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‹ Previous (12/09/2006) MONTH Next (2006-11-11)› ‹ Previous (2006-09-29 - Germany) COUNTRY Next (2006-10-23 - Belgium)› Netherlands Amsterdam (see on map) 13/10/2006:
We have spent 5 more days in Amsterdam, parked near the centre but in a free of payment area. On Sunday at night, after using a little more internet from the Hymer, we moved the car for fear of new graffiti and fines. We wanted to park near the centre but even almost to the outskirts of the city there did not stop being the areas of payment . We parked on the other side of the big channel that divides up the city, leaving the centre in the south. But the day after we realised that we were too far and that to arrive to the centre we needed 45 minutes by bicycle. Then we discovered that near the centre, but the same on the other side of the channel, there was also free parking. The only problem is that there was not any bridge to cross the channel, but the problem was not so big, since there were different lines of small boats that every 15 minutes crossed freely the channel. Anyway, one of the days they put a fine for us, since despite being an area of free parking place, you can not park more than two hours there unless you are resident. Also another day that we went out from the Hymer, a woman approached and told us that we could not camp there and that if we stayed she would call the police. Alexandra, every day is more dissapointed by the Dutch. The truth is that in general they seem not too nice. These days we have been working quite a lot from the Hymer, making use of the connection to Internet of some neighbours; and from a library, making use of the free connection there. I have started to send electronic mail to different media to extend the collaborations to have all the expenses covered during the second stage of the journey: Africa and Asia. We also went some hours to walk through the calm Amsterdam; for the side of the channels, with its floating homes; the streets free of cars although full of bicycles; the houses its big windows, open to the curiosity of the passers-by; people relaxing around the bridges or reading the journal on their doorways; We also went to the red district, with a completely different atmosphere; evidently full of red lights, illuminating the windows where the prostitutes, the sexshops, the clubs of striptise were exhibited; in the corners groups of blacks sang you or whispered the drugs availably; groups of Japanese walked shy, solitary boys or in group that looked to buy; couples, as us, that observed with curiosity and condemning; eccentric individuals, characters escaped from the mental hospital, fights; ... On Tuesday at night i had a long discussion with Alexandra about legalising or not the prostitution. I was for as long as the safety and will of the girls were favoured, but Alexandra gave an opinion unfavourably, because ethically was not acceptable. Anyway, in the end we conclude that, in spite of everything, the prostitution had to be concealed. It was probably not correct to show any passer-by or under age, those bodies discovered, making advances; nor the title pages of video and the eccentric artifacts of the sexshops. Wednesday was a more social day. At noon we met with Ramon in front of the train station. He came with a bicycle with the wheel in front decorated with sun flowers of and with some shoes in the same style. It was the attraction of the day, all the looks went towards us. He suggested us to buy something in a supermarket and to go to eat in some park. We accept, cause our economics were not for too many expenses. We, went to Vodelpark, a big park in the south of the city, full of lakes, lawn, some wild bird and many people resting. There we talked about the character of the inhabitants of Amsterdam. Ramon started to explain that the people in Amsterdam had very few patience and expresses with quite a lot of violence. Afterwards he told us about the indifference and about the great growth of the intolerance in Holland. Anyway, Ramon thought that the level of racism continued being below the majority of countries. Then he explained that the murders of the movie director Theo Van Gogh and the politician Pin Fortuyn, both with a xenophobe speech, pushed the society towards more intolerant positions. That's why, he in the end concluded that the image of freedom of Holland was not real. Next we discussed the subject of soft drugs, which are legal in Amsterdam. He explained that the sale (always quantities inferior to 30 grams) and the consumption was legal, but the production (bigger than 8 plants of marihuana) was not legal, not even the storage , because of that, every day the journals reserved columns about the confiscation of drugs or atiks of plantations. Finally he expressed that the drugs and the prostitution are the main touristic calls of Holland. In the case of the prostitution, he commented that 95% of the customers of the red district are tourists, and of these the majority were English and American. I took the pulse in the world with Ramon which opined that the main problem in the world is that the people only think about themsleves and they are unaware of great problems as pollution and poverty. The solution to the problem would be acting, although the humanity does not act on problems that can become severe in a distant future. He is also affected by the problem of thinking in himself and does not know how to go out of the circle. he repeated that the main problem in Holland is intolerance, even if from other countries it does not seem like this. Holland is becoming a politically left-wing country. he can only help in the solution of the problem by talking about that. Ramon doenst feel happy for being still affected by the consequences of events that happened when he was a child. He is working to be happier, for example doing group therapy. The secret of happiness is to accept your situation and to enjoy the small things. At night we followed the conversation with Juan, originary of Argentina, and Susana, from Spain, that invited us to dine at their place. It has surprised us, when entering the block of flats, the height of the stairs. When arriving up, almost dizzy of the giddiness,they explained that the majority of stairs of the homes in the centre were equal. During the dinner they explained to us that the legalisation of the drugs and the prostitution in Holland turned amsterdam into the operational center in Europe for traffic of women and drugs. On the other hand they explained that most of the prostitution in Holland