Brussels Capital of Belgium: Part 1

Previously, I spent 2 days in the Medieval city of Bruges, and left for Brussels on a 10.45pm train:

https://weesertan.blogspot.com/2020/12/venice-of-north-canal-city-of-bruges-in.html

Brussels is my last stop before flying back to Glasgow. 

Thus complete my journey through Flanders

Brussels is the capital and largest city in Belgium, and the de facto capital of the European Union. It was September 2017, and Brexit discussions had started, and a deal was to be made in another year (by July 2018). In hindsight, writing this post on Christmas Day 2020, the interminably tedious UK-EU Brexit arrangement is at last, coming to an end. News came up that a deal has been struck today. Hopefully, some amicable consensus is reached, the countries involved would strive for peace and order. I think the world today is a gravely different place, having seen Trump, trade wars, Covid-19 and etc. 

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I arrived at Brussels Midi-Zuid Station at midday, after about 1 hour and 15 minutes on the train. I would stay at Midi Station Hotel for 2 nights. After having a quick lunch and storing my luggage at the hotel, I joined the 1.30pm walking tour. 

One of the hottest debate in this region is about who invented French Fries, yes the fried potatoes you eat at McDonald's. Apparently, French fries are not invented by the French, but Spanish Netherlands (present day Belgium) in the 1600's. The people here mostly speak French (85%) and Dutch (15%). It is possible that foreign armies during WWI mistook them as French, and it is easier to say "French Fries" rather than "Spanish Netherland fries". 

Tourist queueing for fries

There is a fantastic write-up on Wikipedia:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_fries#Belgium_and_the_Netherlands

Anyway, I think McD's fries with chilly source are still the best. 

In Brussels, you need to visit Julien. The Manneken Pis is a statue of a boy (Julien) peeing into a fountain. This bronze sculpture has been standing and peeing in Brussels since 1619! It describes the humour and independent thinking of the people of Brussels. 

Different outfits are designed for different occasions, for Julien

It was 17th of September, and being a Sunday, the whole city seems to be having a carnival in a party-mood. 

Chill and stay calm. Why so serious?

Venice of the North - The Canal City of Bruges in Belgium

Previously, I travelled to Bruges from The Hague, a grueling 9-hour bus ride:

https://weesertan.blogspot.com/2020/12/the-hague-part-2-journey-to-bruges.html

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Similar to Venice and Amsterdam, Bruges is a city with canals, but calmer, quieter and more relaxed.

I have to admit that I hadn't heard of Bruges before. (They do not have a famous football team). However, while planning for my journey of Holland-Belgium, I decided spend 2 nights in Bruges. This UNESCO World Heritage site oozed a specialty that other nearby cities such as Antwerp, Ghent, Lille didn't have - Bruges had remained virtually the same since the 16th century. It was not damaged during the world wars at all. So it was like traveling back time in Europe. 

I had allocate 1 full day for Bruges, and will head to Brussels the next day. I booked a 2-night stay at Europa Hostel. This hostel was really comfortable, while the breakfast was superb. 

It was July 2017, but the weather in Flanders was no better than the British weather. From the hostel, I took a pleasant morning walk to the 'Markt' or Market Place in the city center.

The Market Place, as the name implies, is the busiest part in town (Car-free)

Legends of Bruges walking tour at 9.45am

The weather was not ideal for a walking tour... 

But Igor, our guide was superb throughout 2 hours. Bruges is unique in the sense that it has been the same since the 16th century. King Maximilian made the city extremely poor, and modernization didn't take place. During the two world wars, Bruges was deemed not significant to be bombed. So, it was quite a lucky escape. Bruges seems to be a happy-go-lucky city. 

Roman Emperor Maximilian may have come clubbing in Bruges

In contrast, Bruges is where the College of Europe is located - Center for European Studies

Road to Nationhood - Malaysia

 I must say, this is one of the best documentaries on the history of Malaysia. 

Stories of Tunku Abdul Rahman, Lee Kuan Yew, Donald Stephen, David Marshal, Sukarno, AM Azahari and co. did the "grand design".

The Hague: Part 2 & The Journey to Bruges

Previously on Part 1, I visited the Peace Palace (International Court of Justice), and had a sumptuous Indonesian lunch (you could call it nasi campur):

https://weesertan.blogspot.com/2020/12/the-hague-part-1.html

It was a wet day, and I called it quits by 3pm. I spent the rest of the day at The Golden Stork Hostel reading.

