An itch behind my right ear told me to get on a train to somewhere. So yesterday I found myself sipping my coca cola light lemon and listening to mp3-bollywoodmusic en route for our nation's capital: Brussels. The destination of the train read: 'Eupen', which brought me to the following question: Where the **** is Eupen? My trusty travel guide has since then taught me that this town, once a part of Prussia, has a distinctive Teutonic feel, but is very unexceptional. Interesting.
My fellow-travellers were late in Brussels' central station. So I spent the first hour of my trip
drinking coffee in the galeries St. Hubert and roaming the Brusselian Games Workshop. I also went to visit the King (Albert II, not Elvis), but he wasn't at home. One of the guards told me he had gone to Jordan to persuade King Abdullah II to swap countries. My fellow-explorers, aka the Pink Peacock and Laura Crafty, finally got to the station by 2 p.m., and we went for a drink. It is a much debated dilemma whether one should speak French or Dutch in Brussels. Officially, the city is bilingual, and, truth be told, lots of shopkeepers, waiters, ticket sellers,... speak both French and Dutch. But, truth be told again, almost everyone's first language appears to be French. I know people who categorically refuse to speak French in Brussels. We, on the other hand, had a go at French... It went, well,.. okay I suppose.
We made our way trough the Zavel's African Art boutiques and the Marolles' second hand shops in pragmatic French (i.e. avoiding verb forms at all costs). When we settled down for a late lunch however, our menu was in English... we ordered in French (since the waiter addressed us in french), and got our cider poured in Dutch. This was all in all very confusing, but the food was delicious. With a final 'can we recevoir le rekening' we were off again. For the first time in my life I saw Manneke Pis. I don't see what all the fuss is about, but the Japanese tourists were
brilliant. We set out to buy some real Belgian pralines (white with champagne-filling and chocolate truffles), since that is apparently what one should do when touristing Brussels. In the pralines shop the shop lady listened to our not-so-impeccable French, laughed loudly, and continued in Dutch. Sigh. Leterme said some time ago that the Walloons are to stupid to learn Dutch... I wouldn't see that as a one way phenomenon though, Yves. Sipping coffee and munching pralines, we sang our way loudly to Brussels' Warandepark. The day ended there, with us working out our superhero characters: Turbotiny, the Pink Peacock and Laura Crafty, in a Manetesque sangria-sur-l'herbe setting (though not in the nude).
Final conclusion: Brussels is a fun city to visit, and it is one of few cities in the world that will give you a chance to practice all your language skills (verbal and non-verbal) at once.
My fellow-travellers were late in Brussels' central station. So I spent the first hour of my trip
drinking coffee in the galeries St. Hubert and roaming the Brusselian Games Workshop. I also went to visit the King (Albert II, not Elvis), but he wasn't at home. One of the guards told me he had gone to Jordan to persuade King Abdullah II to swap countries. My fellow-explorers, aka the Pink Peacock and Laura Crafty, finally got to the station by 2 p.m., and we went for a drink. It is a much debated dilemma whether one should speak French or Dutch in Brussels. Officially, the city is bilingual, and, truth be told, lots of shopkeepers, waiters, ticket sellers,... speak both French and Dutch. But, truth be told again, almost everyone's first language appears to be French. I know people who categorically refuse to speak French in Brussels. We, on the other hand, had a go at French... It went, well,.. okay I suppose.We made our way trough the Zavel's African Art boutiques and the Marolles' second hand shops in pragmatic French (i.e. avoiding verb forms at all costs). When we settled down for a late lunch however, our menu was in English... we ordered in French (since the waiter addressed us in french), and got our cider poured in Dutch. This was all in all very confusing, but the food was delicious. With a final 'can we recevoir le rekening' we were off again. For the first time in my life I saw Manneke Pis. I don't see what all the fuss is about, but the Japanese tourists were
brilliant. We set out to buy some real Belgian pralines (white with champagne-filling and chocolate truffles), since that is apparently what one should do when touristing Brussels. In the pralines shop the shop lady listened to our not-so-impeccable French, laughed loudly, and continued in Dutch. Sigh. Leterme said some time ago that the Walloons are to stupid to learn Dutch... I wouldn't see that as a one way phenomenon though, Yves. Sipping coffee and munching pralines, we sang our way loudly to Brussels' Warandepark. The day ended there, with us working out our superhero characters: Turbotiny, the Pink Peacock and Laura Crafty, in a Manetesque sangria-sur-l'herbe setting (though not in the nude).Final conclusion: Brussels is a fun city to visit, and it is one of few cities in the world that will give you a chance to practice all your language skills (verbal and non-verbal) at once.
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