continues being illegal, as the majority of the trade of drugs, which included many hard drugs. the current left-wing government did not see with good eyes the legalisation of drugs and prostitution, in the same way that the majority of the society, but very few want to turn back to the other laws as euthanasia, the abortion and the homosexual marriages. Finally they explained that all the social movement of the sixties, which gave Holland an image of a free country, had completely disappeared. We keept talking about Argentina, about a journey that they had done recently to Africa and finally interviewed them to take the pulse of the world. Juan commented that in the world there are many problems, anyway the main problem of the world is the increase of inequalities, Susana noted the indifference. The solution, maybe utopian, is the participation. They personally try to reflect, to communicate and to take part in organisations, as Architects without borders. When talking about Holland, Susana thought that the main problem is the individualism, the lack of interest and of participation and Juan indicated the Dutch farce that are shown as a country that in fact is not. They see it very difficult to change the culture of a country. Juan and Susana feel very happy, because they are together and make many things, fill many projects and have other projects to carry out. They would be happier going to live in a warmer country. The secret of happiness is to have projects and to carry them out for afterwards to have new projects to carry out. Since I arrived in Amsterdam i had the curiosity to prove a theory . Amsterdam is at the foot of the immense dam . I do not know the date of construction of the dock, in any case it was built later than Amsterdam. Therefore, Ámsterdam, with its channels, were formerly at the sea level, but as they build the dock, it seems that four meters and a half were reduced by the waters of the sea (or by the dam). So, unless they built other docks or floodgates, the channels of Amsterdam would have emptied. I asked Ramon and he told me that it was not true, that Amsterdam was equally under the sea level at 4,5 meters. But afterwards I investigated and i observed from far that there were some great floodgate systems for the boats that separated the big channel . Later I also observed that in another small channel there was a system of floodgates where the waters of Amsterdam were about two meters above those of exit. Today we had quite bad luck. In the morning we have gone to look with the Hymer for carboys of campingaz in a shop near the place where we were parked. There, apart from the gas, we have also bought two drums of gas oil, of 20 litres each, already thinking in Africa. I have gone out of the reverse gear parking place without realising that behind there was a street sign, out of my field of vision, with the misfortune that we have crashed against the wheel of my bicycle and the bumper. All the lights of the lateral of the Hymer have broken and the wheel of my bicycle has remained broken too. Anyway we have managed to cross the channel with the bicycles and to arrive to different shops for bicycles, which did not have any spare wheel until in the end they have offered us one for almost 70€ as expensive as all the bicycle. We have decided to try in some other city and have returned to the Hymer discouraged and with desires of leaving the city. Then we have decided to take advantage of being Friday and go out to party and to leave the city the day after. we have loosened up and we have bought a small box of magical mushrooms, which without eating them all, have provided us with an overflowing and uncontrolled evening party of visual imagination. Den Haag (see on map) 17/10/2006:
On Saturday we woke up late, with the diluted hallucinogenic effects of the mushrooms. As we had decided on the previous day, we started to go out of Amsterdam, but before we stoped to the great floodgates that separated Amsterdam from the gap. It is interesting because you can walk above, but my theory explained previously fell there through the ground. The water of the gap seemed some centimetres above the waters of Amsterdam. In the face of this unusual vision yesterday I was investigating on Internet and obtained some interesting answers. For example, Holland has about 3500 km of defences or dams, bordering the rivers, lakes, sea... 26% of the country is under the sea level. Without the dams, 66% of the country would periodically be flooded, in fact, in the past, Holland suffered different flooding with thousands of deaths. As it seems, the gap - in fact lake called Ijssel- is in the same sea level, therefore it is strange that the channels of Amsterdam are at the same level as the lake Ijssel. The explanation in the floodgates said that the waters were about 2 meters below the channels of Amsterdam so this would be related with the 26% of land that is under the sea level. On the other hand, the dam of 32 kilometres finished in 1932 was built to be able to build other dams surrounding the lakes to be able to drain them during different months for finally to dry them and to use them as fertile earth. On Saturday, after observing the floodgates and of eating, we left towards Hoevelaken, the village where lives my ex, Eva. It is not that i had fixation with her or felt like seeing her again. The case is that some weeks ago the credit card had expired. My father had received the new card and the simplest address where he could send it to me was the home of Eva. On the previous Sunday she had not received the card of my father, so, we had met again the next week. We sleept in a parking place of the small village Hoevelaken and visited Eva the day after. We ate with her and spent a nice afternoon conversing and playing with her cats. Afterwards we start to go towards Leiden, some town between Amsterdam and Den Haag. On Monday we visited Leiden, which we did not find a lot of touristic atractions, apart from the typical channels, which seem to repeat in many Dutch towns, and a big windmill. While we walked we stopped to look at some postcards, very useful to see the points of interest of the area and to observe the techniques used in the photos. In some postcards there were some very pretty images of some mills. I looked behind and I noted the names with a pen to look afterwards for their position on Internet. In the afternoon we went towards Zoetermeer, the town where Ewout, a boy that we had met at Klöden camp, lived. We had wrote him some days ago telling him that we were in Holland and he invited us to visit him. We made