The part of Belgium that I'm visiting is in the Flemish region, where the official language is Flemish, which to my understanding is about 95% the same as Dutch.  In other parts of Beligum the official language is French (or a variant of French called Walloon).  Interestingly enough they have similar disputes here as we do in Canada, with the southern, French speaking part of Belgium often proposing separation (a dispute which is ongoing now).

 

I don't really know any Dutch.  I don't understand it when I hear it spoken (as with hearing any foreign language spoken, I find it's native speakers talk way too fast for me to catch more than the odd word here and there).  However, it is surprisingly easy to read.  When you see a word, and attempt to pronounce it, there are some strong similarities in the sounds of Dutch words to the sounds of English words.  I assume this is because they are both Germanic languages (English and German being the most common of the Germanic languages).  You can read all about the characteristics of Germanic languages here, if you're into linguistics and that kind of thing.  It seems, apparently, that it is easier for a native Germanic language, such as English, speaker to learn another Germanic language such as German or Dutch (compared to a Romance language such as Spanish or French) because of the common characteristics of the language.

 

One thing I can say about the Dutch language, at least in written form, is that it sure has simplified some things.  It looks like they actually use "u" for "you".  As is "Dank u" (Thank you).

However, my knowledge of a Romance language (namely French) has served me well here.  Since French is one of the official languages, packaging is in both Dutch and French, and I still read French much better than Dutch.  This way, I could be sure I was buying conditioner instead of shampoo in the "beauty shop" the other day.

Tomorrow (Dec 6th) is St. Nicholas Day, which in Belgium, is when Sinterklaas comes to give presents to children.  Small presents are also given on Christmas Day, either in stockings or under the tree.  You can read more about Christmas in Belgium here.  While you're at it, check out the Christmas in Canada link.

One thing I am not renowned for is my sense of direction.  It being practically non-existent.  I know my left from right and can pretty consistently use a map to get from point A to point B, and am pretty good at navigating by landmarks, provided I'm paying attention, but really, I have no sense of how to get anywhere.  Tell me something is North and I'll look at you like you're speaking in Parseltongue (sorry, have been re-reading the Harry Potter books).  I don't really worry about getting lost though, especially if I'm walking, because:  a.  I am generally smart and can figure things out, b.  I have  cell phone, and c. I have money and can take a taxi.  If I worried about getting lost all the time, I figure I'd never do anything.

 

On Sunday upon my arrival in Antwerp, an interesting thing happened.  I got off the airport shuttle bus which had taken me from Brussels and had no idea how to get to my hotel.  I had a map from the hotel to work, but not so much from where the bus stopped to where the hotel was.  I had a vague idea that the hotel was near the Central Station, which I could see from the bus stop, so I randomly decided to walk towards the station (in the pouring rain, luggage in tow).  Then I randomly decided to turn left at the intersection and saw, rising up before me the Astrid Park Plaza.  My hotel.  What luck.

Since I could not yet check into my room, I ditched my luggage at the hotel (rescuing first my umbrella) and set off to wander the streets of Antwerp in the rain.  None of the dry stuff that I might have wanted to do (Diamond Museum, shopping) was open, sadly, so I decided I might as well walk to work so I knew the route the next day.  Naturally, I somehow managed to make a wrong turn (or in this case, stayed on the wrong side of the road when it split into 2 roads) and ended up, well, not at work, but on some random street.  I was contemplating turning around, when there, in front of me, was an arrow with the name of my company pointing down a street.  I figured this was a sign (both literally and figuratively), so I followed it.  I ended up in some weird maze of buildings where it smelled like horse manure, when I was confronted with another sign pointing to the office.  I located the front entrance.  Amazingly enough, I managed to find the place in spite of my lack of sense of direction and wrong turns.

 

This evening, I decide to walk down to the Grote Markt area and take some pictures of the Kathedraal and Town Hall.  I have a vague idea from the map how to get there, but I find that the street signs in Europe are somewhat meaningless, and not all the streets are on the map, so I figure I'll just go in the general direction, and look for the Kathedraal.  It's tall after all.  So, I walk and walk (only in a light mist this time) down through shopping streets and past signs claiming there to be a McDonald's in 3 minutes, however, every time I get to another McDonald's sign it still claims to be 3 minutes away which seems like some kind of cruel joke.  Not that I wanted to eat at the McDonald's but I remembered there being a McDonald's next door to the Kathedraal.  I finally emerge in some general area and lo and behold, the Kathedraal.  I take a bunch of pictures and wander somewhat aimlessly, finding another cool looking church and consulting the map to try to figure out where I am with no luck.  I keep walking and eventually end up on some major looking street so I figure I'll follow that.  I'm walking down the street, wondering if I'm going in the right direction when what do I see before me but a huge lighted map of Central Antwerp with a "You Are Here" circle.  Luckily the map extends to where my hotel is, and what do you know, I'm going the right way!

