CANADA'S LOSS

At the end of May, I had the fun of having my brother Stephen with me for a week.

Besides doing fun things like visiting the Atomium and the Grand' Place, trying new beers and eating Indian food, we took two days and went to the World War 1 battlefields where Canadians fought and lost their lives.

We concentrated on the Ypres Salient battles, in Belgium and the Battle of Vimy Ridge, in France.  We saw scores of Commonwealth cemeteries, where tens of thousands of Canadians lie buried.  We listened to our guide tell stories of horror and bravery, gas attacks, valour and soldiers stumbling forward through mud up to their hips, loaded down with equipment.  To see the "crosses row on row in Flander's fields" was a moving, memorable vision I will never forget. 

To stand under the archway of the Menin Gate in Ypres, where the thousands of names of those Canadians whose bodies were never found are carved into marble, and to listen to the trumpeters play "The Last Post", as they have done every evening since July 1928, was a sobering experience I'll never forget.

The monument at Vimy Ridge takes your breathe away!  It's beautiful, solemn and the sculptures move you to tears.  I don't think I've every been so proud of being Canadian as I was when I stood looking at this creative piece of art in memory of the outstanding battle of Vimy Ridge, won by the Canadians, after unsuccessful attempts by the French and the British.  Pierre Berton's book "Vimy" helped me to really understand who our men were and what they went through.

Thousands of lives were lost uselessly and stupidly in the Great War; there was pigheadedness and rigidity but there were also amazing moments of bravery and glory.  The Canadians at Vimy Ridge pushed hard to fight together as a people and for the first time, they were able to do it.  Their rigourous training and comraderie won the battle.  I know now that we lost a whole generation (60-70,000) of fine young men and I think Canada took a long time to recover.  War is a horrible thing.  Thousands of tombstones or crosses "row on row" are the greatest preachers of peace.

MY BRUSSELS 401

This will be my last stab at telling you what still stands out for me after five and a half months in Belgium.  I don't run up against much anymore that surprises me :)  Hope that's a good sign!

- For the longest time I couldn't figure out why there were glass tiles in the sidewalks.....and now I know!  Because there is no space between the buildings and the sidewalk, the basements of these buildings have to have light somehow, so ...voilà!







- Belgian food is acknowledged as among the very best in Europe: it's essentially French cuisine but not as fussy, pretentious or overelaborate as in France.  It's French cuisine with Belgian portions.

- Luxury chocolates in Belgium are called 'pralines'.  White chocolate is their speciality, especially with cream fillings.

- Not only are there gypsies and the poor begging on the streets but on almost every metro and most trams, we are treated to accordion or violin music and/or singing or poems.  The child with them then comes around with a can asking for money.  It's hard to know when to give and when not to give.  I am always amazed at their boldness.  And I wonder what the child is learning about life and how it ticks and how one makes a living.  So often these little ones are used as 'bait', trying to make us feel more compassionate.

- Most of the escalators here stop moving when no one is on them.  When you approach and almost reach the first step, they start up.  Saves electricity, I guess, but it was a weird feeling at first.

- Believe it or not, there still exists a city where people stand up on public conveyances to give older people, handicapped people and pregnant women their seat.  I am so surprised every time it happens.  And what's interesting is that the majority of those giving up their seats are foreigners where respect is still an important value.

- Belgium has the only major road network in the world that is lit at night in its entirety.  It can be seen from space!

- And finally, two interesting facts about the royal family:

  a. The country of Belgium came into existence in 1830.  They wanted a monarchy and so searched for a king that would please everyone.  They chose Prince Leopold of Germany, a Protestant.  However, he married the daughter of the king of France (political manoeuvre) and so engendered a Roman Catholic dynasty to this day.

  b. In 1990, when a law liberalizing Belgium's abortion laws was approved by the federal parliament, King Baudoin, an anti-abortionist, refused to grant royal assent, prompting a major constitutional crisis.  So on the day that the law was to pass, the king abdicated.  The law passed, and the next day, King Baudoin was reinstated!  Now that's standing up for what you believe!

