Fighting the Cobbles - My trip to Belgium in 2018, Part 34 In and Around Perbais

This blog continues the previous Part 33
https://gerdiwanninger.blogspot.com/2018/12/fighting-cobbles-my-trip-to-belgium-in_19.html

Saturday, June 30, 2018

“We live in a wonderful world that is full of beauty, charm, and adventure. There is no end to the adventures we can have if only we seek them with our eyes open.”

Jawaharlal Nehru (1889 –1964), first Prime Minister of India

   I've followed the main Gran Rue in Perbais and was again very much surprised about the clean environment created by its citizens. I could not even discover one one piece of paper - what a pleasant difference to my home in Taiwan.

  The Municipality of Walhain has existed since 1977, when the entities of Walhain-Saint-Paul (including the hamlets of Perbais and Sart-lez-Walhain), Tourinnes-Saint-Lambert and Nil-Saint-Vincent were merged. From its history until today it was and is predominantly an agricultural community which I would experience not much later...

   I passed very tidy houses until I came to the only building I could find some information; the communal school built between 1889 and 1890 in eclectic style after the plans of the architects Van Halen, who could have some connection to the American Rock Group but I don't know for sure. The double level two-story brick and limestone is crowned by a pediment decorated with a pattern of ash brick. The axis above the entrance says 'Communal School'. In this early Saturday morning hour the whole school was as quiet as the surrounding town.

   
   After the obligatory photo I've continued and passed an unknown church on the left with the Madonna and a very young Jesus. Why they are caged might be difficult to explain, so I'll leave it there. Even there is not much information about country towns in the internet but there is a lot to discover...

   Not much later I turned left into the Rue de la Sucrerie, at the next intersection I've turned left again into the Rue de la Cruchenère because my aim was to walk parallel to the main  N4 road direction Gembloux. When I've passed the last houses I could discover two different lonely cats, a single horse grazing and a lonesome bird flying around searching for breakfast; finally, I came to wide fields, as far as the eye could see. 

   In front of me was a small country road with occasional sections of cobbles like in the famous Paris-Roubaix cycling race. I am not a country boy but I've noticed something looking like wheat growing on both sides of the road; some was already harvested. In front of a bale of straw I paused, took out my tripod and a portrait of myself. The reader might notice that I was wearing my sunglasses because of the bright sun while I still had my fleece sweater on because of the cool weather on this still early morning.  

   Walking alone through the fields on my sides I occasionally let my hands slide over the wheat while I was walking. I don't know if a farmer would do and feel the same but I sensed a kind of simple joy seeing these fertile plains. While many countries fight stones and even sand to grow some vegetables and fruit this part of the world seemed blessed; rich and fertile...

Fields of Gold

You'll remember me when the west wind moves upon the fields of barley
You'll forget the sun in his jealous sky as we walk in fields of gold
So she took her love for to gaze awhile upon the fields of barley
In his arms she fell as her hair came down among the fields of gold

Will you stay with me, will you be my love among the fields of barley?
We'll forget the sun in his jealous sky as we lie in fields of gold
See the west wind move like a lover so upon the fields of barley.
Feel her body rise when you kiss her mouth among the fields of gold

I never made promises lightly and there have been some that I've broken
But I swear in the days still left we'll walk in fields of gold
We'll walk in fields of gold

Many years have passed since those summer days among the fields of barley
See the children run as the sun goes down among the fields of gold
You'll remember me when the west wind moves upon the fields of barley
You can tell the sun in his jealous sky when we walked in fields of gold
When we walked in fields of gold, when we walked in fields of gold

Gordon Sumner / Dusan Bogdanovic

(to be continued@
https://gerdiwanninger.blogspot.com/2019/01/fighting-cobbles-my-trip-to-belgium-in_20.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

Fighting the Cobbles - My trip to Belgium in 2018, Part 1 - Some reasons...

  

   'Writing is a journey of discovery because until you start, you never know what will happen, and you can be surprised by what you do - expect the unexpected!'

Mini Grey, British illustrator and writer of children's books 

   Welcome back to my Blog! I hope you have a good and informative time travel with me. If you should have any comments, suggestions, ideas or criticism let me know! I am very glad to receive your opinions…

Pulling my Sports Bag through the Taoyuan International Airport in Taiwan

   As a German foreigner living in Taiwan for quite some time it is sometimes still very annoying to get used to or fight the customs in this Far Eastern country. We have cable TV but, honestly, never watch Taiwanese, Chinese or Korean TV dramas because they typically have a very traditionally contents with the aim to teach Taiwanese to be traditional. The stories are most time the same, a ‘good’ daughter in law is fighting the mother in law ‘dragon’ or it’s a about power struggles in families connected with money issues. As good as they might be but they are pretty much the same. The low point of entertainment came with the arrival of South Koran TV. Handsome and beautiful as a result of extensive beauty surgery with very limited acting skills and local issues directed boring to death. But most Taiwanese like dreaming of this perfect world and copy their hair styles, clothes; they even long for the same ‘plastic’ lifeless skin and opt for the same shaped noses as their idols readily available from the local plastic surgeon.
   Thankfully there are other international programs like news, BBC, National Geographic channels etc. Since the beginning of this year our cable provider cooperates with Eurosport which shows cycling nearly every day. Writing about cycling everyone immediately thinks about doping, the dark Armstrong area and the confusions within the WADA (World Anti-Doping Agency) and the UCI (Union Cycliste International, the governing body of cycling sport) about doping which is still alive today.
   ‘Confusion’ I would call the absence of clear, understandable rules and the same treatment of all. For example a Tour de France winner with proven (!) too high levels of Salbutamol (a medication that opens up the medium and large airways in the lungs) is cleared after several months of investigations while a lesser known Swiss licensed Italian rider gets a nine months ban for the same ‘offense’. I don’t get it and know that many other cycling fans don’t get it either…Anyway, I am very interested in the sport and even attended some bike challenges by myself.
   On Eurosport I watched the cycling Spring Classics, like the Tour of Flanders or the highlight Paris-Roubaix, which mostly take part in Belgium. When watching them occasionally my wife joined. I understand that she is not very interested and sometimes she even asks: “Did we not watch the same race last time?” Actually not, but as the races are held predominantly in the same country they look very similar indeed.

http://www.skysports.com/cycling/news/12040/9732750/the-classics-a-dummies-guide-to-paris-roubaix-milan-san-remo-and-other-one-day-races

  
   Watching the Spring Classics I noted that the races are very family friendly, many children stand beside the roads watching their heroes with their parents flying by. The other thing I've noticed it that the environment and road system in Belgium is quite different from Taiwan’s. Here in the Far East everyone is fighting for his own space on the busy road while in this small European country the bike paths and walkways are clearly separated from the motorcycle, car and truck traffic. This makes the roads a seemingly slower but much safer place to share for everyone. 

   Discussing my next holidays I showed my anxious wife this road design during the races and some persuasion she finally agreed that I could go to travel in Belgium…

(to be continued@

https://gerdiwanninger.blogspot.com/2018/07/fighting-cobbles-my-trip-to-belgium-in_19.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