Fighting the Cobbles - My trip to Belgium in 2018, Part 8 - In Brussels (1)

This blog continues the previous Part 7,

https://gerdiwanninger.blogspot.com/2018/07/fighting-cobbles-my-trip-to-belgium-in_30.html

Sunday, June 24, 2018

   I slowly crossed the outskirts of Brussels and walked steadily towards the center of the  metropolis. I've already mentioned that I had plenty of time so I've decided not to use any public transportation but rather use my own feet. I've made this decision to learn more about the country and the city, tried to figure out if I like it and if a positive experience let me stay longer or leave to another country within the European Union.

Walking thru the Streets of Belgium: Me, My Luggage and My Camera...

   I've met a lot of non-Europeans who traveled several countries within the EU (European Union). For me as a German I could go wherever I wanted with my passport even for some countries I had to change my Euros into local currencies (British Pounds, Swiss Francs etc.). So walking on the roads and experience the environment in Belgium or rather Brussels helped me in my decision to stay in this country for my whole holidays of 3 weeks!

Everyday Open Air Antique Market right in front of my Hotel

   The language barrier was not a real problem because even people could not speak English they tried at least. I've asked one younger person why the Belgians do not speak English he answered "because we do not have the chance to use it". They learn English in school but very seldom speak it...

   Dutch is the official and most spoken language (60%) of the Flemish Community and the Flemish Region (merged to Flanders). The main Dutch dialects are Brabantian, West Flemish, East Flemish and Limburgish.

   French is with 40% speakers the second most spoken language. It is the dominant language in Wallonia as well as in the Brussels-Capital Region.

   There are only around 0.4% people speaking German, I did not even run into one during my whole trip.

Typical Fruit and Vegetable Shop also selling Tobacco and Cigarettes in Brussels

   What I appreciated during the trip is the road system and the manners of the Belgian drivers. A zebra crossing or crosswalk is working very well. Even before coming near the thick lines on the road, cars & trucks were already breaking and patiently waiting while I was crossing the road. Living in chaotic Taipei this is unthinkable. Many people here in Taiwan 'blame' the disobeying of rules on the many citizens but I believe traffic is about respect for others, a lack of education & responsibility and a general 'disobeying' or selfish way of life. While in the Far East the 'stronger' wins in Belgium it looks that the weaker are protect...I enjoyed crossing the roads in Belgium very much which, for me, translates into 'maturity of its citizens'.

   What do I mean by that? 

'Maturity' according to the Cambridge Dictionary is:

- the quality of behaving mentally and emotionally like an adult

- a very advanced or developed form or state

Do you understand that a car can be a weapon? Do you understand that you have responsibilities etc.

   The other thing I really appreciated is the willingness to maintain the public safety. In Brussels I've encountered heavily armed soldiers and policeman walking the streets and the train stations. I never felt threatened or insecure, even drunkards and beggars tried to keep it quiet and to themselves. Some people complained that Belgium police first ‘act’ then ‘ask’ but for me this sounds very reasonable in times when even democratic elected presidents rather divide than unite, sew the ignorant seed of hate rather than to understand and try to learn.

   In Belgium there is a constant maintenance of roads and public buildings like train stations which might be cleaned, repaired and even renewed. This shows that the government is willing to improve and not let the country fall apart.

   During my holidays I could go wherever I wanted in Europe. But my experiences during these first six hours on Belgian roads from the airport to my hotel helped me decide to stay the next three weeks in this 'small but beautiful country’, as a sales lady described her own Belgium in a small drugstore in the Belgian city of Tervuren on my way to Namur.