use of the visit to connect to wifi and to copy about fifteen films of his cds . But we also had time to converse quite a lot, to consult Internet about all the information of the dams and to go to drink some beers to the town centre with some of his friends. Ewout is town councillor in Zoetermeer. One of his friends who were introduced also is town councillor and we were quite a lot talking about policy . Later another boy of Irish origin sat with us. I was asking him quite a lot about the situation in Northern Ireland and he commented me that in spite of the process of peace, the situation still is very tense and with a lot of hatred accumulated among catholic and protestant. He commented that they should invest in education. In any case it will take a lot of time to heal the wounds. Due to the situation of his family he has always been between the two communities and instead of having more friends he had more enemies. Now, he explained, is very well in Holland, a country with a lot of freedom but with too many rules. Today in the morning I have woken up early and I have driven up to the center of Zoetermeer. Alexandra has kept sleeping in the back. Ewout had explained to me that in the market there was a man who fixed bicycles. I have directed with my bicycle that still had the wheel broken, but the man has told to me that he did not have any spare wheel that was goos for me. Afterwards I have gone to another shop that Ewout indicated me and there yes they had. 40€ was the price but i had to install it myself . Later we have gone to visit the mills that we had observed in the postcards of Leiden, the mills of Leidschemdam, built in the middle of 16 century. Three big and pretty mills were used formerly to drain lands, to take the water towards a higher channel that still exists. At present they are used as houses, as touristic appeal and as image of the postcards. After the magical road among the mills we have gone towards Den Haag with the intention of visiting the city the day after. Roterdam (see on map) 19/10/2006:
In Den Haag is situated the government of Holland and the residence of the royal family. Yes, Holland, as in Denmark is a kingdom, specifically they have a queen, but here they do not talk a lot about that and do not show it in the postcards. Alexandra already feared that Den Haag would be a city without so many attractions, and as it was a bad day, she stayed in the Hymer while I went to give a ride by bicycle through the city. And indeed, there is not too much to comment. At noon we went towards Rotterdam, but not towards the centre, rather in the south of the city. There was a distributor of Hymer. I had intention to fixing the left light behind that did not work since i had the small accident in Amsterdam. But we arrived a little later than five and they told us that until the following day they could not look at it. We parked in a wasteland and I started to work while Alexandra had just produced a pretty scarf that had kept her occupied during three or four days. To change the light of the Hymer has not been so much expensive as i expected, but not very economic either. Next we have gone towards Rotterdam, in a neighbourhood to the outskirts, where we had to meet with Walter. Walter is a computer scientist who lives in a quite big flat with a cat. He had invited us to dine with a friend of his, José Luís, from malaga, Spain, that was doing a post-degree in artificial intelligence in Rotterdam. Walter cooked a simple Dutch dish: purée of potatoes with carotts and sausages. We were talking about journeys, Africa, malaria... It was not a good subject of conversation for Alexandra that, although has decided to accompany me to the following continent, does not stop being scared. Afterwards we talked about projects and about how to execute them. José Luís commented that sometimes, some dreams are only obtained when you do not want them. I also interviewed both of them. Walter thought that the main problem of the world is the intolerance. Hospitalityclub can be the solution, since it allows you to know people of many different countries and being more tolerant helps you. In Holland the intolerance is also the main problem, the intolerance of the extremists of any religion. he does not think that the problem can disappear in the next decades. He does not think either that he can collaborate to change it, apart from talking about that. Walter is happy, because lately he has taken the correct decisions, among them is the one that is allowing him to do a journey arround the world. He does not think that he can be happier, and if he had girlfriend he would be just as happy. The secret of happiness is not to be egocentric and to know opinions and different people. José Luís thought that the main problem of the world is the power and the money, because the majority of problems of the world are caused by the current economic system and in the distribution of money . There is no solution, but an utopian solution would be the revolution. He can personally do small things, which perhaps are better than big things. The main problem in Spain are the immigrants that risk the life to arrive to Spain and afterwards Europe. Perhaps the solution would be erasing borders. he personally tries to have the mind open. José Luís is happy. Before he was not happy because he was not happy with the system, until he realised that the system was also stealing his happiness and decided to be simply happy. he would be happier having more confidence. Perhaps the secret of happiness is to forget the concept of happiness. The flat of Walter is at the 4 floor with a view to a park. When leaving, Walter commented that if there were not dams in Holland he could arrive to his flat by small boat, since we were found in one of the lowest points of the country, 6,5 meters bellow the sea level. Belgium Antwerpen (see on map) 23/10/2006:
