HURRAH FOR THE BELGIAN ROYAL FAMILY !

The royal family has a second palace set in beautiful parkland in the commune of Laeken, on the outskirts of Brussels, though still part of the city.  Every spring, for 3 weeks, they open up their greenhouses to the public so that people like myself can enjoy the beauty of the flowers, plants and trees.

King Leopold II (perhaps familiar to you because of the Congo) decided in 1868 to build the enormous greenhouse complex.  He called on the leading botanists, nurserymen and suppliers to turn the greenhouses' collection of plants and flowers into one of the continent's loveliest.  He spared neither expense nor effot to make his glass city something unique.

And it shows.  I have never seen such a layout, such an extravagant show of colours and sorts of flowers, plants, ferns and trees.  It was breathtaking.  We walked through greenhouses, winter gardens, pavilions and galleries, each one more beautiful than the one before. Azaleas are in full bloom right now: what a glorious, spectacular show of orange, red, pink, white, yellow and all the shades in between!  And I think I saw every colour imaginable of geraniums.  And of course, many of the flowers are arranged in settings with mirrors or sculptures or exquisite Eastern urns or statues.

It was so outstanding I went twice!  As a treat for your eyes, I'm sending you via email my web album of photos taken in the royal greenhouses.  Here's just a wee taste below. Enjoy!

 

UNITY IN DIVERSITY !

A few week-ends ago, the 20s-30s group at St. Andrew's invited me to come along with them on their annual week-end retreat in the countryside of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg.  I was flattered and of course said 'yes'.

And what fun we had!  Lots of singing, laughing, talking, preparing meals and cleaning up.  One of the young men, Evan Lamos, led us in meditative reflexions on the Christian's walk with God.  Saturday afternoon we took a long hike through a beautiful forest with steep, twisting valleys made intimate by woodlands, rushing streams and dramatic rock formations.  I was proud of myself for being able to keep up with these young people, though ..... I was the last one in the line of hikers!

The thing that struck me the most, as I walked, talked, ate, slept, meditated and sang with all these young people, was their unity in their diversity.  These are Christian young people who are united in their desire is to serve God and live a life that is pleasing to Him and, at the same time, diverse in that they come from many different countries: Belgium, Holland, the USA, Congo-Brassaville, Nigeria, Hungary, China, India, Ireland and Indonesia.  It will be fascinating to see how God will use them in their own countries once their work or studies are over here in Brussels.  It was a beautiful image of the Body of Christ/the Church as it should be.

After leaving on Sunday afternoon, we stopped at a covered butterfly garden before heading back to Belgium.  And what a spectacular visit that was!  The most gorgeous, exquisite, fragile butterflies I've ever seen!  Even beats the Botanical Gardens in Montreal.  I was amazed at their colours and variety as they flew freely around us, in the midst of gorgeous orchids and tropical plants.  I didn't realize that butterflies could literally eat fresh fruit: there were hanging feeding trays of fresh fruit all over.  I'm sending you via email my web album so that you can enjoy all this beauty too.

What a special guest!

A few weeks ago, my niece Rebecca Klinck visited me - my first overnight guest.  We had a wonderful time together as I showed her "my" Brussels.  We went walking around the old part of town, meandered throught the sereine park of my Commune Ixelles (and sat outside in the sun and had coffee) and visited the Horta House museum.  Of course we ate out and had Belgian dishes and of course, she tried our Belgian beer!  It was the week before Easter, so she came with me to the Passion Week evening services at St. Andrew's and saw where I "work".

Interestingly, this was the first time I had attended evening services every night of the week leading up to Good Friday and Easter.  What an excellent preparation for the Resurrection service on Sunday!  We meditated and reflected on that last week in Jesus' life and the meaning of the Cross, and expressed our gratitude for the death of Christ for the forgiveness of our sins.  Easter Sunday, Resurrection Day, explodes on one with greater power after such a preparation.  Thank-you, Jesus!

May Day

May 1st in Europe is like Labour Day in North America, traditionally a celebration of solidarity among workers and a holiday.

However, here it also officially celebrates the beginning of summer. On May 1st, 1561, King Charles IX of France received a lily-of-the-valley as a lucky charm.  He decided to offer the same each year to the ladies of the court.  At the beginning of the 20th century, it became custom to give a sprig of lily-of-the-valley, a symbol of springtime, on May 1st.

