Brussels: no bikes

May 31, 2017

We weren't taking our bicycles out of their storage space. Walking gave us much more time to take in our surroundings and we didn't have to worry about traffic.

We saw several "stolpersteine": from German, literally "stumbling stone", metaphorically a "stumbling block" or a stone to "stumble upon", a cobblestone-size concrete cube bearing a brass plate inscribed with the name and life dates of victims of Nazi extermination or persecution. The stolperstein art project was initiated by the German artist Gunter Demnig in 1992, and is still ongoing. It aims at commemorating individual persons at exactly the last place of residency which was freely chosen by the person before he or she fell victim to Nazi terror, euthanasia, eugenics, was deported to a concentration or extermination camp, or escaped persecution by emigration or suicide. As of 31 January 2017, over 56,000 stolpersteine have been laid in 22 European countries.The majority of stolpersteine commemorate Jewish victims of the Holocaust. Others have been placed for Sinti and Romani people (then also called "gypsies"), homosexuals, Jehovah's Witnesses, black people, members of the Christian opposition (both Protestants and Catholics), Freemasons, the Communist Party and the European anti-Nazi Resistance, military deserters, and the physically or mentally disabled. (Wikipedia)

Our first destination today was the laundromat. It was nice to get everything really clean, and at the same time sit in a street cafe and watched life go by. Were we in North Africa, or perhaps the Near East? Toto, I've a feeling we're not in Munich any more. We were fascinated by the colorful and exotic dress of the passers-by of various origins and the time went by quickly.

At the laundromat, waiting for the tumbler to finish its job.

We walked back to our hotel, carrying a bundle of sweet smelling laundry which we deposited in our room before looking for lunch. We didn't look far. We returned to the same cafe as yesterday on the Square de l'Aviation, where our hotel was also located. The sandwiches were good and we were greeted like old friends. Tomorrow Janos expected we would get a kiss on both cheeks.

The afternoon was spent trying to figure out what we wanted to do after Brussels. Should we do a big loop, to the coast and Oostende and back to Germany? Or a medium loop, riding as far as Kortrijk and returning via Bruge and Ghent? Or perhaps a small loop, which would take us to Ghent and Antwerp before returning to Germany. We decided to head for Ghent and got busy looking for accomodation along the way. Why not try out Vrienden op de Fiets, Friends on Bikes, an organization that offers lodging and breakfast for 19 Euros per person to its members. Membership costs 10 Euros a year and I had registered before we left. We found a host in Oetingen, an easy ride from Brussels, made conact by telephone and email and reserved a room for Sunday. That taken care of, we could relax and enjoy the remaining days in Brussels.

In the meantime, my UTI seemed to be getting better, or was almost gone and I was almost finished taking the prescribed antibiotic. The bad news was that I had developed a rash that was spreading all over my body, probably an allergic reaction to the medication. It didn't hurt but it looked pretty bad. I decided to finish the antibiotic anyway, not wanting a recurrence of the infection.

The days are long at this time of year. We walked back to the old part of town and could take some more pictures before looking for a place for dinner.

I was looking forward to a North African meal, but the restaurants were all empty. They were open but didn't seem to be serving any customers. Then it dawned on me, it was Ramadan. There would be no food in any Muslim restaurants before sundown, which would be 9:47 here at this latitude. Too late for us. I think we ended up in a Korean restaurant - very international, this Brussels.

It's Ramadan - tempting fruit for sale, but not to be eaten yet. It seems the women are at home preparing the meal that will be eaten after sundown.

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