We have spent 4 days in Antwerp very pleasant and with very good company. In Rotterdam we had written to several people from Couchsurfing to meet in Antwerp and three had answered us. Two girls and a boy. The boy proposed us a vegetarian dinner for three euros in a squatters place. It seemed interesting and we sent the other two girls a message so that they could contact the boy and also come. Remco lives in a quite downtown flat, a little old but very cosy. Imediatly after arriving he offered us his connection to Internet, even though not for much time, cause after little his friend Denís arrived and we went towards the squatted place, clean and arranged. We arrived early and it was empty, but before eight it filled up . The two girls that we had contacted arrived too: Elise and Ellen. At eight a queue was formed in front of the kitchen and after a good while we came out with a delicious dish with rice, roasted potatoes, tofu, vegetables... We ate without speaking very much, savurating the dish. Afterwards, with the satisfied appetite, we started to talk about the Belgian mentality in comparison to the Dutch one. The Belgians give more importance to privacy, for example the homes do not have large windows open, therefore, they cannot be controlled. Afterwards they commented that the Belgians do not have a very strong national feeling ,there is the Flemish feeling in the north and the walon feeling in the south, as a matter of fact, although not many talk about division. Despite everything, when I mentioned that in the north of Belgium Dutch is spoken more they rectified explaining to me that they spoke Flemish, even if it differes from the Dutch just for the accent and a few words. In another coversation, Elise commented that she had been living two years in Madrid, but the cloth and the food were more economic in Belgium, and the rents were more economic in Antwerp. Finally they commented that in Belgium there is a lot of immigration - and really the following days this was confirmed. The consequence of this is an increase of racism and of the votes for the extreme right party in Antwerp, a third of the voters is suporting it. When we wanted to come back from the place we got lost and we parked in a street without having any idea where we were. In the middle of the night we were awakened by something that crushed or touched the Hymer. We opened the blind but we did not see anything strange. Anyway, the following day in the morning I went outside and the surprise was considerable: the back wheel of my bicycle was destroyed and it was the same that i had changed four days ago. At noon we meet again with in Remco and we explained him the misfortune that we had had. He looked at the weel and he commented that i could fix it, without the need for changing it. And effectively, I was all the afternoon making pressure with the foot, tightening and detightening stems and finally I assembled the talment wheel again as if it were new. In the evening we made a barbecue at Remcos house , together with Denis. The desserts were exquisite: banana with sugar and ron, wrapped in aluminium paper.During the dinner they commented us that the Sunday following day we could go to visit the Lillo village,an ancient villag of anglers that survived in the middle of the immense port of Antwerp. And effectively, the village had a certain charm although more surprising were the kilometres and kilometres of tongs, floodgates, refineries and you manufacture that we had to cross to arrive there. Sunday, aside of walking in Antwerp, Alexandra had reserved all the itinerary of airplanes and coaches to arrive at home in Transilvània and to come back after two weeks. She had been being worried for the health of her grandmother for days. For another band, if she does not make the journey now, afterwards would have problems to enter into the shengen space, since she will have exhausted the 90 days of permanence that are available in 6 months.Luckily, Romania will enter into 2007 in Europe and Alexandra will not need any more more visas nor permission to travel in Europe. In the evening we had dinner again at Remcos house but this time Alexandra cooked her delicious speciality of potatoes puree with raw garlic torn to pieces. There were also other friends, all boys, I found curious that between them they were greeting with a kiss on the cheek and dared to touch the subject. I do not believe that they liked to speak but they commented me that in Belgium it was common to greet with the friends in this way, the same as in Catalonia also it was among relatives. Before going to Sleep Remco and Denis wanted to show us the red district of Antwerp. Only a few streets but only entering there and we came off hallucinated. in two streets it seemed to be more prostitutes and licentiousness that in Amsterdam. Here also they were behind windows with red neon , then which was the difference between legalising and not legalising ? Today, we have walked again for the beautiful ancient helmet of Antwerp and we became interested with the statue in the centre of the Grote Markt square: a boy throwing away the hand of a giant who was twisted of pain on the floor. Remco explained us the history of the name of the city, that comes from the sentence "to throw away the hand It is seen that long ago there was a giant who charged abusively the inhabitants for crossing the river until a day, one sharp young felllow achieved to cut it and throw away in the river. In the afternoon, before going towards Gent I interviewed Remco. he thought that the people of the world live blinded by the material things, partly due to the advertising. The solution should start from the individual being more open and tolerant. He can also help in the solution pioneering this change and sharing. The main problem of Belgium is the growth of the votes of extreme right. If a war is created against the racist party it can be counter-productive. The time perhaps will solve the situation and if these partys never rise to the power maybe then the people will notice how little they agree with them. personally he attempts to help in the solution simply living in harmony . Remco considers himself reasonably happy: has good health, good friends and family. he would be happier having a couple. The secret of the happiness is to feel well and to accept the things as they are. Gent (see on map) 27/10/2006:
We have had a little irritated week. for weeks now I feel that Europe is too smal for me . But due to the sponsors and media I can not pioneer the second phase on the journey, Africa, without closing before new agreements which I am attempting to renegotiate at present across internet. Alexandra is also feeling a little disoriented or dismotivated, because even though she helps me quite a lot, yet has not been implied in the 100% with the journey or project and has quite a lot of free time to fill in. These last days we have spoken and it seems that finally we have found an idea which seems will motivate her. for another hand, these days we have been basicaly in Gent, but not completely. We arrived Monday in the afternoon , but It rained and we remained in the Hymer. In the evening it worsened the problem that i had with the recharger of my computer, i could connect the computer to electricity but it did not load the battery. Tuesday in the morning, we tried to find a recharger on Internet but in the end decided to go to look to the offices of the manufacturer in Brussels. At the same time we could try to solve a problem with the fridge, which it did not cool enough. We directed the same day, Brussels is only 50 kilometres away from Gent. But in the offices of the manufacturer they told me that in order to acquire the recharger i have to buy it through internet and the technical service of the fridge was closed because we arrived a bit later than five. We agreed to work in front of some office taht offered free wireless internet . I buyed online the recharger and made it to be sent at the house of Remco, in Antwerp. Towards nine and half, after working both without interruption, the transformer of the car issued a whistle indicating that the battery was finished. Following the procedure of always I tried to turn on the engine of the car, but this time the procedure didnt work . The engine could not be turned on, the battery was finished. Apparently, the problem with the recharger produced this situation. We let rest the battery during half an hour, with the hope that miraculously the power will increase, but naturally it didnt work like this. Luckily i had the service of assistance in road provided by Zalba Caldú. But I didnt want to call them because exactly the same happened to me in Italy. We attempted to push the car . But in spite of pushing both with force, the Hymer remained nailed in the middle of the street. Then yes I phoned the service of assistance, which arrived before midnight. Luckily, Wednesday we solved the problem with the fridge and we next directed ourselves again towards Gent. We parked in a square from where we could use internet freely. It was not such a good day, it rained, but mid-afternoon it stopped raining and I went out to visit the city a little while Alexandra continued working with Internet. The following day, Thursday, it was sunny and we went out both to visit Gent, wich is charming, clean and elegant ancient helmet, with several canals bordering the old town, with many people sunbathing near the water. Several buildings and Gothic churches, a cathedral and a castle stand up majestically. In a sincere way, I had never felt attracted by Belgium but I now discover only that it was caused by my ignorance. After the visit we decided to change the position of the Hymer because the internet that had been working during all the former afternoon stopped working. It had already happened other times in Belgium, but in the new location we could be connected and work all the rest of the afternoon and all the following day in the morning. Really we advanced quite a lot of work, sending the diary and contacting several media asking them for collaboration for Africa. In the afternoon we went towards Bruges. Brugge (see on map) 30/10/2006:
Bruges is another Belgian city that captivates, rivaling with Gent. Gent perhaps has a more elegant ancient helmet, but aside of this it is not more attractive. Bruges is a city that has known how to keep on the whole a mediaeval and romantic air. It’s a pity that maybe because of that and because it was Saturday, the city was full of tourists. An itinerary of three or four hours by bicycle , walking through calm parks, for the side of the canals, crossing bridges of stone, a monastery, several, shops of chocolate, sqaures, windmills, churches... In the evening we were invited to have dinner by a girl from Bruges, Griet, who was accomodating a girl from Italy and her boyfriend from United States. As supposed the Italian girl cooked pasta with a delicious pepper sauce, bacon and cheese. While we were savurating the Belgian beer we pioneered the conversation with the boy, who had been three years in the American army, serving in Iraq and Afghanistan. he had enroled for idealism, but now thought to go out from there in two weeks because many of his superiors were stupid, the rules were incomprehensible (for example they could not drink alcohol when the soldiers of other countries could ) and in the end he did not find any explanation for the intervention in Iraq. Anyway, he said that if he would have found a motive for the war he would remain in the army, even though many of his friends had died. Also we spoke about journeys, psychology, superstitions... but little on Belgium. However, the following day in the afternoon, Belgium was one of the main subjects of conversation. We meet Wim, which had a beautiful house in the outskirts of Bruges. Also there was Vamke, a friend of Wim.Wim was percusionist in a punk-rock band that attempted to become big in Belgium. Anyway, they had not known the correct people in the right moment yet. Afterwards he showed us several video clips that they had recorded, we started to speak about the Belgian king, who according to them kept the country together. Anyway, they believed that the king felt more Walló than Fleming, since he spoke better the French than the Fleming (or Dutch). This is not strange for Wallonia, where the people know how to talk French but non Flemish. However, in Flanders, they explained that the people knew how to speak the Flemish, French, English, perfectly... It was sensed that there was not so much friendliness, but, comparing, Catalan and Spanish, with the Basque nationalism they ended up admitting that in Belgium they were having a better relation. Also we spoke about immigration and this came reflected into the interviews that I recorded. Wim thought that the main problem of the world is pollution, because due to the pollution the nature is starting to take revenge and the nature will win. At present perhaps it is too late for a global solution. He personally attempts to help using the train more than the car, recycling rubbish... The main problem in Belgium is the immigrants that do not integrate. The solution would be in tolerance and in the adaptation of the immigrants to the local habits. He personally simply attempts to be tolerant. Wim feels very happy, because he has a lot more than other people . There are things that perhaps would make him happier but if he had them perhaps he would be less happy. The secret of happiness is to expect nothing from nobody, to accept the things that you have and not to complain about the things that you do not have. Vanke thought that the main problem of the world is criminality: robberies, rapes, murders... sHe does not believe that the laws bring solution. Anyway she attempts to live in accordance with the law. The main problem in Belgium is the immigration and the criminality. The