Nice Weekend I

Beginning with dinner accompanied by a few of Jim's co-workers.

This was the entree' - pigeon. Cooked rare. Of course not - to answer the obvious question. Vital traded his tiramisu for my pigeon. I know, I know, he got the short end of the stick, but it was his idea.

Did you know pigeons are the oldest domesticated bird? Pigeon is also a common item on menus around here. I learned at this dinner that pigeon racing is very popular as well as serious business in Belgium. Trained racing pigeons are released and will return to their homes no matter where it is.

There's only one starting line, but thousands of finish lines. Races are generally a distance around 500 - 700 miles! They wear a leg band and the distance and time are carefully measured to determine which one returned at the highest speed. Oh, and they can win a lot of money for it too.

Belgium is the pioneer of this sport beginning in the mid 19th century. Belgian pigeon fanciers developed a breed of pigeons called Voyageurs that could fly fast and far. The sport then spread to the rest of the world.

In case you're wondering, these pigeons are not the ones you'll see on a menu.

Koekelberg Kerk and More

Koekelberg is one of several regions that surround the the capital city of Brussels. Although we've been to Brussels several times, we had never visited The National Basillica of Sacre' Coeur at Koekelberg. It's one of the largest churches (kerk) in the world. It's also art deco so it's definitely non-traditional.

On the 50th anniversary of Belgian independence, King Leopold II wanted to transform Koekelberg into a royal district. He even wanted to build a Pantheon. This idea didn't receive much support (imagine that) so he decided to build a "national sanctuary" instead.

The King wanted it to be comparable to the Sacre' Coeur in Montmarte (Paris).

King Leopold II himself laid the first stone on Belgium's 75th anniversary of independence in 1905.

King Leopold II also wanted the church to be comparable to the Arc de Triomphe in Paris complete with its "Champs Elysees" leading to the city center. Although it was foggy, you can see the grounds are beautiful. The center of Brussels is in the distance. It's just a little hard to tell with the fog and all :~|

No surprise on the shape. There is no question this church is huge and definitely a prime example of art deco architecture.

We arrived a little early for the opening of the on-site museum so we had a beer in the restaurant in the basement. Surprised? Don't be. After all we were in a Catholic church in Belgium.

And they had Leffe on tap.

Since we were showing the American visitor around, we also made a quick tour of Brussels, visited the beautiful Palais de Justice, touched the golden statue of Everard 't Serclaes for good luck, reluctantly viewed the Manneken Pis again, and even took Winslow on his first subway ride.

This picture is tiny because Ross took it with his iPhone, emailed it to me and I have no idea how to make it bigger :~|

Then Ross took us to one of his favorite hangouts in Brussels - Delirium Cafe' .

They have over 2,000 beers on the menu and claim to have 100 beers on tap. Those are the taps mounted at the top of the bar. I definitely recommend the Delirium Tremens. Look for the pink elephant.

And if that weren't enough, Ross gave us a quick tour of Leuven which is just as beautiful at night.

Name that Jongen

After our trip to Barcelona, I remembered a conversation we had with a Belgian guy (he, originally from Greece and his wife, originally from Spain). I have forgotten the names of their two sons, but he explained their choices were limited on what names they could choose. They all lived in Belgium and the boys were born here, but they were following Spanish protocol either way.

In the U.S. you can name your child pretty much whatever you like. You have the freedom to choose any traditional, unique, strange, or dumb-ass name you wish, if you wish. But elsewhere in the world that is not always the case.

Countries like Denmark, Spain, Hungary, Portugal, Germany, France and Argentina, to name a few, publish lists of acceptable names from which new mothers and fathers must choose. Some countries even publish lists of those names which are banned.

For example, once a baby name is chosen in Germany, the expectant parents must register the name with the Standesamt. Using a guide book which translates to "the international manual of first names" they determine if the name you've chosen will be approved or rejected. If your perfect name is rejected, you can appeal, but it'll cost you some additional Euros so best to choose wisely the first time around. You can't go wrong with Maximilian and Sophia.

And Denmark may be the strictest country of all. Naming a child is a serious affair governed by law and subject to approval by the Ministry of Ecclesiastical Affairs and the Ministry of Family and Consumer Affairs. From what I've read, Scandinavian countries, in general, like sameness rather than uniqueness. Ada and Balthazar are among the most popular in Denmark.