BRUSSELS LANDMARKS

I can't believe I haven't written for several weeks!  Time flies and I have been very busy - not pacing myself very well.  Funny, isn't it, how retired people seem to be so busy! :)

I thought you might like to see some of the landmarks of Brussels.  The architecture in this city is helter-skelter.  Over the past two centuries, the urban planning has not been coordinated and so one finds a bit of everything everywhere.  One French author calls Brussels "une ville traumatisée" from an architectural point of view.  However, things are changing and every building must now pass through an urban planning committee: the deciding factor is "architecture" and not "engineering".  For example, all the new skyscrapers being built, are different in shape but are all of glass: they reflect the sky and the clouds, making them seem lighter.

This is the Dexia skyscraper.  You can see what I mean by being all of glass.  There are others like it around it.

This is the Berlyamont building of the European Union - again, glass.  It's in a cruciform shape and its facade is covered with glass louvres which move automatically to regulate temperature and reduce glaze.

These are the Belgacom Towers, headquarters of the Belgian Telephone Company, taken on one of the many grey days here.

Les Galeries du Roi - an elegant mall with a glass roof - built by King Leopold II.  And there are some affordable shops in it!  Life here is relatively cheaper than Paris or London.

The contours, footprint and volume of the steel and glass structure mimic those of the 17th century chapel of Les Brigittines beside it.  I love the idea of paying homage to something beautiful that is already there.

The narrow elliptical shape of the rectorate building on the campus of the Vrije Universiteit Brussels (VUB) where I take my Flemish courses.  No room in it has 90-degree angles!  I have my written Flemish exam today and my oral on Monday......

Glaverbel - a circular building named after the Belgian glass manufacturer for which it was designed and accordingly, the facade is covered in a curtain of tinted windows.  You can see the reflection of the surrounding trees in the windows.

CBR administrative offices (cement company) - the bronze glass mirrored windows reflect the suburban location and leave the facade uncluttered.  Rather unique!

The Atomium - Brussels' Eiffel Tower - the centrepiece of Expo '58.  The design was based on an iron molecule magnified 165 billion times, with each globe representing an atom.  There are escalators along the linking tubes.

St. Augustine Church, in Place de l'Altitude Cent, the highest point in Brussels (100 m.).  Not a very pretty church (made out of concrete) but it is a city landmark.  And the square it's built in is not very elevated so you can see that Brussels, in spite of its 'hills', is quite flat.

Le Paquebot jaune, or The Yellow Steamship, as Brussellers like to call it, is a cultural arts centre on Place Flagey.  Haven't been there yet but hope to before I leave.  Another grey day....

The Basilica of Sts-Michel-et-Gudule by night.  This is the church in which the royal family is married, christened and buried.  It sits in the heart of Brussels and is very beautiful inside.  During the summer, the park outside is filled with people taking their lunch break.

La Porte de Hal, the only remaining fortified city gate from the Middle Ages.  Built in 1381, it was a gate in the second set of defensive walls around Brussels.

An outstanding example of the 'Art nouveau" style.  It used to be a store called "Old England" that sold British goods but today it is a beautiful museum of musical instruments.  Still to be visited!

The Koekelberg Cathedral, the largest church in Brussels, can be seen from all over Brussels.  It is a huge church on a 'hill' that regularly holds beautiful art exhibits.....but it is also used as a church for mass on Saturdays and Sundays.

And last but definitely not least, le Palais de Justice with its gilded dome topped by a crown.  Again, this was the work of Leopold II, a megalomanic.  The building is gigantic and always under some kind of repair.  No one around has ever seen it without scaffolding of some sort (I took the picture at an angle that covers most of the scaffolding).  And no one today really knows how to use this white elephant.  I have to admit, though, that it is very impressive.





And so this is another aspect of this beautiful, enticing city called Brussels that is my home for a year.  One of my joys is to wander around the city without an agenda, and take pictures of whatever interests me.  I'm surprised at how much I love living in a city.  I never thought I'd say that, coming from the suburbs.  But living 'downtown' means living close to so many interesting things to do and see, and public transportation takes me relatively quickly all over the city.  And my sidestreet is relatively quiet.

Hmmm........