At the Square, the Broodhuis shows various costumes from all over the world that the famous little man Manneken Pis received as presents. Him dressing like Sherlock Holmes is my personal favorite.

The city is so close (a 2-hour train ride from my home), but also so different. Brussels around the Grand Place looks medieval. But there are also shopping streets that resemble those in the average Dutch town. And a lot of Japanese, American and other tourists.

I did return in 2006 to take some better photos. But that's not easy: the market square is smaller than I remembered. The international crowd of tourists still visits Brussels, now made up of Chinese and Russians.