In China, where about 50,000 babies are born every day, you can also basically name your baby anything as long as it can be computer scanned and read on the national identification cards. Among the more popular are Ma 马 and Na 娜.

But back to Spain. In Spain, for example, parents can choose almost any name they like. The traditional naming system is: one or more given names and one or more surnames. Like the simple Juan or Juan Pablo. Pablo isn't a middle name as that is nonexistent in Spain. So if Juan Pablo Fernandez marries Maria Jose' Rodriguez, their child, Pedro would likely be named Pedro Pablo Jose'.

Not everyone in Spain is named Maria or Jose', but close. Foreigners who want to become Spanish citizens are legally obliged to assume Spanish-style names. So if you think you might ever move to Spain, like the couple I mentioned above, it's probably best not to go with Bjorn or Emma. The Registro Civil will need to change that to something more Spanish-sounding like Bjose' and Emmaria.

In the event you're as grateful as Jamal Ibrahim is to Facebook, perhaps this is the name for that newborn. Ibrahim expressed his gratitude for the support of the recent peaceful revolution in Egypt that started on Facebook by naming his newborn daughter Facebook.

Hopefully she will just be happy it's not Friendster.

Art and Art Deco

This past weekend we had the pleasure of showing a visiting American a bit of Belgium. We chose Antwerp because it isn't too far away and is a nice city. It lies on the Scheldt River and has one of Europe's largest seaports.

We met up at the beautiful Central Station built in 1895. This building still amazes me every time we see it. We then walked through the shopping district. Although we didn't shop, Antwerp is one of the best places for shopping in Belgium.

We walked by this Art Deco tower and thanks to Ross we learned . . . it was constructed on a site conveniently cleared during WWI and was the first skyscraper in Europe. Built prior to the 1930 Antwerp World Exhibition, one of the construction requirements given by the city council was that the building could not compete with the city's cathedral. That requirement for not obstructing the view of the cathedral still exists today.

The tower is nicknamed Boerentoren (Farmer's Tower) because at the time of its construction, the most important shareholder was a farmers cooperation. The official name of the tower is KBC because it is the current main tenant of the building and ironically is one of the largest banks in Belgium.

Having Ross along is like having a tour guide. We also learned of an art exhibit, including paintings by Peter Paul Rubens, at De Kathedraal. We've been to Antwerp several times, but I had not visited this cathedral.

Onze Lieve Vrouwekathedraal of Antwerpen

Our Lady's Cathedral of Antwerp

From the 9th to 12th centuries there was a chapel on this site, later replaced by a Romanesque cathedral. In 1352, construction began for a new church. In 1521, the present church was ready.

As with most architecture hundreds of years old, it has seen its share of destruction. The interior of the church was largely destroyed by fire in 1533, but was completely restored. Only 33 years later in 1566, Protestants destroyed the interior once again including many artistic treasures.

Roman Catholic authority returned and the church was once again restored in 1585. Of course that's not the last of this cycle. In 1794, French revolutionaries conquered the region once again inflicting serious damage and even considered demolishing it.

Despite all the destruction, the church was completely restored in 1816 and important works of art were returned. Another complete restoration took place between 1965 and 1993 and the cathedral is now in excellent condition. It's not only a museum, but a working church with Mass held every day.

Peter Paul Rubens (1577-1640) was a 17th century Baroque painter. He is well-known for his altarpieces (like the one above), as well as portraits and landscapes.

The Descent from the Cross

This painting by Peter Paul Rubens is considered the absolute masterpiece of 17th century Flemish painting. It was impossible to capture the entire image close-up as this center panel is 10 x 14 feet!

Raising of the Cross

This painting by Peter Paul Rubens may be his most famous. As you can see I wasn't the only one with a camera. It is even larger at 11 x 15 feet!

Despite centuries of destruction, not only these paintings, but this spectacular cathedral is here for us to enjoy. Perhaps the rest of the world will see fit to continue a peaceful and tolerant existence so history will not repeat itself in this church or any other place of worship. Any other.

Texas. It's a whole other country.

