The Smellvet Underground

The Sewer: ...and a vehicle to navigate!In my experiences as a tourist, there had never been a place I had not enjoyed in some capacity. Even if I didn’t make a personal connection with a place, and even if the visit was itself unpleasant, as a tourist, I could often reconcile a negative experience with an appreciation for what the place as an object--what it does for its locals, and where it lies in context of its environment.

And then there was the Sewer Museum in Brussels, Belgium. We visited, of course, for novelty, and perhaps for a few hilarious photo opportunities. We soon realized not even the acquisition of such a funny story to tell later was worth this trip. Infested with bugs and permeated with a horrendous odor, we wandered through (having not been supplied with a so much as a slicker), the only visitors in the place. Hands full of camera equipment, I dropped my scarf on the ground and the guide (the place’s sole employee--he also ran the coat check, the ticket counter, and the gift shop) gestured wildly that I must throw it out immediately.

It’s hard to understand why a city would pride itself on a place so inarguably unpleasant. Attachment to one’s homeland, as Yi-Fu Tuan describes it, can run so deep that it grants affection, for better or worse, with an indiscriminate gauge. Plus, if it’s there, why not put it to good, profitable use?

Visibility of space is another of Tuan’s theories that the Sewer Museum calls into question. Often, cities resort to the notion that “out of sight, out of mind” is the mantra to live by. Brussels is unabashed about most of its unpleasantries, so they not only refuse to mask their elaborate sewer system, but capitalize on it. The creation of space with defined boundaries, in defined physical terms, is most definitely in play here. But the Sewer Museum in Brussels explores the boundaries of convention with abandon, confident that the exposure of all aspects of their city enhances their culture and the experience of their tourists. And though I lost my favorite scarf and a little dignity in the process, the Sewer Museum definitely did.

Exploring...the vast abyss...