The Wayfaring Adventures of Rod and Clinton...

Belgium:

April/May, 1999: Brussels

Brussels is home to the European Union and NATO, has a few really pretty sites and places, but is otherwise just a big, dirty city. They all speak English, French, and Flemish which is some sort of blend of all these with some German and other obscure Viking dialects thrown in. The further north you go in Belgium, they actually prefer English to French, as the northerners really don't want to give the French anything to brag about. This is the first thing I was greeted with off the train from Cologne. If you can't read the graffitti it sais "US GO HOME!" During our trek, Rod and I saw many different reactions to the war in Kosovo, which was at full throttle in early May, 1999. We saw a wide range, everything from Clinton=Hitler, to God Bless Bill Clinton. From USA GO HOME! to THANK YOU, USA. Interestingly, there was sentiment for both sides everywhere. Serbs in northern Europe were quick to denounce the action as Nazi-like, and Kosovars were quick to denounce Milocevic. When I asked some French people what they thought of the war, they reacted relatively like many Americans, which was apathetic and without conviction either way.

Mannekin Pis This is really the only other attraction Brussels can claim other than the Grand-Place and being the home of NATO and the EU. It's a statue of a naked little boy, but he's also a fountain: The water comes out, well, let's just say that he's constantly relieving himself.	The streets behind the Grand-Place are tiny and winding, full of seafood restaurants, bars and clubs.
One story as to the origin of this little statue is that it commemorates the ingenuity of a boy who cleverly defused a bomb.
Beware of the Poison Soup! (Especially when they've reduced it 100 francs!)	Rod, negotiating the ingredients on one of Brussels' most popular outdoor munchies, a Belgian Waffle.
We didn't go into the "Drug Opera" but maybe someday I'll go back and see just what they're cooking...		Another in the series of "the view from the hotel window" by Clinton Day.

This is the acoustic bass-guitar I bought in Cologne. We're in the airport in Brussels. At this point we were on our way to Copenhagen, waiting for our flight. The whole reason we ended up staying in Brussells for a night in the first place is that we missed our flight the day before! The "express" train to the airport sat on the tracks while the other NON-express trains whizzed by us!The trains in Europe in general are so reliable and on-time that you can set your watch by them, with the exception of Brussels, and maybe Italy. Needless to say, we got here a little early this time.