I hearby declare that I do, in fact, have a sense of direction.  So there.

I flew to Brussels Saturday afternoon on Continental Airlines.  I've never flown with them before, but was quite impressed.  I had a layover in Newark, New Jersey, where an unprecedented thing happened.  I walked off the plane, looked around and saw the gate for my connecting flight pretty much right in front of me.  No 3 mile trek through the airport.  No bus to go to another terminal.  What would I do with myself for 3 hours?  I found a Borders book store and bought a few things (love the American dollar at par), sat down, read a bit and tooled around on the internet.

 

It's been a while since I've flown to the States or had a connection through the States.  It's very different.  The whole luggage inspection thing is quite something.  When leaving Ottawa, you accompany your luggage (the stuff you intend to check) to the screening area, where it goes through on a belt while you wait.  One of the women in front of me apparently had something in her luggage which set of the alarms, which then required every luggage inspection person to attend to.  I think there were 4 of them, all looking at, or talking about, the contents of this woman's suitcase.  This slowed up the works considerably.  After the luggage x-ray, you go through security, where you need to remove your shoes (forgot about that one).  Then customs.  You are then segregated from the rest of the travellers in the airport while you wait at your gate.  You are flying through the States.  You are special.

 

On the flight from Newark to Brussels I finished my book, watched the movie Stardust (which I quite enjoyed) and tried to sleep.  I didn't get up once.  I arrived in Brussels at 7:20 am (30 minutes early), cleared customs and hoped on the bus to Antwerp.  It was cold, raining and generally miserable.  In Antwerp at 9:45 am, I was too early to get into my hotel room and it was really too miserable to try to travel anywhere for sightseeing.  I wandered around the streets for a while, getting very wet and very cold.  Stores aren't open, so there's not much to do.  I went inside the Antwerp Central station and took some pictures of this very old building, and window shopped in the Diamond District (you can buy diamonds on Sunday apparently).  By noon I could take it no longer and went back to the hotel to beg for a room.  Luckily they had one ready and I pretty much immediately went to sleep for 3 hours.  Then a shower, a few phone calls and supper in the hotel bar.  I went back up to my room and read a bit, but found I was tired again.  I went to sleep around 8pm.

 

This morning the weather is a bit better (cloudy but no rain, and warmer than yesterday).

 

Funny things about Antwerp:

• The toilets have 2 flushers on the them.  It seems like one is for big jobs and the other for small jobs.
• The service in restaurants is quite different.  Servers pretty much ignore you.  You don't get a bill unless you ask for one.  If we had service like this at home, we would never go back.  Interestingly enough, people from Belgium find the type of service we have in Canada to be almost instrusive.
• Things seem expensive.  The buffet breakfast at the hotel was 15 Euros.  1 Euro = $1.46.  Gas is over 1 Euro a litre.
• It smells oddly like horse manure on the street near work.  I see no evidence of horse manure, but smell it just the same.
• They have annoying bumps on the sidewalk, similar to those in Shanghai.  I didn't notice that last time I was here.
• The traffic lights are on the near side of the intersection.  That is, when you stop, the traffic light is right there, at the stop line.

I don't think I'll have much opportunity to see anything while I'm here -- I'll be working most of the time and the weather forecast calls for rain pretty much every day.  I'm hoping to get back out to the Grokt Market area to take some more pictures of the Cathedral and have a better tour of Steen Castle, but I'm not terribly optimistic about it.  I will, however, make a point of buying chocolate and have left room in my suitcase to transport it home.

 

I arrived in Shanghai yesterday (that being Sunday, China time).  The flight was long but uneventful.  I watched 3 movies, played a little solitaire and dozed on and off, being woken up frequently since my head kept flopping over.

 

I was pretty sure the cab driver was going to kill me on the way here.  They seem to have no speed limits, seatbelts or general rules of the road.  I'm also pretty sure I got hosed on the price of the cab, but after 18+ hours of traveling, I did not care.  Upon arrival at my hotel, I find that they do not have my reservation, which took about 20 minutes to sort out.  However, I got a room.  After some unpacking and settling in, I called my former boss, NB, who met me at the hotel to show me some sights.

