Europe on 500 Steps In a Day

Just north of Brussels is "Mini-Europe," a family park featuring dozens of buildings, all at a 1:25 scale. Each of the European Union's 27 nations has at least one structure. Many are famous; some are a tad less thrilling (Luxemburg, for example, is represented by a single highway bridge - I have to believe that this cute little country has something a bit more interesting than a bridge!). There are also other features, such as the Chunnel (with a high-speed train passing through), Mt. Vesuvius (which blows its top when you push a button), airports, harbors, oil rigs, and the world's largest duck (look closely for the enormous avian beast, threatening London's Big Ben and Parliament!). In the background is the famous Atomium, part of a 1959 Brussels world exposition.

Dinant: Miniature and Gigant

Head 30 miles north-west of Waterloo and you can see a mini version of Dinant, a beautiful city on the Meuse. Head 50 miles in the opposite direction and you will find the real thing. The mini-city is part of "Mini-Europe Brussels," a park with dozens of famous buildings from every EU country, all at a 1:25 scale. I'll post pictures of the park separately.
Dinant itself is situated on the Meuse River, near the border with France, at the foot of a steep ridge of cliffs. High atop the city (408 stairs atop, to be exact; those stairs have been there since 1577) is the 600 year-old citadel, site of fortifications, battles, destruction, and rebuilding many times over. There is a small French military cemetery nearby, honoring the dead from both world wars. The citadel itself was the scene of vicious hand-to-hand fighting between German and French soldiers just days after WW I began, in August 1914. Much earlier, Louis XIV spent time here and his famous military engineer, Vauban, is responsible for much of the present layout.
On a more peaceful "note," Dinant is famous for one more thing: the home of Adolphe Sax, inventor of the saxophone.
On a sunny fall day like today, this is a marvelous get-away, with few tourists, little traffic, and enough chocolate and beer to satisfy anyone!

A Lot More Than Candy and a Coke

In both of the largest train stations in Brussels you will find the largest vending machine I have ever seen. Why stop with just candy and Coke, when you can add milk, massive bags of potato chips, 5 or 6 different beers in all sizes, and, my personal favorite, bottles of wine (look near the top left), selling for only 3.95 Euros each (about $6), which tells me all I need to know about the quality of the swill. Who needs a fancy-schmancy restaurant for fine European dining? Just visit your local train station!

Tanks in Town

For the past 10 years Mons, Belgium, has hosted "Tanks in Town," to commemorate the city's liberation in early September 1944 by U.S. armor units. We visited the huge military flea market and display of military vehicles this afternoon, along with probably two or three thousand other curious folks. It was by far the biggest military display I've ever seen on this side of the pond. Our son, Robb, came home with a 3-Euro gas mask (what every 19 year-old obviously needs) and his friend found a French newspaper dated August 30, 1939, the day before WWII began. Definitely a non-typical Belgian experience!

Nature's Zoo

Besides the obvious joy of visiting family, I love every trip to California and never cease to be amazed at the "natural zoo" that anyone can experience. Whether at a bird feeder in Camarillo, in a kayak near at Moss Landing, or walking near the wharf in Monterey, it's all there, free for the asking. Just get out your camera and shoot! If this doesn't reduce your stress and give you at least a temporary lift, you're probably beyond hope. I guess everyone needs an unattainable dream, if for no other reason than to keep them humble. Mine is to live somewhere near Monterey, able to experience all of this on a daily basis. I figure I'm only a few million dollars short right now. But I can dream...

First Impressions From The Last Visit...

I just got back from a brief trip home to the U.S., my first in almost exactly a year. It was fun for me to notice exactly what I noticed - what things immediately caught my attention, that I was able to compare-and-contrast with Belgium. So, in no particular order, here are those first impressions:
1. vehicles: God, how how we love our vans, SUVs, and other big, gas-guzzling vehicles! I made a random count along Rte 97 and, out of 200 vehicles, 102 were vans, pick-ups, or SUVs. Each probably averaging all of 15-20 MPG. Sadly, we still don't get it. In Belgium, for every 200 vehicles, maybe 15 would be in that category.
2. large people: just like large cars, we have loads of them. Once in awhile you will see a very overweight Belgian, but it's almost an oddity. Not quite the case in Maryland, to put it nicely...
3. no weird yield-to-the-right rules: thank God! This is one area where the U.S. has its act together and Europe really should take a lesson. Anyone who has driven in residential areas in this part of Europe knows what I'm talking about: having to slam on the brakes for a car entering the road from the right, even if you're on a wide thoroughfare and he's coming in from something just bigger than an alley, the right of way is all his. I would estimate that well over 50% of all crashes are the result of this ridiculous rule. Someone will have to explain the logic behind it to me someday.
4. breakfast restaurants: if you stay at a small hotel almost anywhere in Europe, breakfast is included in the price, which is great, as is the food. But stay at a larger, more expensive hotel, and you're on your own. Good luck finding any place outside that hotel to get anything close to a full breakfast. Obviously, not a problem back home.
5. bumper stickers: though they're not nearly as popular as they were, say, 30 years ago, you still see a fair amount in the States. I counted over 30 Obama stickers. Not a single McCain. No comment. But here in Belgium, no clever bon mots or witty phrases. I guess cars are for the business of travel over here, not at all for anything like pleasure.
6. lawyer ads on TV: no such thing in Europe. What a concept! How do they survive here without them? Very nicely, thank you.
7. general politeness: face it, we Americans can be crude, culture-less, and hung up on creature comforts and shopping. But we are nice. To friends, strangers, customers, whomever. It's just part of our culture, I think. Over here, well, they just have a very different culture. There is no expectation of politeness, even among store clerks or restaurant staffs; I guess there's just no history of it. Granted, this is a gross over-simplification without any backing data, but it certainly caught my immediate attention when I was back in the States. From the young kid in the WalMart to the waiter at Chevy's (I admit it: I did Mexican almost every day!) to the check-in lady at Dulles Airport to the maid in the hotel.
Bottom line: no two countries or continents are alike; each has its strengths, weaknesses, blemishes, beauties, foibles, and quirks. I love Europe and all the exciting new things to experience and see. But it will never be home-sweet-home.

Like Yertle the Turtle...

...our cats are the rulers of all that they see!
While the two 17 year-olds rarely show enough energy to take advantage of our marvelous back yard, the two younger ones, Max and Gina, spend nearly every waking minute (all 6 or 7 of them per day) outdoors, when given the chance. Max is usually content to simply laze under the shrubs or roll on the warm deck. Gina is the hunter of the family, often found stalking bugs of varying sizes and smells. Just yesterday she "blessed" us with her first official big game kill: a mole. While we were on the phone with our son in the States, she ceremoniously delivered her Cargo of Carcass to our feet, in the house. The poor little mole was at least partially still alive when delivered; I rushed him outside and deposited him in the yard next door where he hopefully has recovered, with one heck of a tale to tell his grandmoles. Gina, as you can imagine, was none too pleased with Dad - if this is how he thanks her for such hard-earned gifts, she just might think twice before bringing us another. Or so we hope.