Water Fountain near Tervuren on my way to Namur

(to be continued @

https://gerdiwanninger.blogspot.com/2018/08/fighting-cobbles-my-trip-to-belgium-in_3.html)

Disclaimer: I traveled Belgium by myself, I am not sponsored by anyone. Interested subscribers and/or followers in traveling an in this small but beautiful country are more than welcome! If not convenient to subscribe on Blogger.com, I've started my own homepage @ https://gerhardwanninger.wixsite.com/travel

Growing Up, part 6

A German Youth

Grown up in Germany in the 1960s and 1970s

   Mentioning Judo in connection with martial arts let someone imagine that there are a bunch of kids running around learning how to beat up each other but originally it's quite the contrary. Its more about self control than aggressiveness, its more about the mind than the body and more about the art than the martial. Or, to stay with a Japanese example, its more about a solemn tea ceremony than violent Sake drinking games.
   A quiet student is a very easy target for bullies. Once in the early morning one bully asked me to stop and we started to argue. He became physical and after a short struggled he fixed me with a headlock while we were still standing. I fought with myself if I should use my skills for several seconds and decided that it would be better to do so just to have my peace in the future. 
   I grabbed his shoulder, stepped on my the right and with a turn of my waist I let him fall over my left stretched out leg. Because of this unexpected movement he let my neck loose. I jumped on him and, like in training, my right arm went around his neck to fix his upper body on the floor while my left arm controlled his right arm (this technique is called 'Kesa-gatame' in Japanese). Not only his friends became suddenly quiet but also all other students on their way to school stood still for a moment. The school bell rang, we got up, I took his hand and, because I felt this way, said "sorry!". 
   It might sound strange that a son of a violent alcoholic and even more violent mother excuses to a bully but this might be explained by my 'soft' character. It's not like that you think that life is bad or there are many bad things are thrown in my way so I "have to do something". I am more a person who does to judge the person but asking "why does a person do or become like this". For example, we all agree that a bully is bad person. But I would ask "why did he become a bully?" I could imagine his family is broken too, that he got bullied by himself, that he had to show off in front of his so-called friends etc. So, I felt a kind of empathy; that's why I apologized to him even I was the clear 'winner'.
   Because of my parent's constant fights and my retreat into books I was very natural in German, one of the major subjects in primary school. Everyone touching the German language not only get some ideas about the complicated grammar but also about the spelling and particularly the rules when words are written in upper and lower cases. For me being tested by dictations or challenged by essays were tasks I've enjoyed tremendously.

 school excursion

   As I've progressed in elementary school I was shocked to learn that the reading skills of my father were very limited. Once I've visited him in his trucking company while he was reading the BILD newspaper, the cheapest, simplest and most dishonest daily paper in whole Germany. When I've asked him a questions why he reads this paper he brutally honest answered me "because I can't read others!" My mother could only help me with my homework until the 3rd grade then I had to ask my elder sister, classmates or friends...
   For a child it is very important to be taken seriously and to be supported, both I did not receive from my parents. But somehow I understood and accepted it, not blaming them. Even as a loner I've tried to do my best, others might see it as a failure.
   My first bicycle was one way to get away from the cage of my own home. I not only rode to school but also took rides further than the neighborhood. I've got an idea how to enjoy the wind, the speed and the freedom to choose which way to ride; any way just to stay away from home. At that time I've started to get interest in mechanical things, like how  bike shifters and gears work, how to make your bike comfortable etc. But I could not change an inner tire, this was the job of my father. 
   Once my father was not at home so my mother tried to fix my flat. In her rough way she took a pair of handy scissors to lift the tire from the rim, put in the new inner tube and fiddled the tire back onto the rim; all with the help of these scissors. But it did not work, as soon as I pumped the air into the tire immediately left with a 'pfffffffff'. So my mother gave me some money (!), I took of the front wheel and rode my sister's bike to a local bike shop. The elderly mechanic pulled out the inner tube, put on his spectacles, pumped up the tube and held it in a bucket of rainwater. After pumping and checking several time he counted 7 holes! With a worrying look he asked me: "What have you done?" I've answered honestly: "I did not take the scissors to exchange the tube!" With a smile he put in a new inner tube.

(to be continued)