Last time when I visited Brussels, I had time only to visit the Atomium. That was the last thing for the day and I literally ran from Koekelburg Basilica to the metro station and from there to Atomium, to reach it just 15 mins before the last entry time! I made it!
This time, I managed to visit ADAM and Mini Europe as well! Apart from these 3 sites, one more place to see here is Oceade! However, if you’ve been following my other blog, Fashion Panache, you may know that I’m pregnant right now. So water rides in an amusement park is a big no no for me! So over to my experience at Mini Europe and Atomium Design and Art Museum!
Even from atop the Atomium, the view of Mini Europe is stunning! As soon as you enter, it is really crazy with so many mini monuments in front of you. However if you follow the passage, it’s easy to decipher what is what and with the guidebook, it’s indeed a cakewalk! No, I’m exaggerating. With a whopping 350 miniature models, it takes half a day easily to see it all and energy just dips as you keep walking!!! So yeah, carry a waffle in your hand…
The park begins with Denmark. No, not Copenhagen but with Trellborg! It depicts the Vikings camp of 1000 CE with its circular fortress and wooden long houses! But the best part is the enactment with miniature humans and ships and barrels!!! Then we proceed with Copenhagen’s Exchange and Nyhavn. Next we move to Sweden, Finland, Estonia, Latvia etc.
The major next portion was dedicated to ofcourse, Belgium! It began with Curtius House in Leige, complete with a canal in front of it! Can you find the arguing car drivers in Leige’s road?
Next was early Gothic Our Lady church in Dinant, complete with the stained glass details and arches in the architecture! There’s also a stunning parade in front of it with musical band, floaters etc! There’s also a cable car that takes to the Citadel!!!
Then was the Brussels Grand Place depicting……….. you’re right if you guessed the 2016 Flower Carpet! Here’s the real flower carpet of 2016 and the miniature and yours truly posing in front of both! This was followed by several landmarks from Netherlands including Amsterdam, Veere, Kinderdijk etc. Next was Antwerp followed by Leuven and Ghent! A week after I went here to Mini Europe and photographed miniature Leuven, the next weekend I was at Leuven, photographing the real thing!!! Travelogue of Leuven coming up soon, stay tuned!
Next was the UK, beginning with Big Ben, followed by a couple of sites in Ireland, and then began England with Longleat House, The Royal Cresent of Bath, ferry across English Channel and Dover Castle! The mere feeling of seeing the same sites again in a miniature size brought back beautiful memories of my visit to those very places!
This was followed by all other European countries incl Germany, Luxembourg, Czech, Slovak, Hungary etc. finally wrapping with Greece showing the stunning Athens Acropolis!!! There’s also a large café, well maintained toilets here as well as some games for kids, testing their knowledge about the European countries! Btw, if you haven’t realized it yet, the links on the locations in this post, direct you to the posts of my visits to those ‘actual’ locations! Hoping to see the rest in reality too!
From here our next stop was ADAM (Atomium, Design & Art Museum). Currently an exhibition is going on here on plastics. The first thing that it reminded me was of G.D.Naidu Museum collections!!! With phones of 1950s and computers of 1990s, it was one awesome visual treat! While I saw very early computers in G D Naidu museum, here were the old ones that were made with design aspect in mind!
The permanent collection has about 2000 articles of post-modernism to pop-art era with so much plastic! Esp the furniture here were just stunning! There was a chair made of clear colorless plastic that looked like it was a draped fabric! The early assembled, stacklable chairs were interesting too!
A particular chair that looks like a seated man was very intriguing! Office desks designed by Marice Calca were perfect examples of Art Nouveau sensibilities! With fluid designs made of plastic, totally fuctional! No wonder he has won several awards!
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To Get There:
Refer to my earlier post on Atomium.
Both these sites are walkable from Atomium.
Entry fee: €15,30 for Mini Europe and €10 for ADAM.
ADAM tickets can be bought online on their website!
ADAM tickets can be bought online on their website!
A combined ticked of the 2, with Atomium costs €29,70
Opening Hours: Mini Europe - 10:00AM to 6:00PM (Tue Holiday); Mini Europe - 9:30AM to 6:00PM (changes with season and closes 2 months annually)
P.S: I was invited by ADAM & Mini Europe to experience them for review purposes, however the opinions are my own and this post does not to advertise the product/service.
P.S: The photographs of Atomium in the background, were clicked by me but the structure/architecture/image of Atomium are copyrighted to Atomium till the year 2075 CE and these are being used in this blog and related social media with prior permission.
P.S: I was invited by ADAM & Mini Europe to experience them for review purposes, however the opinions are my own and this post does not to advertise the product/service.
P.S: The photographs of Atomium in the background, were clicked by me but the structure/architecture/image of Atomium are copyrighted to Atomium till the year 2075 CE and these are being used in this blog and related social media with prior permission.