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On day 2, I woke up to find the sun shining brightly, and some clouds on the horizon. I would need to leave for Bruges (in Belgium) after lunch. In the interest of time, I decided to skip the walking tour, and head to the seaside - Scheveningen, which faces the North Sea. 

I took the City Tram to Scheveningen, and by 9.30am, I found myself walking along a pleasant seaside village.

Always been a fan of the sea

Beach front

July is not a summer month in the Netherlands?

The Hague: Part 1

I was in Amsterdam for 4 pleasant days: 

https://weesertan.blogspot.com/search/label/Travel%3A%20Amsterdam

From Amsterdam, I took the 8am bus from Sloterdijk Station to The Hague. Flixbus is the continent's budget bus company. After an hour, I reached Den Haag Central, the central station of The Hague.

Situated by the North Sea, facing England, The Hague is where the central government of the Netherlands is located. It also houses the International Court of Justice (ICJ) located. In 2017, it was a time where China was brought to the ICJ for the dispute in the South China Sea. I felt it was interesting to visit The Hague.

The Hague is an important and impartial European city. 

Golden Stock Hostel, where I stayed had numerous books, and I enjoyed one of them

The first stop, after leaving my luggage in the hostel, was none other than the ICJ. 

The Peace Palace hosts the ICJ and Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA)

Amsterdam Part 3

Previously in Amsterdam Part 2, I visited several historical sites that witnessed the Dutch Republic becoming a global super power in the 1600's. After gaining independence from the Spanish (after the Eighty Years War), and turning Protestant, the Dutch sailed the world, and rivalled the Portuguese and Spanish. Most notably, the Dutch took Melaka (Malacca) and modern Indonesia, thus stamping their name on global trade. Check it out at:

https://weesertan.blogspot.com/2020/11/amsterdam-part-2.html 

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Ajax Amsterdam is a famous football club in Europe. They are best known for producing football talents (who are unfortunately sold to big clubs). It is definitely not very desirable being a feeder club, but I suppose the balance sheet would always be super healthy. We read about the glory days and famous names such as Johan Cruyff, Marco van Basten, Frank Rijkaard passing through their ranks, and they have won a few European Cups. 

Since I started watching football (in 2000), former Ajax players that I keenly watched were Dennis Bergkamp, Patrick Kluivert, Ryan Babel, Nwankwo Kanu, Jari Litmanen, Wesley Sneijder, Edwin Van Der Sar, Clarence Seedorf, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Luiz Suarez, Christian Eriksen and the list goes on. 

Any football fan can confirm that world football is a better place because of all these graduates from Ajax. Barcelona's playing style is still influenced by Johan Cruyff, their coach in the 70's. 

The question is, how are you able to spot and nurture world class talents, consistently for a century?

To learn more, on my 3rd full day in Amsterdam, I got up the city train to Bijmer Amsterdam Arena. 

55,0000-person capacity stadium (you could see the weather wasn't great)

I paid 16 euros for the stadium tour at noon. 

We were firstly introduced the away team dressing room, which was uninspiring and dull. 

Interestingly, there are only 10 shower rooms, which means one of the away players would need to share the same shower.... or wait for his turn. Not very hospitable, and definitely not my cup of tea. 

Meanwhile, the home team dressing room was sparkling and modern. It has 12 shower rooms!

Amsterdam Part 2

Previously in Amsterdam Part 1 (https://weesertan.blogspot.com/2020/11/amsterdam-part-1.html#more) I travelled from Eindhoven to Amsterdam after a student competition, and joined a local walking tour. 

First impression was actually quote positive

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To know more about the Netherlands, we need to learn some history, and about the father of the nation - William of Orange. Also known as Prince William 1 and William the Silent, William of Orange led the 8-year war revolution against the Spanish king in the 1500's. 

Before we start to wonder why is there a colour or fruit in his name, let me clear your queries. We do know that the Dutch football team also wear orange jersey.

Actually, there is a place call County of Orange, or Principality of Orange in Southern France. Wikipedia gives a good account of this place: 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Principality_of_Orange 

The the prince has his roots from there

Prince William of Orange did not like how Protestants were prosecuted by the Spanish King, and felt that the Dutch states should fight for freedom, against the Spanish colonizers

Since then, orange colour became a symbol for Protestantism, and Dutch heritage, Shades of orange can be found in the flags of the Netherlands, Republic of Ireland, New York City and etc. Prince William of Orange declared independence in 1581, denouncing the Spanish crown, and formed the Dutch Republic, a union of states in the Netherlands. It also kicked-started the Dutch Golden Age for the next 100 years, where the Dutch Republic was the world's no.1 superpower.  

