Ben.Yeah heard that on the news. Strange, as I thought Crowded House were doing a reunion tour this summer … Great band though, still popular today and will be remembered for a long time.
Ben.I heard they are coming to many festivals in July. Unf. I don’t have the money to go.
Ben.Thanks people. 21 is sooo old.
BTW, I got my grades today for my paper on anti-americanism. A 17/20! Excellent, so thanks to all people who helped me on that one.
Ben.Ben
The simple truth is that (like it or not) events in Iraq (and elsewhere) are causing significant numbers of folks in other M-E countries to question their situation. In the case of Lebanon, the citizens have made it plain they want Syria out and they sense that this is an appropriate time. It started with them, not with foreign (and certainly not EU) diplomacy. It’s easy to jump on the bandwagon once the guy with most to gain or lose has already stuck his neck out.
There is no certancy that everything will evolve peacefully for Lebanon, but if it does go reasonably well, the Syrian population are going to look at what is happening around the area and say what about us?Sauron
Sauron, Lebanon has always been in France’s interrests, throughout the 19th Century. Actually they risked a war with the Ottoman Empire and the UK twice (1837 with Ali Pasha and again in 1885) so it’s not something new. I think the French are better informed on the Lebanese problem than the CIA.
I don’t know on the Syrian situation in particular, but do know that Syria is helding “peacekeepers” in Lebanon after the civil war. Since Lebanon is a country consisting of a large minority of Christians no one has to be suprised they want the Syrians out. But that would have happened with or without EU/US pressure I guess. So the question was always there, maybe this was just a nice opportunity for the Lebanese Christians to show the card they were helding back.
To get back on the question: do economic sanctions, or political isolation force a country to change from within? For example the different approach on Iran between Brussels and Washington (though Washington is now also opting for the “diplomatic” choise first). Or doesn’t this work without gunboat diplomacy, ie showing what you’re capable of without having to use it.
Ben.Wow, don’t worry, I’m not some kind of dandy wearing brands to impose others. It just happened I was in the Levi’s store and I needed a new sweater. As I hate shopping, if I see something I like, I don’t visit 30 other shops before I make up my choise (unlike women).
My mum followed the procedure as was explained on the label. In fact, it was handwashed so nothing can go wrong actually.
Price means nothing, maybe. But I do want quality for my money. I don’t care for brands anyway, but I am going to bring it back to the store. Mostly I wear Jeans and T-shirts as well, but I do need a couple of sweaters for the winter and I don’t like fleace, unless I’m sitting in the sofa watching TV.
Some brands do make good stuff: Scapa for example. But I hate wearing a sweater with that cross on it. It’s really stupid.
Ben.Well Kev, I understand what you mean. But Snapper’s topic is actually what you need from the internet. I mean, I don’t visit this website to see another thread about favourite cereals etc, here I want information and opinions. A while ago I started some threads dealing with my paper (still have no points sorry) and I thought that discussion was serene and informative. I think all depends on the question and how you pose the question. We should (and we are) able to discuss for example the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and we all know some people will get emotional. But hé, we are humans, not machines. The forum is more than a place where we copy and paste BBC news reports. We can also voice our own opinion here.
Ben.A History of the Jewish people – Ruderman
Ben.yeah I meant grazing – I didn’t knew it was English actually. Sounded too Dutch. 🙂 After I finish my history courses I definitelly want to start learning Germanic languages. 😎 It would be so cool to speak English and German fluently.
Ben.Woow my god : Audrey Tatou IS HOT!! OK, she’s not “hot” like Beyoncé or Je-Lo, she just has that extra thing which proves women are more than the sum of teeth, brests, legs, ass … I saw Amélie probably a hundred times, because of Audrey Tatou. She looks so … continental European! 🙂 No fake boobs, no fake smile … just inner beaty which reflects on the outside.
Ben.Ostend?!!! Well, OK, they did an effort the last 5 years to reshape the city but the Belgian Coast is not worth visiting. I know, I’ve lived there. There are better places to go to beaches, in France and the Netherlands.
