... about Mechelen

Still alive and no broken nose ....

Stepped off the train in Mechelen, looking for the Youth Hostel ...

Still alive and no broken nose ...

Asked two guys for the way ...

Still alive and no broken nose ...

They told me full of enthusiasm where it was ...

Still alive and no broken nose ...

I found the Youth Hostel ....

Still alive and no broken nose ...

Now, why is 'still alive and no broken nose' so important?
Because the two boys were of non-belgian origin and asking them the way is generally considered as a risk ...

... about Ramu

You have seen him in the zoo...

You have seen him in the circus ....

You have seen him on the streets of India ...

But yesterday he was walking in the corridor of BOZAR, the brussels arts center which was hosting an indian festival ...

Ramu, the elephant.

... about Louis

Burgemeester eet ei
Originally uploaded by L i N a.

Seems we need a painting with Chief Louis the 1st. One room in Leuven townhall is decorated with the paintings of all the mayors Leuven has had in the past... Only one missing. Are you a good painter or caricaturist. Send your CV to Grote Markt 1, 3000 Leuven.

... about christmas lights

Verspilling
Originally uploaded by L i N a.

"How many starving kids can you feed with that energy". That's what one of the 18 year old Estonian YFU students said while he walked down the stairs of Trocadéro witnessing a flickering Eiffel Tower. Ooh, what was it looking beautiful ... like a huge diamond .... and it feels a bit like christmas .... reminding us of peace and love... but after what that boy said I started blushing ... out of guilt ...

The same feeling occured to me as I walked on Martelarenplein this morning. There were some christmas lights hung out between the lamppost, like drying laundry. It will look nice, I thought, once they are switched on, the martelarenplein will look like a big christmas tree ... Nothing wrong with that ... but then I noticed there was already light coming from the bulbs (I had to look really hard to see) ... and it was bright daylight! Noone even noticed the lights were on. First I thought it was only a test, but the next day they were also on ... and not only on martelarenplein, also on the townhall. Light is beautiful and makes us happy, but why should there be light when it is not necessary? What a waste of money and precious energy!