It may be well on the way toward making that statement true.

Did you know more than half the members of the Texas House are supporting a measure directing universities to allow concealed handguns? The Senate is expected to chime in and Governor Rick Perry is definitely on board.

With more than a half million students in Texas's 38 public universities, I am grateful I don't have a college-aged student attending one of them.

Of course this all stems from the Virginia Tech incident in 2007, the inordinate rationale that students need to defend themselves, and the culture of Texas, in general. Apparently this bullet is out of the barrel and appears there's no stopping it.

"Things do look bleak," said Colin Goddard, who was in Austin recently to lobby against the bill. And by the way, Colin Goddard was a student at Virginia Tech and was shot four times on that day in 2007. He rejects the idea that another student with a gun could have stopped the killer.

Another recent article in the New York Times cited an opinion piece by former first lady Barbara Bush regarding budget cuts in the Texas education system. As you may know, Texas ranks near the bottom of all 50 states in literacy and math scores. They're not at the bottom, but close.

So you'd think the obvious solution would not be cutting the proposed $4.8 billion over the next two years from the school system. But where's the money to come from?

Well, how about new taxes? Governor Perry says no. What about $830 million offered in federal aid to education? Governor Perry says no thanks. There are strings attached. Apparently because he used the previous $3.2 billion he got in education stimulus dollars for other purposes so the now $830 million offered for education has actually got to be used for education. Oh that pesky purpose-specific language.

Before moving to Belgium, we resided in Texas and still own our home in Texas. Our daughter, son-in-law, and grandson live in Texas so we have a stake in the future of the nation's biggest state (not counting Alaska, of course).

Did you know that Texas has the highest birth rate in the country? Third in teen pregnancies? First in repeat teen pregnancies? (There's a statistic for that?) Heavens.

Anyway, Texas is educating a $#*!load of our future population. So what to do.

In his infinite wisdom, Governor Perry is a big fan of abstinence-only sex education and it's nearly impossible for young adults to obtain contraception without parental consent.

In an interview with The Texas Tribune:

Perry: "Abstinence works".

Interviewer: "But we have the third highest teen pregnancy rate among all states in the country".

Perry: "It works".

Interviewer: "Can you give me a statistic suggesting it works?"

Perry: "I'm just going to tell you from my own personal life. Abstinence works."

Me: "Ohhh, as Bill O'Reilly would say 'Can't explain that'. Well, that's all I need to know. Thanks."

As you may know, Europe is having some struggles as a European Union and not all countries are pulling their weight. Several countries have had to be bailed out by the rest of the Union and often times it's because they've mismanaged their government in the first place. Sound familiar?

Given the size of Texas, it's likely the rest of the nation may agree with the New York Times writer . . .

Perry used to be famous for his flirtation with talk of secession. Maybe we should encourage him to revisit it.

Roaming

In November we travelled a good bit more than usual. Randi visited and we went to Paris and Cologne. Then Jim and I went on a little trip to Austria to celebrate our 30th anniversary. Then I accompanied Jim to Scotland for a business trip so all in all we were out of Belgium several days.

Some time during the last of those trips, I began receiving texts from our cell phone company, in Dutch, saying my roaming charges were high. I had no definition of "high". That's all it said.

So naturally as soon as we were back in Hasselt, I went down to the phone company to assess the damage. Only in Belgium would the phone company not be able to see my bill online. Really? I would have to wait until it was printed and arrived in the mail in about a week. Seriously? Somehow the phone company could send me regular texts about my usage, but it isn't in the computer system. Whatever.

As predicted, in about a week or so, the printed bill arrived in my mailbox. Fortunately the damage was only about twice what it usually is - meaning instead of €60 it was €120. I was actually relieved. I hadn't used my phone all that much, but it was roaming just the same. I couldn't help but think . . . I go 30 minutes away from home and my roaming charges go from about 5 cents a megabyte to around €2.60 a megabyte.

That's right. Unlike the U.S., when you go to another country in Europe (equivalent of crossing a state line) you are out of your roaming zone. Way out. Fifty-two percent out.

I also learned some valuable information in this process. I may be the only person on earth who didn't know this, but your cell phone is equipped with an "off when roaming" selection. Duh. It's buried in the Options category - Mobile Network subcategory on my phone, but it's there just the same.

