Archive for February, 2010

Le Carnaval de Malmedy

pierreo February 20th, 2010

I could go to Mardi Gras in New Orleans.  I have been to New Orleans many times since 1975, but never for Mardi Gras.  I could go to “Il Carnevale” in Venice.  I have been there too, in 2000, but not around Carnival.  And, of course, I could go to Rio! I did in 2005, but missed the carnival by about 6 months.  The main reason why I do not do these things is because I am cheap, I fail to plan long enough in advance, and I really do not like very large crowds.

I like to go to smaller, more intimate celebrations – like the time I celebrate Mardi Gras in Baton Rouge.  I like it when there is a lot of interactions between the participants and the crowd, and that is why I have always liked the Carnaval of Malmedy.  I went there regularly in my youth, but probably had not made it in more than 30 years.  I decided that I had to go this year.

The weather on Sunday was not the best.  It started snowing as soon as I left Brussels but fortunately the roads were not too slippery.  They were not slippery, that is, until I arrived in Eupen – that is where the road starts to go up to the Haute Fagnes – a Natural Reserve know in English by its German name of Eifel (a lot of is was situated in Germany before WWI and this was re-taken by Germany during WWII – there was very harsh fighting in this area in 1944 and especially in the Battle of the Bulge).  With all the snow, I expected spectacular scenery and since I had a few hours before the parade started, I decided to make a short stop to what is probably my favourite nature spot in Belgium.  I was not disappointed!

Near the road, there were people leaving on cross country skis

I had a quick chat with one of the local ‘rangers’ – probably a volunteer who is available on week-ends, just in case.  She confirmed that the region has not seen such beautiful snow in many years.  I decided to go away from the skiers on some of the footpaths in order to get away from the crowd – I did not have to worry, there was not much of a crowd.  It was snowing lightly while I was there, but had been snowing harder during the week.  The trees were laden with fresh snow.

The moor – this area is actually a marsh – was untouched by human tracks – most of the reserve is closed as walkers could damage the delicate ecosystem (as I was told…).  Visibility was not that good as snow kept falling and was actually getting heavier.

The clouds were so low that in places the trees faded into the clouds

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A smorgasbord of Culture

pierreo February 13th, 2010

I had a very interesting two weeks!

If you have read the “Who” Page of this blog, you will know that I try, every month, to do something special – my way of preventing from falling into too much of a routine, and making sure that I enjoy life to the fullest.  I am not going to have any problems fulfilling this requirement this month!

Actually, I started in late January with a visit to the BRAFA – the 55th Brussels Antiques and Fine Arts Fair.  This is very ‘posh’ and proper – all the pieces shown are for sale, but I could not afford most of them (and really would not want a lot in my apartment!) but it is like a visit to a museum.  I did not expect to find anything that I would be tempted to buy, and I was not proven wrong.  However, it was still an interesting visit, made more so by the location.

BRAFA is held in the old industrial estate of Tour et Taxi, nothing to do with either a tower or taxi cabs but used to belong to the German enterprise of “Turm und Tassi”, and this is the literal translation of the two German words.  They are located along the canal on the North of Brussels and I am not sure what they used to do in there.  For much of my youth, what little of it I spent in Brussels, these were derelict, abandoned buildings.  They were renovated 10-15 years ago and now host a number of events.  It was the first time I was able to go inside.

My cultural tour continued on 1st February with a very unusual concert: “Jerusalem” by Jordi Saval.  The concert essentially retraced the history of Jerusalem from antiquity to modern time through the music of the people who occupied it over the years.  I really enjoyed it even though it was “difficult” music – difficult on the public in so much as it required a lot of our attention in order to really enjoy the experience.  I often listen to music while I am doing something else (I am listening to “The Phantom of the Opera” right now) but I could not do anything while this was playing.  There are songs and recitations in several languages, and the words are just as important as the music.  During the concert, there were super-scripts (in two languages of course – this is Brussels) to allow us to follow the meaning; if you listen to it at home, you would have to follow the text from the libretto.  Here is the cover art in case you are interested in buying – my recommendation: go see the show if you have a chance!

Jerusalem

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