Lunch in Brussels with Sara

Today I had a beautiful morning in Brussels. Met my dear friend Sara Ahnborg and her little baby Trixie. Had a cup of tea at St Gery, then a nice beer (Saison Cazaux) at Chez Moeder Lambic, followed by divine scallops at outdoor bar/restaruant Mer du Nord at Place St Catherine - my favourite.
Couldn't resist a gaufre as dessert.
Nice to be back in my old hometown.
In the afternoon I jumped anther plane and now I am in Marseille to attend a big underwater photo- and film festival.

Museum day in Brussels

After the brilliant night out yesterday, I took it somewhat slower today. Started with a visit to the new Magritte Museum, which was rather OK. Some of his art is quite fun.

But the new Hergé Museum (the creator of Tintin), which I went to afterwards, was much more fun. The exhibition is interesting, and the commentary (get one of those headphones) excellent. And, the house itself is a beauty. I bought a Tintin album in Dutch to somewhat better my language skills.

In the evening, I met Vicki on Place Lux. She is an old friend of Femke, they studied together in Strasbourg. Last time we met, she was living and working in London, but now, she just landed herself her dream job, as an assistant to a Member of the European Parliament. Always nice to witness people fulfilling their dreams.

Meeting at Place Lux is a nostalgic event - I used to wait for Femke here when she worked in the parliament. Going here a Friday evening is somewhat chaotic. The terraces are overspilling with young Eurocrats flirting, mingling and lobbying in an unholy mix.

Back in Brussels, again!

Today, I took the train to Brussels for a long weekend of work and fun. It is such a pleasure t to travel by train. Comfortable, quiet (compared to airplanes) and best of all – with a lovely landscape swooshing by outside the window.

Of course, it is also a pleasure to arrive to my old hometown Brussels and meet up with old friends. First out was Brian, who we got to know in Jerusalem. He was here temporarily before going back home to the US, so I was lucky to catch him.

We met at Place Jourdan for lunch at Friterie Chez Antoine, allegedly Brussels best frites-place. Next stop was one of my favourite little secrets in Brussels - the bar inside the airplane hall in the Military History Museum. You sip your Chimay literarily under a Junker 52 airplane, and with lots of more planes all around you. Excellent!

In the afternoon, we headed to my other favourite bar in town, the brilliant Moeder Lambic. This is a very relaxed neighbourhood bar on a corner in St Gilles. But they happen to have a mind-blowing selection of good Belgian beer (we’re talking hundreds of different ones here) as well as very knowledgeable staff. They also have some pretty pungent cheeses.

At Moeder Lambic, we were joined by Henrik, an old friend from the Sea Cadets that I last met 1987 or so. Now, he works at the European Commission and lives in Brussels. Later on, Marianne, Dagens Nyheters Brussels Correspondent, joined us, as well as Sara (who used to be a freelance here, but just started a new job within the press service at the European Parliament). Last in was Teresa. And, oh yes, an Irish friend of Brian showed up as well. All in all, we were a merry bunch sampling the delights of Belgian master brewers and talking about everything from old times to foreign politics and the relation between man and woman. A great evening!

Four lovely days in Brussels

Last four days, I have been in Brussels for work. The mission was to write four different stories for Expressen (first one is published in an Internet version without photos and map here). But also as a photographer for ST Press, following a Swedish civil servant during an EU meeting about agricultural issues. All very interesting.

At the same time, I hade the pleasure to meet old friends like Marianne, Sara and Teresa, not to mention acquaintances like Leonida and Orval ☺. Brussels is such a great city!

The photo is from the Council of Europe, the day before a big top meeting.

Palestinian friends in Mons

Living an International life can be exciting. Today, we took the train to Mons to meet Palestinian friends that had an art exhibition there. They were of course happy to be there and not in Ramallah, and we were happy to see them. Later on, some of their friends joined in, mostly Palestinians (or combinations thereof) but also a guy from Afghanistan.

His story was sombering. He was originally from the Helmand province, but had to move with his family several times, as refugees. In Kabul, he worked as a translator for the Canadian troops there. After that, he could not stay in his homeland anymore, fearing for his life (some of the extremists see him as a traitor), he had to flee and ended up in Belgium. Being born in North-Western Europe is indeed a luxury.

In the evening, we all went back to Brussels and partied together – who knows when we will see each other again?

Food, Jazz and beer

Today, I checked out more beer bars, and took more beery photos. Having freshly grilled scallops at Nordzee on Place St Catherine was a delicious re-enactment of my Brussels days. When Femke was ready with her work, we met up at the beautiful art nouvaeu-bar Greenwich, with chess players and locals having a beer. Next stop, live jazz at another favourite, ever-cool bar l’Archiduc, then delicious food at Como como, the pintxos restaurant opposite l’Archiduc.

Continuing the evening, we went to the very nice bar Walvis, then to Mappa Mundo. The latter seems to have lost a bit of its attraction, but Walvis played as cool music as ever. In the evening, we stayed at the old style-grandeur Hotel Metropole.

Back in Brussels!

Brussels!
It’s so nice to back again. There is a special atmosphere, so unlike Amsterdam (which is nice in its own way). I am here to write a story about Belgian beer, and Femke for some business of her own.
Luckily, my schedule is not to stressed. I could start with strolling around, double-checking that my old favourite beer bars are still around (most of them are). In the afternoon, I took a train South to visit the St Feuillien brewery for some photos and a tasting. Nice ☺.

Back in Brussels, Femke and I met at our old local bar on Rue Americaine, Bistro Resto, for a nostalgic drink. Later on, our friend Marianne joined us, and we had a pleasant dinner together and stayed over at her place.