Dinant and Namur however I seemed to have forgotten! Great places as well. These were Roman settlements, but started a new life in the Middle Ages. Unlike Brugges or Antwerp, Dinant and Namur are really what you expect the Middle Ages to have looked like: fortresses, swords, axes … The Cities in the North are late Medieval, with bankers, a police system, a well build administration and so on. Could be interresting to see where the modern world started :).
Moggy, same is in Dixmuda. You only see graves, it’s not like there are still tanks and so on on the battlefields. That makes it so surrealistic: maybe 1000 soldiers have died on a acre where cows are now eating grass (is that a word btw? :))
Mini-Europa may be nice for the kids, but really if you have nothing else on your to-do-list. There are better places in Brussels to visit. In fact, 10km’s out of Brussels, in tervuren, there’s exposition on the Belgian Congo in the Colonial Palace. haven’t been there but want to go because it’s only there for like 6 months!
Kortrijk, Hasselt and Tournai are all nice places, but you can’t see them all. Children will become upset after a while. Hasselt is a nice place to go shopping for instance, but you can do that as well at home I would guess.
Unlike Comet I would argue there are really places you want to avoid in Belgium. Not all of them are so nice and romantic. In fact, prepare your trip so you won’t get any disappointments.
Ben.Snapper, I would definitelly visit Antwerp. Antwerp – Ghent and Liege are definitelly 3 interresting places, but Antwerp has stolen my heart (Frank will say otherwise I guess). The city is a lot cleaner than Ghent (historical centre). People are well known for their arrogance, but as long as you have a Visa with you, they are very friendly.
Nice in Ghent is the Gravensteen. Especially the torture-chambre was worth the visit! Antwerp has a very interresting meaning in British history. Napoleon called it “the gun aimed at England”. Together with London, Antwerp was the only city which was ever attacked by V2’s during WWII! Drink a couple of bollekes in café Den Engel (for socialists and liberals) or Den Bengel (for extreme right) and experience Belgian politics at it’s best. Two pubs next to eachother. If you can sit outside you hear people “debating” between the two café’s.
Ben.Yes we’ve got industry as well. :rolleyes: We can’t make money on beer and chocolat alone. The Canals around Ghent are dirty indeed, but we’ve got some nice looking canals too. In the provinces of Limburg and Antwerp.
Mons/Bergen. Well to be honest, a long time since I’ve been there. It could be that it has become a nice place. But Charleroi is a 19th century industrial town. It makes me depressive. 😮
Ben.Thanks!! Maybe I should do something in that branch :).
Well, If you really want to please your kids I really suggest you go to Bokrijk as well. It’s on the way from Antwerp to Liège in the province of Limburg. And see where the EU puts its money in to :D. It’s an interresting way of looking at history. The cathedrals and palaces may have been very impressive, this is not how the average Joe lived through his days.
Especially your two year old will like it very much as there is a farm with all kinds of non-exotic animals :D. I think they will like that a lot more than 10 Arts Museum. Going on a holiday doesn’t only mean visiting musea and cathedrals, but also making fun! Even I as a historian-student am tired after a day of visiting musea and need a drink.
Another tip: either you’re in Antwerp, Brugges or Brussels. You will find the tourist traps everywhere. Two English-speaking parents, two small children, a back-pack and a Kodak, you don’t know how easy it is to track tourists. Don’t fall into this trap, especially in the Rue de Bouchers. It all looks soooooo nice, and fresh, and the waiters are so friendly. Well, that ain’t. But do visit the Rue de Bouchers! The food served in your hotel is always safer, and there are better restaurants out there. If you order wine, be carefull. Brits often think that on the continent all wine is excellent. Nope, in fact, you can pay a lot for a chateau-migraine :D. You pay more for the same wine than in your local grocery store. Drink beer instead. There’s plenty of choise. Belgium is really a superb country for a gastronomical trip, but not with kids I guess, and certainly not with all those tourists. Be carefull (as in any country).
In Antwerp I can give you a couple of adresses where you can eat quite good. Most Italians are safe for example, but don’t order “moules et frites” this time of the year. They are NOT fresh, in fact, they’ve been lying in the freezer for months. If you want to experience Belgian kitchen go to the Mort Subite in Brussels (in every tourist guide)!
