Beautiful fountains

Brussels has several fountains around the city. These are two of my favorites. Bob is in front of a new/old fountain by Cinquantenaire Park near our place. It finally was finished after over a year's work. It had been in disrepair since we arrived to Brussels in Jan 2007 but now it looks beautiful.

This fountain is by the Atomium. I just saw it in May of this year, funny since we have been in the area several times and I just saw it as we were walking in a different direction on our last visit.

National Day - Belgium 1830-2008

From Wikipedia: "The Belgian Revolution was a conflict in the United Kingdom of the Netherlands that began with a riot in Brussels in August 1830 and eventually led to the establishment of an independent, Roman Catholic and neutral Belgium (William I, king of the Netherlands, would refuse to recognize a Belgian state until 1839, when he had to yield under pressure by the Treaty of London)." Just wanted to give a bit of background history to this important day in Belgium, 21 July. If you would like to learn more about the Belgian Revolution and consequent Independence from the Kingdom of the Nederlands, click here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belgian_Revolution There are very interesting facts in this report.

Now for a look at a present day celebration. This is the second time that we can participate in Belgium's National Day commemorating this great country's independence. We witness so many wonderful events in the area but the parade was one of the best things that day. Here are some pictures.

I must say that we enjoyed watching the Belgian different branches of the military march by. We also enjoyed the Air Force display and although I missed taking several pictures (nice white skies were showing in my camera at one point - LOL), I did manage to take these two pictures.

As it is normal at all ocassions, a little bit of weirdness, we must also have...

Don't know the purpose of the orangey looking hair but if you wanted to learn how to scuba-dive, this was the time to do it. In the park, no matter the rain, you will get wet anyway, and there would be lots of people to witness your accomplishment (not only your changing your clothes!). Although we were too late to see the royals start the parade, here are a couple of pictures, I found on the internet. The royal family celebrated the day by going to Church (before the parade) and of course by observing the military march in front of them. Here are a couple of pictures of them doing just that. King Albert II and Queen Paola.

4th of July - Celebrating in Belgium - 2008

It has been 232 years since our great nation declared its independence with brave people fighting over the right to belong in the new land. It has been almost 122 years since the people of France presented the Statue of Liberty to the United States.

This is our second year in Brussels celebrating the 4th of July, our Independence Day. Not very much to do as you can imagine but we did go to the Brussels American School where we did have a bit of fun. Also, of course, there was the official reception that the Ambassador has and to which a whole bunch of officials from other embassies and from the local government are invited. Just to remember events, "Independence Day, commonly known as the Fourth of July or the Fourth, is a federal holiday commemorating the adoption of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776, declaring independence from the Kingdom of Great Britain." (from Wikipedia) Ambassador Sam Fox was present at the BAS celebration and welcomed the Major of Zaventen, the municipality where the school is located. I have to say that there was a lot of great food, we tried not to overdo it but, oh well, it is just once a year, right? Here are some scenes..

It doesn't matter, though, how far from home we are, we can still play a little softball and pretend we are home and it doesn't matter how cold and rainy it is in JULY!, we can still have some traditional games.

And so, here we are enjoying a bit of the day...

50 years of the Atomium

The Atomium - 1958

"Designed by the engineer André Waterkeyn for the International Exhibition of Brussels, that took place here in 1958, the Atomium is a structure that is half way between sculpture and architecture, symbolising an iron crystal by the scale of its atoms, magnified 165 billion times." It is amazing to look up at this monumental structure and think of the imagination of its creator and the workers who risked it all to build it. "The Atomium was not intended to survive the Exhibition of 1958. Its popularity and success, however, ensured its place as a major landmark on the Brussels skyline." This year is the 50th anniversary of the opening of the Atomium and as so long ago, visitors are in abundance participating in all types of celebrations. Living in Brussels, it is very easy to frequently visit this wonderful landmark. We have gone several times with friends as well as just by ourselves. Below are several pictures taken during different times at which we have gone to Heysel. Heysel is the commune where the Atomium is, just a few blocks from the royal estates of Laeken.

The first time we saw the Atomium was from the window of the tram we rode to Heysel. It certainly was an impressive sight! February 2007 - When we took a look at the Atomium, we felt a little sad as although it was still a great monument, it seemed desolated and isolated. It was being given a renovation and its surroundings were in a big mess but we still had fun looking at it and discovering a new space in our new home, Brussels.

This was taken on our first visit to the Atomium. Since then, we have gone many times and each time, we enjoy being there and looking out to the city from the top sphere.
These pictures show the "Little Europe" park which has replicas of the most famous places around Europe. You can see a mini Eiffel Tower from Paris, Shiphol Airport (Amterdam - best airport in Europe), etc.

You can just see also a little bit of (Heysel Stadium) soccer field, King Baudouin Stadium. This place has a sad story which happened in 1985 during the European Cup Final when during a riot between rival fans of Liverpool and Juventus teams. 39 fans died after a wall on the stadium collapsed. Since, the stadium has been rebuilt and more precautions have been taken to avoid such a disaster. The modern stadium offers a better view and more pleasant surroundings.

A Belgian Cathedral

Cathedral of St Michael and Gudula

You cannot imagine how many Churches there seem to be all over Europe but I will show you the main one here in Brussels. Some Churches are old, some are new but built over old, it is just amazing how beautiful they all are. Take for instance St.Michael's Cathedral in Brussels. It is an imposing place that when you look up, to the top, it feels like you are going to fall backwards. Our friends, Jamie and Denine were here last year around the end of May to celebrate their 25th anniversary, every time we wanted to take a walk inside the Cathedral, we found it closed but still were able to enjoy it from outside.

St Michael's is built on top of where the original Chrch stood and you can still see some of the ruins underneath. The whole place is beautiful and you wonder about how many people have gone through it throughout the centuries. Below is another detail from the outside of the Cathedral. Can you imagine all the work that went into each detail?

Today, the Cathedral of St. Michael and Gudula is the episcopal see of the Archbishop of Mechlin-Brussels and therefore the leading Catholic church in Belgium. All royal weddings and christenings take place here.

New Toy

Ok, so I am technology oriented but I have to admit that some toys are more challenging than others, especially the ones where I have to guess half of the options and what or how I could do things. So, I have a new toy, an HP iPAQ. It sure is a nice one! I really love it and I have already been able to do with it a lot more than I ever did with my old Palm One. I would like to have new software with it so I can play more but somehow, I accessed a site that only lists stuff in Euros! I guess I should expect it since I do live in Europe! BUT BUT BUT... Ok, I will be patient and wait for a response from HP to see if I can get the order processed in Dollars!