solution would be to have more police in the street and to send the immigrants to their country of origin. She can personally simply vote for the partis that support these policy. Vanke is happy because she has a good job, good friends... she would be happier having boyfriend and more love, she has many friends but sometimes she feels alone. The secret of happiness is to love yourself and not to envy the others for what they have. In the evening we left and we started the way towards the village Yepres. During the second world-wide war, Yepres was the last bastion of the Belgian territory not occupied by the Germans. This corner of earth inserted into the southwest of the country represented the barrier for the Germans to occupy the French port Calais. For four years more than 300.000 allied soldiers died, and many more of Germans. During the British offensive of 1917, they joined in a total of 500.000 victims in 100 days of combat, only to win 5 miles of territory. The first world-wide war was called the great war, the mud, the gas, was the war of the trenches... Yepres, aside of having a beautiful ancient helmet (naturally reconstructed), it has several museums and memorials. Today we have been visiting several memorials, one of the saddest is the door of Menin. It is a big monument with 55.000 names of soldiers without grave, British and commonwealth, that died and that got lost in the mud of the trenches. Among the thousands of names we discovered a few Indians. Another impressive memorial is the cemetery of Tyne Cot, the biggest British cemetery in the world(outside the british teritory), with 12.000 buried soldiers and more, engravings on the walls but without grave, 35.000 names. Bruxelles (see on map) 02/11/2006: Today in the evening, Alexandra has taken an airplane towards Romania. her grandmother feels ill and she wanted to visit, maybe for the last time before pioneering the African adventure. I will be twelve days without her, attempting to use the time and also thinking about her. Today, while i came back from the Charleroi airport towards Brussels I have been thinking, I have reflected on love. Until little ago, i believed that without pain there is no love. i thought that it was normal to feel sad when u are not together with the ones that you love. But after eight months traveling and asking about happiness, I am learning that it does not have to be all the time like this. Eylem and Duygu from Istambul believed that the secret of happiness was love. And when I commented them that the people who fall in love sometimes feel unhappy , they replied that if the love was unconditional nobody would feel bad. I also remembered other answers: the secret of happiness is to love and not to wait for anything in exchange (from your couple). When going tears came out from the eyes of Alexandra, but I simply have smiled with complicity. Maybe the journey is changing me in a faster way than I thought. I love Alexandra, but I will not miss her, at least with pain or melancholy. I would prefer to be with her, but I accept that the fate gives me the opportunity to discover another part more of the itinerary alone. I will continue being happy endeavouring life in the present and I will continue preserving the warm remembrance of Alexandra. The same Monday in the evening, after visiting the memorials of Yepres, we started to go towards Brussels. Alexandra wanted to celebrate Halloween (Tuesday) in the city, she would be in this way more close to the airport. Anyway we spent the night in Tournai. The guide recommended to visit it and the following day went out to discover it while Alexandra stayed inside the Hymer connected to Internet and preparing the lunch. I spent an hour walking through Tournai, one of the most ancient cities of Belgium, with a beautiful cathedral (but in reconstruction) and several mediaeval buildings. In the afternoon we followed the path towards Brussels. We had attempted to contact somebody with who to celebrate the Halloween in the evening. But nobody had answered, therefore we decided to spend the Halloween having dinner in a restaurant and to celebrate an electronic mail that i had received from a magazine that offered to pay very well for my articles about afrika. Anyway, we did not disguise nor paint, because Alexandra was a little worried for the next journey and for the health of her grandmother. We had dinner in a restaurant that was recommended in the guide, convenient and at a good price. After having dinner we parked in a neighbourhood that seemed calm, even though we observed many immigrants. We were watching a film on the computer and when we were about to sleep, a strong knock followed by the noise of a broken glass woke us up. I got up, and i heard the voices outside. Then I put the alarm and the voices ran away. I went out with the armed with the baseball and there was nobody no more. The small glass of the lateral door was well shattered, but it still stood. Somebody had broken it with the intention of opening the door, and to steal. Luckily we were inside. For another hand the Hymer has alarm and double lock. We have clamped the glass that still stood with adhesive tape and have gone to park in another zone of the city, more residential. We have stayed until today at noon, simply enjoying our company and counting the hours that were missing to say goodbye. The glass, I decided to fix it after Alexandra’s departure. Tomorrow I will see what I have to do. 08/11/2006:
On Friday, the following day after Alexandra left, I went to try to change the broken glass of the Hymer. I found a small workshop where they have told me that I should wait until Tuesday. I accepted, after all i also had to wait for the recharger of the computer . So, I sent a few messages to people of hospitalityclub and couchsurfing in Brussels, in order to find somebody for the end of the week. And also I worked a little: I washed cloth, I wrote electronic mail, some articles... Saturday I devoted it to visit the city. First I went with the Hymer to the Atonium, symbol of the universal exhibition of 1958, in the north of the city. It is a surprising building (or monument) , with spheres of 8 metres in diameter clamped by transitable pipes. Its form is based on a metal crystal increased 150 trillion times. Anyway, soon after observing it through the trees it seems an extraterrestrial plant. After having lunch I went towards the centre of the city. It surprised me that it was dark arround half past five . Therefore, I took the tripod. The centre of Brussels was full of pedestrian streets and tourists, probably