citizens who share a love for the variety and cultural uniqueness of each country across Europe.
Thankfully we found a brilliant place to see this at the ‘Mini Europe‘ attraction in Brussels (the capital of Belgium)
Throughout our motorhome journey across Europe, both girls have enjoyed seeing the wonderful sights of Europe in person – from the leaning tower of Pisa, Copenhagen’s Nyhavn district, Ljubljana’s three bridges or even natural landmarks such as Mount Vesuvius..
This wonderful attraction sitting underneath the iconic ‘Atomium’ manages to host these with walking distance of each other – each of the 350 models an impressive piece of art in itself with wonderfully carvings and realistic people represented in the 1:25 scale.
The park operates in real peace & harmony with the sounds of Big Ben or national anthems providing wonderful background music. Not just content with landmarks, a number of key transport links are shown too including iconic features such as the channel tunnel. Both girls loved the educational aspect of the animations such as the working model of Vesuvius or the exhibit that detailed the Roman’s amazing inventions and engineering.
The sense of a ‘Spirit of Europe‘ is both obvious and clear across the park but this is further improved by the excellent exhibitions beside the cafe.
The park manages to bring it all to life with both girls particularly loving the opportunity to see, hear, touch (although not the models!) and smell the countries models. All faithfully laid out in a geographically correct manner with easy, accessible walkways throughout.
Both girls left the park thumbing through the excellent pocket guide that both describes how the models were made, why each attraction was chosen and some measured comments on the European Union…..
It’s sad to think that both girls will face a future that may / may not include this feeling of being part of a European Union…. but we will make every effort to ensure that we offer them the opportunity to experience European Culture!!
