Amber and the triffid...or 'A weekend in Belgium'

It may look like Amber is about to be overtaken by a triffid or some other alien, but in fact, she is standing in front of the Atomium. (I was trying to explain what it was to Amber beforehand and the best I could come up with was 'it's the Eiffel Tower of Brussels' - a symbol and landmark of the city). For those of you who don't know (I didn't beforehand), it was built for the 1958 Expo and was the main pavilion and icon of that world fair (according to its website). I'm now going to quote from the website, to explain its shape and thinking behind it...

" It symbolised the democratic will to maintain peace among all the nations, faith in progress, both technical and scientific and, finally, an optimistic vision of the future of a modern, new, super-technological world for a better life for mankind. The peaceful use of atomic energy for scientific purposes embodied these themes particularly well and, so, that is what determined the shape of the edifice."

So, there you go. Whatever the aims, it was a great place to visit with the girls. Thankfully there is a lift that takes you straight to the top of the uppermost sphere (102m high) for a panoramic view of Brussels but there are also staircases and escalators that take you through some of the arms/legs to the other spheres and exhibitions. All in all, great fun.

If you find yourself in Brussels, with or without children, I'd thoroughly recommend it.