So I was happy to see that at the recent Mobile World Congress in Barcelona - the industry's largest conference (the one where Mark Zuckerberg dismissed Facebook mobile rumors - that conference) the chairperson of that conference said she may consider introducing measures to improve competition in Europe.

May consider. Well, that's something I guess.

Truth is Stranger than Fiction

If you had a chance to read my post a couple of days ago about our frequent visits by the local cop, this post will make much more sense.

The very morning after that post, I got ready to walk the dog. I went to our foyer door and it would not open. It sticks occasionally because there's a magnet or something on the lock, but this time it was really stuck. I pushed and pushed, but could not open it.

Our foyer door

The only other option to get out of our house is through the back door which leads to our little tuin (garden). It has about a six foot fence covered in ivy all the way around and there's no gate.

Our little tuin without a gate

Although I've never climbed over it, I figured I could do it if I had to. Problem is, "over the fence" leads to nowhere.

Well, only to the next little tuin with a fence and perhaps with or without a gate.

So, I decide to try the door again using a little more force this time, but it wouldn't budge.

Winslow (our dog) has a tendency to push this foyer door open from time to time. Our foyer door leads to our front door which has a huge space at the bottom and is exposed to the outside where it is cold from time to time :)

Our front door

Soooooo, we put this little latch on the door so when we leave we can lock Winslow inside.

Our little latch on our foyer door

Well, apparently when Jim left for work he locked Winslow AND me inside. I said in jest that I said to the cop the other night "I am not here against my will and Jim lets me out a couple of times a week" ha ha, but apparently truth is stranger than fiction!

I texted my neighbor/landlord and she came with her key and released me. You can bet she won't let us forget this little fiasco any time soon.

So this morning while having our coffee, we noticed the clear skies outside and said it looked like it would be a nice day. And Jim said "So you'd rather me not lock you in today?" and I said "Yeah, I may want to get out."

De Poste

This was our lucky day! We got three packages in the mail! We don't get a lot of mail and almost never get a package so this was quite a treat - all in one day.

First, I've been anxiously looking for this one to arrive. Despite being mailed almost 2 weeks before the big day, this sweet, beautiful, handmade valentine arrived today. It was definitely worth the wait! Even signed by Frazier and including one my favorite foods!

Thank you!

Second, MM&P send our U.S. mail from time to time, but this time it included quite a surprise. Homemade pralines! And although they crossed the ocean and it took a few days, they are delicious. This box was full a few hours ago :)

Thank you too!

And last, this would have arrived yesterday, but I was unable to retrieve it from the mail carrier on her delivery attempt. If you have a chance to stop by my blog tomorrow, I'll explain why.

But for now, you may remember that Jim bought a violin at the Tongeren antique market a while back and he's been learning to play it. I won't say too much, but I think he's doing great.

Anyway, since I couldn't get this package yesterday (see blog tomorrow), I went to the post office to fetch it today. Since the sender placed a value of $50 on it, I got to pay €10 to pick it up.

That's right. When someone mails something to Belgium and there's a value placed on it, Belgium seizes the opportunity to tax it. A no-brainer, really. So I assume the tax on 50 U.S. dollars is €10.

You may notice the CD is entitled "Learn to Play the Fiddle in One Lesson". That must be one helluva lesson. I can't wait.

Het was zonnig!

Finally.

Despite rarely getting above 7C of late (I know - that's 45F) . . .

the SUN

FULL sun

wayfarer-donning SUN

vitamin-D-rich SUN

not behind-the-haze SUN . . .

is shining on my little corner of the world :)

One of many things we shouldn't take for granted.

And I'm proud to say PROFICIAT to Ross for passing all his exams for the first semester!

Yet another visit from our local cop

Here we go again. At 7:30 pm, our doorbell rings. We pretty much never have company. Imagine our surprise when it's the police. Thankfully Jim answered the door so my little mind didn't have time to conjure up all the bad images of what he might be here to relay to us.

As I've said before, I can make the leap between completely normal to neurotic in a nanosecond.

How many times does it take to ensure the Belgian government that we are legal?