due to the fact that it was weekend. The Big Square is interesting, the same as the ancient Galleries of St. Hubert. Anyway, for me it was not as attractive as Bruges . Finally I walked towards the other symbol of the city: the Manneken Flat Fountain, a metal boy that seems tired of pissing in the face of the smiling faces of tourists. The same Saturday I received a message from Kat and Andrea inviting me to dinner. I searched the direction on Internet maps and I directed myself with the Hymer. Kat is a Belgian girl and Andrea is her Italian boyfriend, who works in the theatre bussiness. Naturally, as every Italian, he cooked , broccoli and a delicious tiramisú. A French boy and his finish girlfirned cooked pasta. There were also other people, the home where they lived was big and was shared by several youngsters. During the dinner I have been talking quite a lot with Andrea. he explained me that in Italy the politics is not working (like in Spain), with a lot of hatred and resentment among the politicians. Added to all this, the differences between rich people and poor people get bigger, the corruption does not seem to diminish, the investment in culture has been reduced with 50%... According to him the political change of rights in left in Italy is not sensed in the street, because Berlusconi he had emptied the vaults. Finally he commented that the political situation in Belgium was very boring but however people lived there better. Really people live in belgium much better. During the dinner, another boy explained that starting with January he will take one year of holiday paid by the government: 400€/month. It is seen that any hired worker with one year in a private company has the right to a maximum 5 years of hollyday along life and all the vacations are payed by the government. Anyway, it seems that the government wants to change this and to allow only for future parents, future employers, investigators, ... another has explained that Belgium is one of the countries of Europe where more taxes are paid. After having dinner I interviewed Andrea and Kat. According to Andreas the politicians are the main problem of the world and they can not see the real problems. Perhaps the politicians should charge less and they would be closer to the people. What he can do personally is to speak and to implicate the people in politics. The main problem in Italy is the corruption between politicians and companies. The corruption would deturn up with transparency and showing the money The corruption is inverting. For the solution he can just make people talk. Andrea does not feel happy, rather feels confused and with fear for the future. Andrea is artist and can never plan how his life will be in the future. he would be happier when he presents to the public the play for wich he has been working the last months. The secret of happiness is to know yourself and to understand yourself. Kat thought that the main problems of the world are individualism and injustice. According to her the animal world sometimes is cruel but right in comparison with the humans. Anyway, she has a lot of hope deposited in the world because many people show solidarity. The main problem of Belgium is the lack of communication between the north and the south of Belgium, both communities are very separated. For example the artists of the south do not have entry to the media from the north and viceversa. Another problem in Belgium is the growth of the votes for the extreme right. Kat is very happy, but also passes through moments of deep sorrow,she is a girl of extremes. she would be happier if she could organise her life better and if she could be more disciplined. The secret of happiness is to risk and to forget the fear. On Sunday, I was all day long connected to Internet from Kat and Andreas home. I studied the possibilities of Internet connection in Africa, through satellite or using telephones and local connections. I also edited images, and wrothe the diary... Mid-morning I talked to a poet who was also living in the house. He showed me a web site where he was publishing the poems of the last ten years and explained me "with time I have improved and I have a more personal style but have all the life to continue progressing". The following day I continued working with internet, but mid-morning went towards the centre of the city with underground, since i had to have lunch with Sven, a boy contacted through couchsurfing. During the short journey I observed the courious linguistic normalization in the underground: the names of the stops are inserted, both in French and in Flemish, or in Flemish and then French. Afterwards I noticed that the names of the streets seem to be written in French and under in Flemish. for another hand, listening to the conversations i would assure that in Brussels the French is spoken more than the Flemish. It was interesting to meet with Sven. he showed me new parts of the city that I had not visited, a city full of institutions and governmental headquarters. When walking in front of the royal palace he commented me that Belgium also has king, with a significant power, since he has to ratify all laws. Afterwards he explained me a curious fact, some fifteen years ago, the king did not want to sign a law that legalised abortion, then the government constituted a republic for 24 hours, in order to be able to approve the law, and next reinstated the monarchy. We had for lunch light food, in a typical Belgian restaurant since the Belgians usually eat the strong or hot dish in the evening. For accompanying the onion soup I asked for a delicious traditional Belgian beer,: it is very bitter and just a little sweet. I interviewed Sven who thought that the main problems of the world are the maintenance of the environment and the peace in the world. The solution of the problems are at a local level, talking to people and working together. At individual level he can only act in very small areas. The main problem in Belgium is the fear of the unknown that has grown into panic, generating violence in many cases. This problem will be able to be solved by creating small local projects, for example couchsurfing. He tries not to be afraid and to show to the others the same. Sven feels happy even though he needs to fixa goal for his life. he would be happier by being motivated by this goal. He is still searching for the secret of happiness. On Sunday in the afternoon and on Monday I continued working connected to Internet. I was reading a lot about Africa and its conflicts, many of which developed in countries through wich i had plotted the itinerary: