Mini Europe's Birthday Party

Overcast skies and occasional showers did not deter the couple hundred guests from attending.  In fact, the gloomy weather couldn’t have been more appropriate for the induction of the Belgian city centre.

The evening kicked off with the inauguration of the new ‘Maxi’ entrance, followed by a presentation of messages from the twenty-seven EU ambassadors, umbrellas in hand.  Taking the place of Prince Phlippe of Brussels just twenty years before him, Prime Minister to the Kingdom of Belgium, Herman van Rompuy was present for the opening of the mini Grand Place.

Just a stone throw away from mini Amsterdam, the new replication is complete with tiny people strolling, or sitting on the sidewalk in front of L’Hotel du Ville with it’s off-centre tower.   It stands almost 4 meters high, a 1 to 25 scale of the original, like everything else in the park.

To deceive the sense even more, Mini Europe lives in the shadows of the Atomium, literally.  In addition to these two ironic attractions, Bruparck also includes Océade, a water park, and the Kinepolis movie theatre.

If you don’t have time to travel, I recommend visiting Mini Europe, especially at night when all of the structures are illuminated.  What I find most impressive is the park’s attention to detail, like the hundreds of mini spectators at Seville’s Plaza de Toros, or the 294 statues adorning the L’Hotel de Ville in the Grand Place.

The park is home to 350 models representing 83 cities, almost seven times more than the original park twenty years ago.  Each country has it’s own plaque with simple facts and a button to press for the national anthem as well as other interactive features that guests found entertaining on their walk through the park.

The rain died down while the guests filled up on mini dishes and desserts.  And just in time for the fireworks that turned out to be more impressive than the ones I had seen at the Fete d’Iris a few nights before. With the Atomium sparkling in the background, Mini Europe was illuminated with explosions of color so close that guests had to shield their eyes from falling debris.  But a little bit of firework dust in your birthday cake icing is a small price to pay for such a spectacular display.

The event ended soon after.  With our stomachs full of cake and our wallets full of contacts, we realized it really was a small world after all, and Brussels, as always, was at its heart.

For more information on visiting Mini Europe visit http://www.minieurope.eu