This time it was a new guy. Younger than the one we'd gotten to know so well. After he verified we were in fact married, living in this house together and I was free to come and go as I pleased, we chatted about other things.

He said the other guy was now retired. Aw, he was so nice and we enjoyed his frequent visits and he never treated us like aliens :)

This new guy said he gets about 50 or more of these requests to follow up per week!

One of the things he was checking was to see if I was being held against my will. I told him Jim lets me out a couple times a week. He was not amused. I mean Jim.

So then we signed something neither of us could read. He said he may or may not see us again in a few months - only if one of those requests comes across his desk again.

No problem. We're used to it now.

Fijne Valentijnesdag

Today most people celebrate Valentine's Day. I don't know anyone named Valentine, but it was once a more common name and there are quite a few Christian martyrs who bear this name. Incidentally, Ross has a Belgian friend who also attends K.U. Leuven whose name is Valentine. Pronounced Val-en-teen. I'm not sure if it is spelled the same though.

Valentine's Day began as a Christian holiday celebrating those martyrs mentioned above. I guess that narrows down Hallmark's target market. However, the Roman Catholic Church removed this holiday from the official calendar in 1969. Despite that, we are actually celebrating two saints named Valentine, of course. Valentine of Rome and Valentine of Terni who both lived around 200 AD. Oddly enough, they had nothing to do with romance, chocolate, or greeting cards.

There is a legend that on the evening before one of those Valentine's mentioned above was executed, he wrote the first "valentine" card to his beloved that read "From your Valentine". This legend has no historical basis whatsoever, but you can see why it has been repeated for centuries.

And who cares really. Although I suppose every day should be Valentine's Day, it's nice to have a day set aside to remind us to tell those we love that we love them!

We're serious now

The last Flemish class we enrolled in ended with us dropping out. Only because we had visitors, we went on our anniversary trip, I accompanied Jim on a business trip, we spent Christmas away, the dog ate my homework, etc. We figured there was simply no way for us to keep up. So we made the difficult decision to stop.

Now, we've re-enrolled in the same class, but this time it's not 2 days a week, but four. Four nights a week, three hours each night. I'm a little nervous about this commitment and I hope we can keep up.

So far, so good. I will say six to nine p.m. in a wooden school desk every night can be a challenge. We've been attending class for a couple of weeks and most of it is ringing a bell again. We're even trying to speak a little more Flemish at home.

We've met some new friends and met up with some old ones from our previous class. Our new class is similar with members from Turkey, Morocco, Russia, Syria, and more. We are again the only Americans. We noted just the other day that we've not met another American who lives here in Belgium.

I know we have the unearned advantage of speaking English, but I almost feel arrogant when I do. Even 1.3 billion Chinese don't expect us all to become fluent in Mandarin. Despite everybody here speaking English, the Flemish people appreciate our effort.

Winslow commands attention from strangers and naturally if you have a dog, people assume you're not a tourist and immediately start speaking Flemish to you. I hear them out and I hope I can make out some of what they've said because it gives me that little opportunity to hear some Flemish before we both resort to English.

We were walking Winslow the other day when a couple came up to us and said something like - they also have a small dog like Winslow at home. I was listening very carefully and understood most everything. Then she asked a question. That's where it all goes to hell for me. I am forced to say - I only speak English. To which she and EVERYONE else says "I'm sorry" and immediately begin speaking perfect English. No, I'M SORRY!

Anyway, I went on to say, as I usually do, that we are trying to learn Flemish. You'd be surprised how much that means to the local people. Just think about it. As an American, say living in Texas or Arizona, you expect those Mexicans to speak English don't you? Well, they have no such expectation here. They just appreciate it when you try.

I know, and they know, Dutch isn't the most common of languages, but still. We do live here.

So I'll probably be so immersed in Flemish these next 3 months that I'll begin writing most of my posts in, at the very least, Flenglish. Ha. I should be so fluent! Who knows, perhaps by the end of April I will be.

Still one of my favorite quotes . . . "If you reject the food, ignore the customs, fear the religion, and avoid the people, you might better stay at home." James Michener

I couldn't agree more. And I could also insert this into that quote " . . . if you disregard their language, . . . ".

El port marítim

The Sea Port

Port Vell

meaning Old Port

This area was actually one of my favorite in all of Barcelona.