 

Shanghai is a huge city.  The population is about 17 million.  That's more than half of the population of all of Canada, living in one city.  Shanghai was initially famous for the Opium trade in the 1800s, but it seems that part of Shanghai has been torn down.  I am staying in the Pudong part of Shanghai, which is the newest part of the city, built in the last 10 years.  On the other side of the Huangpu river is the older part of Shanghai, built mostly in the 1930s.  As you look across the river, you can see a row of European looking buildings which date back to the 30s, with a number of much taller buildings behind them.  At night, everything is lit up, including the boats that tour the river (check out the photo album).

 

So far, the most curious thing about being here is the time difference.  Not because of jet lag really, but because I'm constantly thinking about what time it is at home, and what my family and friends are doing at any given moment.  Being 13 hours ahead puts me mainly out of touch with everyone.  That bothers me.

 

Getting in the elevator at work this morning was an experience.  There are 5 elevators servicing a 30 story building.  About 50 people crowd into this tiny little area to wait for elevators.  I'd say I waited about 10 minutes.  You just plow your way in.  And these things are packed.  It would not be pleasant to be stuck in one of these elevators.

 

NB has pointed out some places to shop, so I'm hoping I'll have time (and energy) one evening to buy some souvenirs.  It gets dark quite early, and since I'm working from 9 to 5, I'm not hopeful about getting many good picture taking opportunities, but I'll do my best.

 

 

 

 

 

A few things I noticed while in Europe.

 

In Belgium the people were very friendly.  In London, not so much.  Everybody in London seems like a tourist.

 

Biking is a big thing in Belgium.  Not in the way it is in Canada.  People in Belgium use their bikes for transportation.  They wear their regular clothes when riding.

 

In Belgium especially, men are more -- metro sexual?  They are better dressed, take care of their hair, etc.  More comfortable with their sexuality?  Speaking of sexuality, gay people are more much open in Europe.  I have seen several openly gay couples around.

 

In London pedestrians ignore the traffic signals.  If there are no cars, you just go.

Nice title eh?  I like alliteration.

 

Today I spent a day alone in London.  Let's start with my hotel room.  Which is about the size of my closet.  In the bathroom, you need to sit sideways on the toilet because otherwise your legs won't fit in the room.  The shower is this stand up shower which is very tiny.  It has a shower curtain that you pull all the way around.  Said shower curtain sticks to you the whole time you shower.  It is evil.  So, no long, lingering showers in there.  Other than that, the hotel is clean and adequate, and, has high speed internet, so I am fine with it.

 

For my day in London, I have uncharacteristically decided not to plan too much.  So, I get up and consult a map.  It looks like my hotel is near Hyde Park and that from there I can walk to Buckingham Palace, Westiminster Abbey, the Houses of Parliament, and the London Eye.  It is a beautiful, warm, sunny day in London, which I hear is uncharacteristic.

 

I head out for Hyde Park.  Of course, I go the wrong way, but quickly realize this and turn around.  Hyde Park is very close to the hotel.  I wander around there for a long time.  Look at fountains, Peter Pan statue, walk and walk.  There are people everywhere.  Riding bikes, rollerblading, walking, sunbathing, sleeping, reading.  Everybody is out.  It is a beautiful park.  It would be nicer if someone were with me.

 

I continue through Hyde Park and wind up at the Albert Memorial, which is across the street from Albert Hall.  I think of the Beatles song (the ex was a Beatles fan) A Day in the Life -- now they know how many holes it takes to fill the Albert Hall.  Take some pictures.  Then I buy a sandwich, crisps (chips) and a diet coke near the Albert Memorial and sit in the shade of a big tree to eat my lunch.  Watch people walk, sleep, read.  Watch a little boy playing some kind of running game with his dad.  Very cute.  Watch the little boy cry when he falls and scrapes his knee.

 

I decide that I want to see Kensington Palace, so I go back the way I came and walk until I find it.  Kensington Palace has a beautiful garden, that is kind of enclosed -- you can't necessarily see it from the path.  There are little carved out areas where you can step up to the wall and see the garden.  I notice a couple standing in one of these areas, arms around each other, looking at the garden.  I wish, once again, that I were with someone.  Still, I walk up to one of these little areas, look at the garden.  Take some more pictures.

