James Tucker in Cov

I went to Brussels for the last weekend, and, amongst other things (Belgian beers, art nouveau, waffles), went to go and see the Atomium. It's part of the 1958 World's Fair site on the edge of town, and can be seen from most rooftops and hills in the city. When I went on a saturday morning, it was incredibly busy, and there were long lines just to get in, and then to get up to the top. It's in the shape of a giant iron atom, with each of the balls a two-level building, and the connecting tubes containing stairs or elevators. Most of the rooms are dedicated to telling people about the creation and building of the Atomium itself, though one is full of glowing sculpture, and others display more general exhibits about 1950s modernism-- there are Minis and other cars (including that old BMW where the whole front of the car opens), as well as all the fridges and such being classic examples. One of the spheres even has a bunch of spherical beds-- children can stay in the building as part of school outings. At the very top of it all is a restaurant and some good views across all of Brussels. Although you can't really see much from up top, the Atomium is more than just a celebration of 50's modernism (there isn't much in the way of kitcsh)-- a lot of people really seem to regard the Atomium as one of the symbols of the city, if not the country. A CN tower from another era, I guess. The recent renovations probably also account for how busy it was...