Even though it was chilly, I love the water and palm trees and sailboats.

Barceloneta is a neighborhood constructed during the 18th century. It was a traditional district of sailors and fishermen that borders the Mediterranean Sea.

The buildings are old with many in disrepair. Unlike most commercial beaches, it appears there must be some effort to maintain these buildings and not allow for high-rise hotels.

Mar Mediterrani

The Mediterranean Sea

There was a major clean-up effort prior to the 1992 Olympics and this area is a magnet now to Barcelonans and tourists.

The tall hotels in the distance were also built for the Olympics and are at the site of the Olympic Village.

Ironically, our travel companions had no intention of visiting the beach while we were in Barcelona.

How can you not see this?!

L'església

The Church

I honestly don't know how to begin to describe this structure. If you have visited, you know what I mean. If you have not, I hope you can one day. The pictures will in no way do it justice.

We have seen a fair number of cathedrals since we've been in Europe and some are more beautiful and elaborate than others, but none are quite like this one. While I love traditional architecture, this church is definitely non-traditional. Despite being constructed in more modern times and with more modern equipment, it is a work of art and simply gorgeous.

First, it was designed by Catalan architect, Antoni Gaudi. I hope you were able to see my blog post on the artists which included a brief bio of Gaudi.

Gaudi was a devout Catholic and in his later years devoted his entire

life to his religion. He also became reluctant to talk with reporters or have his picture taken and solely concentrated on his masterpiece, La Sagrada Familia.

La Sagrada Familia

Holy Family

This is the altar

The view above the altar

Close up of the detail at the ceiling

This is the Passion Facade, above the main entry, designed by Catalan sculptor Josep Maria Subirachs i Sitjar. This side of the church is about the suffering of Jesus Christ.

As you enter, this is the view in front of you - the altar is to the left

Although Gaudi was constantly changing his mind and recreating his blueprints, the only existing copy of his last recorded blueprints was destroyed by anarchists in 1938 during the Spanish Civil War further complicating completion of the church.

In the basement of the church is a really nice museum. This is a photo taken not long after construction began. The first stone was laid in 1882.

You can see the scaffolding. I had hoped to see someone working up there so I could snap a "perspective" picture. It's so difficult to capture the scale of this place in a small picture.

Subirach's cryptogram is mounted on the facade.

It is a magic square with all rows and columns adding to 33.

FYI - In squares of order 4 where the numbers run sequentially from 1-16 the magic constant (the sum of a single line, row or diagonal) is 34. Subirach's square does not contain the numbers 12 or 16. Instead, 10 and 14 are included twice making a magic constant of 33, the age of Jesus Christ at the crucifixion.

Detail of the ceiling throughout. Those are huge mosaics that allow the sunlight through.

This is the main entry on the opposite side from the Passion Facade.

Although it was named a basilica in 2010, I read that construction of the church is not funded by any religious organization or the government, but comes solely from donations and tickets purchased by tourists like us . . .

and like them.

I couldn't resist taking this picture. Asians - keeping our economy going. Thank you. Entry to the church and museum is €12,50 and worth it.

In the distance is a spiral staircase - there are two of these on either side of this wall.

Gaudi designed the church to have 18 towers, 12 for the 12 apostles, 4 for the 4 evangelists, one for Mary and one for Jesus.

Near the entry to the church is this little school. Perhaps Gaudi was a man ahead of his time? This is a school for the children of the workers at the church and for local children.

This mosaic is on the floor in the center of the church.

Gaudi spent the last few years of his life living in the crypt of the Sagrada Familia. On June 7, 1926, he was hit by a tram. Because of his ragged clothes and empty pockets, many passed him by. He was eventually taken to a paupers' hospital in Barcelona. Nobody recognized the injured artist until his friends found him the next day. When they tried to move him to a nicer hospital, Gaudi refused saying he belonged among the poor. He died three days later at the age of 73 and was interred at La Sagrada Familia.

Gaudi proposed the church would take 200 years to complete. At the time of his death less than a quarter of his beloved project was complete. Completion of the Sagrada Familia is planned for 2026, the centennial of Gaudi's death. This would actually be ahead of schedule.