And so I did.  I took a small bouquet and a delicious brioche to some friends' apartment and had breakfast with them :)

... and I followed that lovely beginning of the day with a visit to a show of antique porcelaine and ceramics.  There were exquisite vases, dishes, serving pieces, figurines, crystal bottles and flasks, clocks, urns and much more from many countries in Europe and the East.  The colours and designs, the intricacy and the shapes were candy for the eyes.  I loved it!

Stolpersteine

A what ......?

A 'stolperstein' is the German word for a 'stumble stone'.  The artist Gunter Demnig has given this word a new meaning, that of a small, cobblestone-sized memorial for a single victim of Nazism.  These memorials commemorate individuals - both those who died and survivors - who were consigned by the nazis to prisons, euthanasia facilities, sterilization clinics, concentration camps and extermination camps.

Demnig manufactures a concrete cube of 10 cm (4 inches), which he covers with a sheet of brass. Then he stamps the details of the individual on it: the name, year of birth and the fate, as well as the dates of deportation and death, if known. The stolperstein is then laid flush with the pavement or the cobblestones in the sidewalk in front of the last residence of the victim.  In French, they're called 'des pavés commémoratifs'.  And so a stroll down an ordinary city street is suddenly transformed into a walk across the stage of history.

There are thousands of them in continental Europe and there are two sets in Brussels: not many, since we know that about 26,000 Jews were exported to concentration and death camps.  So I went looking for them and found them.  As I walked through the two different neighbourhoods, I tried to imagine what it must have been like there during the German occupation in WW II, the stigma of being Jewish and the terror of the doorbell ringing...

Goedemiddag! Hoe gaat het met jou?

Now what does that mean?

Do you think, knowing me, that I would come to live in Belgium and not take a stab at learning Flemish?!

That's exactly what I'm doing.  The Flemish-speaking university here offers courses in Flemish.  It's called 'Nederlands' = Dutch spoken à la Flemish.  What that means is that Flemish is really Dutch with different pronunciation here and there, and some different expressions.  So, I'm getting 2 for 1!!  I go twice a week for 3 1/2 hours each time = 7 hours of Flemish per week.

We have a great teacher, Sylvia Philips.  She is young, vivacious and goes about teaching beginners like me in an interesting way.  As a teacher of linguistics, I have been impressed with how she concentrates mostly on oral comprehension, and I am amazed to be able to understand almost everything she says after 2 months of classes.

There are about 20 of us in the class.  EVERYONE of us is from a different country!!  It shows you what a cultural mix Brussels is!  It also shows you that Sylvia HAD to teach her class in Flemish right from the start: it's the only language we all have in common.  During the breaks, however, we have found that most of us speak either French or English, so we switch back and forth over a cup of coffee.  But the fun is that, as we get better in Flemish, we are speaking to each other in Flemish!!  I often think of my Dutch friends the Geleynses: I am learning their language!

Actually, I'm finding Flemish quite easy.  The grammar is easy and many words are very similar to English, and there's a guttural 'g' like German.  I'm listening to a Flemish TV channel to get the music of the language and I have found a new Flemish friend I can practise with.  By the end of the year, I should be really at home in the language.  Can't wait!

Oh ..... and what does the title of this post mean?  Guess :)!

Musical architecture

I have always been intrigued by Tiffany lamps.  Their exquisite softness has always fascinated me.  Now I know where this style comes from!!

I have been introduced to "Art nouveau" and it has blown me away.  It is a style of art, architecture and applied art - especially the decorative arts - that was popular from 1890 to about 1910 and was inspired by natural forms and structures, not only in flowers and plants but also in curved lines.

It was most popular in Europe but Louis Comfort Tiffany, overwhelmed by this new art, brought it to America and reproduced it in his famous stained glass lamps and windows.

Victor Horta was one of the key European Art Nouveau architects, and the most important one in Belgium.  He was the first to introduce the style to architecture from the decorative arts.  I visited his home which is now a museum.  The harmony of form, material and colour was breathtaking, the balance between the different spaces and the variations in rising and falling levels and perspectives was musical.  I wish I could have taken you with me and I wish we had been allowed to take pictures  because words defy a description of its exquisite beauty - right down to the keyholes and the letter box!

The sculptured stonework, the paintings, the curved ironwork, the stained glass, the bowed balconies and the soft lines catch my eye all over the city.  I have created a web album of some of the houses I've seen.  I hope you enjoy looking at these musical works of art.