 

I decide it's time to move on.  I'm sure I could have spent the whole day in Hyde Park, but I want to see some other things.  I exit the park at Kensington High Street, and, you guessed it, turned the wrong way.  Some guy on roller blades with a Dutch sort of accent asks me if I know where Kensington High Street is.  I say "I think we're on it".  In fact, it happens that we're under a sign that says "Kensington High Street".  He asks me where Notting Hill is.  I have no idea.  At this point, I realize I'm going the wrong way, so I turn around.

 

This is a very long, busy street.  I stop somewhere for a "soft whip" (as Sue would call it) ice cream with a Flake chocolate in it.  I pay 2 pounds.  Which is outrageous.  But the soft whip is really good.  Very thick and creamy.  Not like at home.

 

Walk, walk, walk.  London is a great place for tourists.  In fact, I'm not sure if anybody here is not a tourist.  I finally see signs that point to Buckingham palace, so I follow them.  Enter another park.  Walk to Buckingham Palace.  Take more pictures.  Back to the park.  Buy another sandwich and a diet coke.  Sit under another tree and eat.  Watch people.  Close my eyes.  I feel strangely sad.  Try to listen to some music, but my iPod is dead.  Reminds me of my camera, which is burning out batteries at the rate of about 10 pictures per pair of batteries.

 

I decide to press on.  I see from looking at the map that if I walk down this street called The Mall, I can get to Westminster Abbey and the Houses of Parliament.  So I walk.  The Mall is interesting because it has all these huge British flags hanging on either side.  I continue to walk and walk.  I walk by Scotland Yard (take pictures), Downing Street (take pictures).  Follow signs for Houses of Parliament (take pictures) and Westminster Abbey (more pictures).

 

From here, I realize I can see the London Eye.  I head that way.  In some places, the streets are so busy, it reminds me of Ottawa on Canada Day.  I can't believe the sheer number of people.  I make my way to the London Eye, pay 16 pounds for a ride and little guide book.  Wait in line.  The line moves fairly quickly.  The London Eye is like a gigantic ferris wheel with these pods that hold about 25 or 30 people.  You can see all of London from up there.  I am just looking forward to sitting down.  So, get in London Eye.  Take some more pictures.  Oh my God it is hot in that pod.  Once out of the pod, I head to another park like area and lie down.  This place is packed with people.  I consult the map, and decide to go to the Tower of London.  But no more walking for me.  I shall brave the tube.

 

I walk around looking for tube station (before they were everywhere, now can't find one).  However, on the way, the place is like a party.  There are buskers everywhere, shows, music and dancing.  The food smells good.  I walk and walk and walk.  Signs everywhere pointing to tube station are leading me in circles.

 

Finally, tube station.  Go in, consult map.  Figure out where I want to go.  Buy a ticket, and get on tube.

 

The tube is excellent.  Lets me out right at the Tower of London.  More walking.  More pictures.  The Tower of London is the one attraction I would have gone in to see, but it was closed.  So, I take lots of pictures outside.  Then I walk across London Bridge (or Tower Bridge).  More pictures.  Then turn around and walk back.  Look at Tower of London some more.  Sit down on steps and think, and feel lonely.  I notice a guy sleeping on the steps in front of the Tower.  He's a good looking guy.  I wonder why he's sleeping there.  I think of C, and strangely P.

 

I am now very tired and decide to brave the tube back to my hotel.  No trouble finding tube station this time.  Consult map, figure out what platform to go to.  Back on tube.  At one of the stops, 3 North American guys get on.  Young guys, late 20s, maybe 30.  Cute.

 

Finally at my stop.  I get out at Paddington Station, exit the underground, and immediately know which way to go.  Get back into hotel, check email (none, sad), blog a bit (finishing up beer blogs).  Go out for fish and chips.  Not crazy about them.

Blog some more and watch the X Factor, which seems to be a UK version of American Idol, complete with Simon Cowell, but the performances are not nearly as good as on American Idol.  Call C.  He is not home.  I leave a message.  I hope he'll call me back.  But who knows.  He has not proven to be good at that.

 

I have never before traveled to a foreign city and done any site-seeing on my own.  I am very afraid of that kind of thing, so I'm really pretty impressed with myself for doing it.  If you've ever considered traveling alone, I'd recommend London.  No language barrier and it is really easy for a tourist to navigate.  I feel great that I managed to do it, and not just stay in my hotel room, as was my initial inclination.

 

But, God, I'm lonely.