Belgium Part 2

Belgium has got to be one of the most interesting countries in Europe. It's a little country with a 30km coast line, with The Netherlands on it's north border and France to the south. It's capital, Brussels is home to the UN and the EU headquarters, and it's considered the centre of western Europe. Yet Belgium has no government, they haven't had one for the past 18 months, it's a world record.

The country is divided along the lines of language and money. To the north are the wealthier Flemish speakers, and to the south are the poorer French speakers. The south used to be a bustling mining and industrial area, but around the 1970s most of the mines dried up and now the south rely on the wealthier north for support. So while economical power lies mainly in the hands of the Flemish, the French still want to have equal rights, and as far as I can gather, they often feel marginalized.

Neither Flemish nor French want to compromise, so there's something of a stalemate at present. There have been rumors of Belgium splitting into Flanders (the north) and Wallonia (the south) but the south don't want to lose the economic wealth of the north. And despite all of the bad blood, in a recent poll, most Flemish speakers said they were proudly Belgian before being Flemish and don't wish to separate from the south. Apparently a sort of compromise is imminent, and Belgium hopes to have a new government soon.

All of this aside, being in Belgium you see and feel none of the political tension. Belgium is famous for chocolate, diamonds and beer. Another strange combination.

I didn't spend much time in Brussels, but the central station in Brussels is huge and has local as well as international trains coming in and out constantly. Brussels has a cathedral which is bigger than Notre-Dame. I didn't go in, I just took pictures from the outside. Brussels is also very French speaking, despite being in Flanders (Flemish area) geographically. Brussels is actually considered separate from Flanders or Wallonia and also has a separate government.

There are always festivals, conventions and gatherings in and around Brussels. When I was leaving Brussels via central station, a huge Brazilian party seemed to be going on in front of the station. Men and ladies were dancing around on stilts, singing and banging on drums and other musical instruments.

From Brussels I took a train to Genk, as I mentioned before, and on Thursday Koen took me exploring.

We started off with Antwerp, city of diamonds. We went into the "diamond area" where Jews in traditional dress walk around. (Diamonds & Jews - such a cliche!)

I also saw many other nationalities and heard many other languages. I swear it looked like there was illegal trade going on on those streets. And it wasn't just me who thought so, when we got out of the area, Koen said he didn't like the feeling of being there, it seemed a bit shady.

If you want to buy a diamond or diamonds in Antwerp, you have to go through security checks before even being allowed in the same room with the diamonds. Yet, there was just recently a robbery which took place there and it is also rumored that, somehow, blood diamonds manage to make their way into the trade.

(Notice the guy to the front and right of the above picture. Look shady? You'll see him again soon!)

The above picture shows what used to be the market square of Antwerp. These are still found in all Belgian cities and are called the Groot Markt. According to Koen, Antwerp is the second largest port in the world. I haven't checked his facts yet, but the road to Antwerp was full of heavy duty trucks coming and going from the port.

The legend of Antwerp is that there used to be a giant along the river, who used to demand payment from all passers by. Then along came a hero called Brabo, who cut off the giant's hand and cast it into the river. So on the shield of Antwerp there is a hand, cut at the wrist. And the statue in the market square is of Brabo throwing the hand far into the water.

Antwerp also has a very impressive cathedral (Onze Liewe Vrouwkathedraal) where they had paintings by Reuben's (a very famous Belgian painter from the 16th century) on exhibition in the cathedral. This cathedral miraculously survived the pillage of the renaissance era.

From Antwerp we went to Gent. The background of the picture above is real, I promise! I know it looks like a painted backdrop. The big building you see behind me and the shady guy, is Gent's cathedral, which is from the 14th century.

Gent is a university town, where Koen studied and he has very fond memories of falling from his bike on his way to class after long nights in the favourite students' area: Overpoort. Gent is Belgium's largest university town.

We also did a little tourist boat trip which takes you through the medieval part of Gent, then I ate a hot chocolate covered Belgian waffle, before sampling some Gent Jenevers at the famous Dreupelkot.

To my delight, because of the "We Are Music" festival on in Gent at the moment, the shops were open until later than usual. And there was music on every corner. I'm not sure if Koen was as happy about the shopping hours as I was. I made sure we found a chocolate shop. We tasted a lot of chocolate, and I bought a bit.

Finally we left Gent and arrived back in Genk around 23h00. Poor Koen had to work today and drop me at the station (NOT in the same direction of work) before going to work.

I was on a train back to Leuven by 7h35. It was still dark, as well as cold and rainy.

Now, I need to get ready for the airport and figure out how to fit everything into my bags. I have to make a plan to ensure my check in luggage doesn't weigh more than 23kg. I think my shoulders are going to be very sore by the time I get to SA, from lugging my overstuffed backpack around!!