Sudan and the region of Darfur, the African Central Republic, ciad... It did not seem too advisable to dare, but seemed the only option to cross Africa, because across the coast of the Atlàntic (Nigeria, Angola, Congo...) the region is also very troubled. But I was studying these countries and was happy to find out that the political situation in this region has improved a lot (in the African parameters). Anyway, looking at the itineraries of other African journeys I observed that few take the east route. I will read with detail the adventures of these travellers in east and will probably end up on the same route, probably safer nowadays. On Monday towards the evening Remco sent me a message telling me that the recharger has already arrived . It was a good news, because on Tuesday i had to solve in the morning the broken glass,get the recharger and afterwards continue the road towards Frankfurt, where I have to meet with Alexandra on the 15th. Anyway, I did not have so much good luck, because on Tuesday I went in the morning to the workshop of the glass,and noticed that the glass they had asked was not the same model that i needed. They told me that I should wait for the following day. So with cold air entering in the motorcaravan through the empty space and with the heating at maximum I left towards Antwerpen, where Remco was waiting for me. We talked a while, he gave me the recharger and I went towards Brussels again. But on the way they called me from the workshop telling me that the glass would not arrive until Friday. Tired of being retained in Brussels, today in the morning I have went to a big workshop of glass and have solved the problem in two hours. Luckily , the other workshop has returned me the money that i had left in exchange . Thus, with the problem solved and tired of Brussels I have started to drive towards Luxembourg, even though I have stopped halfway, to have lunch, in some town that I will visit tomorrow. Luxemburg Luxemburg (see on map) 11/11/2006:
Dinant is a small town with a big cathedral exactly under an impressive cliff, crowned by a castle that I have not visited because the entry was too expensive for the economics of a traveller. Every day I could visit museums and lovely places by paying, but I luckily also have the possibility to visit every day new towns and lovely places without paying. At first Dinant did not seem too interesting, but when i was about to go with the Hymer I discovered some attractive corners. The road towards Luxembourg was going through green and wavy fields, forming the first evidence of mountains. I entered into the city mid-afternoon. I parked out of the centre, in a neighbourhood where Tristan lived, a friend of Remco (Antwerpen) who had recommended to visit him. It had to meet with Tristan on Thursday in the afternoon, but when i ringed the bell of his home , a man (that I imagined is his father) briefed me that Tristan did not arrive. After two hours the same man and offered me the posibilitty to enter and to wait for Tristan inside. But I preferred to come back to the Hymer and I continued working and had dinner. Finally, at 8.30 Tristan arrived. Tristan is a boy of French origins that has been living in Luxembourg for years. he lives in a big home in which he always hosts someone. So little time ago he bought a guest book and half is already full. at that moment he was hosting the man who opened the door and Nathank , a boy from New Zealand. I became interested about Luxembourg and in Tristan offered me several interesting and curious information. Luxembourg, instead of being a realm, is a dukedom, with a duke practising as king. The political system is very stable, with the right and left parties always collaborating (incredible!). for another hand, in Luxembourg they have their own language, spoken by half of the population. Anyway, the language started to exist from the eighties, only was considered a dialect of the German with French words and Dutch accent before. He commented me that Luxembourg was a multicultural country with a great economy. "on what is based the economy?" I asked him. "on banks" he replied to me. Afterwards he explained me that in Luxembourg, together with Switzerland and other fiscal paradises, the bank secret is legal. It does not seem too much logical that there is legal bank secret in the middle of European Union, but if they did not allow it a lot of money would go towards other countries. Finally he showed me a graph on Internet about the Domestic Product per capita. Luxembourg is the country of the world with more wealth per capita, a 20% more that the second, Norway. for another hand, aside of the bank secret the companies pay few taxes and many settle in this country even if they produce in other. Anyway, this wealth does not seem to spread among the population, which in spite of being rich they do not show with Ferraris, like in Switzerland. On Friday I went out to visit the city of Luxembourg with Nathan, the boy from New Zealand. Luxembourg seems a village, there are not big buildings,only one floored houses. Besides, less than 100.000 persons inhabit it. But aside of the extension, the thing that surprised me more in Luxembourg was its charm. A natural defence against the ancient invaders, is a city inserted into a promontory surrounded by a deep valley. In several points the impressive walls covering the valley can be observed. Some beautiful churches and cathedrals cut the sky. The city is quite green (or brown in the autumn), with quite a lot of parks and gardens. The city also has many tunnels and mediaeval galleries excavated in the rock, in one of which there is a interesting exhibition of photography that we visited. Today Saturday I have put myself on the road towards Germany, Frankfurt, where I have to meet with Alexandra on Wednesday. But before I have stopped in small town before crossing the border. Vianden is a small town in the background of a valley dominated by an impressive castle that is being reconstructed. I had a walk between the walls and the beautiful streets and I have next crossed the border. Before however, I have loaded the Hymer of gas oil because in Luxembourg it is much more economic: 0,861€/l (the price is fixed by the government). I went towards the Rin valley , crossing mountains and valleys. But I stopped before arriving , because it was getting dark and i preferred to travel by day, enjoying the landscape. ‹ Previous (12/09/2006) MONTH Next (2006-11-11)› ‹ Previous (2006-09-29 - Germany) COUNTRY Next (2006-10-23 - Belgium)› |
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