The reason why I didn’t add the battlefields is because, if you really want to experience the suffering, the pain you should spend a whole day to it. If you’re just there, baby starts crying and you need to go on, you can as well stay home. IMHO it’s not a place to visit with small kids (unlike all other musea and theme parks in B- you can change nappies for example.). There’s an interresting museum in Ypres as well which gives you extra insight. I’ve been there every year when I was kid, and I’m still impressed.
Charleroi indeed is a depressing place. But it is Belgium too. However, there are more cheery places to visit. Sometimes though, it’s nice to visit depressing places so you can actually be glad to return home :D.
Ben.Well for Belgium that is … 🙂
Some places I would definitelly recommand : Bruges (ofcourse), a medieval city. If the weather is a bit nice, you can sit outside, drink a Sloeber or Straffe Hendrik and enjoy the early spring. In Belgium, the climate can be very nice at that time of the year (better than in Southern France for example, Mistral etc).
Ghent is nice too, but I do think it would be wiser only to visit Bruges, taking into account you have two little kids with you. It’s only 55kms between the two cities, but it could take hours due traffic jam.
Antwerp, most certainly a place to visit! If you’re into arts, go to the Rubenshuis, you will like it. I don’t know if the Zoo is open at that time of the year, but the Antwerp Zoo is one of the nicest (and oldest) in Europe. In the days of Leopold II between Gorillas and Chimps at one stage you could actually see the “negro”. During WWII it was used as a prison. Also visit the port of Antwerp, the cathedral (worth the 5 Euro’s).
Brussels: can’t miss Brussels ofcourse. Visit Manneken Pis, the City Hall, La Monnaie (this theater is where the Belgian revolution in august 1830 started). One warning: don’t eat in the “Rue des bouchers”. Though the little restaurants look nice and clean, the kitchens are really dirty! If you want to have food poisening and want to experience the rest of your trip the difference between a Dutch and Belgian toilet (Dutch have a platform on which you can actually see your own crap :D)! I guess you won’t be able to go out as you have two kids with you, but I know some fine places (and no, not the Titty-bar, don’t know how we ended up there :diablo: )
Antwerp, Bruges and Brussels. Ofcourse you could also add Leuven, Liège (which has a very nice historical centre too) too, but I would certainly try to avoid Charleroi and Bergen as they are one of the dirtiest places I know. (I don’t know why Brits like that so much).
If you have time lift try to go to Bokrijk in the province of Limburg and experience how ordinary people have lived from the Middle Ages till the late 19th century.
On your way back you should go to De Panne, and buy cheap cigarettes for your mates. They will like it more than a stupid Manneke Pis or a mock saying “My friends been to Brussels and all they brought with them …). If you’re in Calais try to go to the Coast. It’s really nice there. Avoid the Belgian coast, it’s only nice if you want to pay 5 times as much for a lousy waffle! You can visit Ypres and the war graves, as most Brits do. But I don’t know – you have two kids – the rest will like that so much. I guess you could do that better with a couple of friends. Ypres and Dixmuda are certainly worth a visit, but I would not include them now.
Apart from the Ardennes, Belgium (unlike the Netherlands) and most certainly Flanders is not worth visiting for the nature. A thing like Rural Flanders doesn’t really exist anymore so only visit the historical centres of important cities. If you’re in the Netherlands try to go to the Waddeneilanden and rent a couple of bikes (or tandems so you can actually place your two little fella’s on the back) and enjoy the fresh air! Helps better than your vicks. 🙂
Try to read some information on the Late Medieval Cities in the Netherlands and the split between Belgium and the Netherlands after the 80-years war. It will help and make your trip more interresting. In the Netherlands, Brussels and Flanders most people will speak to you in English, you can get a guide in English, buy historical books. So no need to bring a dictionary with you. In fact, most Flemish like to boast with their linguistic skills. If they make mistakes, don’t mention it, they take it as an offence (really). In Wallonia though majority will probably talk to you in French.
Ben.Thanks for bringing that up!! Look, as a non-English speaker I reserve myself the right to make mistakes :D. At least I’m doing an effort. You Anglo-Saxon people though should be a bit more careful! It’s really affecting my own writing skills.
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