The Dutch sailed the world spreading art, culture and science. Military might saw them arriving in South East Asia, and defeated the Portuguese to take Malacca (modern day Melaka in Malaysia) in 1641. The Dutch Square (Red House) still stands in Melaka today, as one of the most famous tourist attraction. The Dutch is the longest colonial power that ruled Melaka - 183 years, until 1825. However, they preferred Batavia (modern day Jakarta, Indonesia) to Melaka, and had a land swap with the British. 

Amsterdam Part 1

In September 2017, I was in Holland and Belgium, and spent a few hours in the French city of Lille. The 2-week travel around Flanders territory was actually an interesting experience.  

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It was one of my last 'assignments' as a student at Glasgow University. I was part of the university team that competed in SensUs Competition at Technical University of Eindhoven, the Netherlands. We were tasked to build a biosensor to detect heart attack. It took 6 months to prepare. 

Amsterdam Schiphol, one of the busiest in Europe, was an hours flight from Glasgow. From Amsterdam, we took a 1.5-hour train ride to the city of Eindhoven. 

Nowadays, I wonder if our technology could do something to assist the fight against COVID-19

 

Technical University of Eindhoven (TuE) campus was green and really pleasant. 

Introduction by the organizers

In the Netherlands, there are 2 types of universities - Technical, and non-technical

Rome - The eternal city

We were touring central Italy's Renaissance city of Florence in: 

https://weesertan.blogspot.com/2020/09/florence-where-leonardo-da-vinci-was.html. 

The next and final stop in Italy saw us traveled down south to Rome - The eternal city. 

Football fans will know the club AS Roma, and legendary captain Francesco Totti. 

Rome is the capital of Italy, and according to https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rome, was the 11th most visited country in the world, and 3rd most visited in the European Union. No trip to Italy could be completed without Rome on the itinerary. 

As the saying goes, Rome was not built in a day. It was founded in 753BC by King Romulus (Roman Kingdom). Then, Rome became a Republic, and then an empire. In Malaysia, we studied about Rome in Form 4 history text book - Emperors like Julius and Augustus Caesar. It was one of the 4 great world civilizations, along with Greek, Chinese and Indian civilizations.  

"Marcus Agrippa, the son of Lucius, three times consul, built this." (2000 years ago)

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We took the Italo train from Florence to Rome, and reached our AirBnb around 5.30pm on 14th December 2018. Stayed at 30 Via Pavia, a spacious and comfortable place by Andrea. We allocated 4 days (3 nights) in Rome. 

Being a 2700 year-old city, Rome is a fantastic city to walk in. Every corner on the street seems to have important landmarks and attractions.

Walking tours would normally start at the Spanish Steps, the iconic 135 steps that connects the Spanish Plaza to a church on top of the Pincio Hill. 

The Spanish Steps (left) and Trevi Fountain (right)

Walking tours would normally start at the Spanish Steps. The walking tour we joined was the biggest I have seen - 45 participants! As predicted, the stories, historical facts and myths went on and on. 

The Roman Forums were a place of political debates, speeches and intellectual sparring. 

The Roman Forum

The most famous ruins of course, is the Colosseum. Built in 75 AD, it is still the biggest 'stadium' in the world, and still standing! 

I felt that there were too many sites to cover (slowly), and decided to just walk around the perimeter and marvel at this engineering marvel 

In hindsight, maybe we should have entered, but as the saying goes "有遗憾，才会回来" (Leave it for next time)

How I survived the 14-day quarantine period

I finally understood how Thomas Edison might have invented the light bulb (and other inventions) after 1000 times of failed attempts. It takes relentless focus and religious-like effort doing a single task over and over again. 

I could inform dad to keep the clothes

For the past 14 days, I was confined inside a 350 square-feet room. It was a unique experience. 

I kept myself focused on work, glad to schedule night meetings, and even conducted some live-witness testing in USA (obviously during their working hours, which is 12 hours difference). I worked and ate on the same table.

However, it was equally important that I manage the screen time. There was a high tendency to get glued to the computer most of the time. This would be highly detrimental to health and mental wellbeing. So, I am thankful that radios are online nowadays. BusinessFM, MoneyFM and FlyFM would take sequential turns to fill the otherwise soulless room. 

I can truly say that this is the longest period in my life staying in a confined room. Even during the Circuit Breaker in Singapore, I had jogs once in 3 days, and busied myself cooking and shopping for groceries at the supermarket. 

Exercise was essential. It was important for stress management and to keep my limps functioning (before they degrade). Everyday, I did stretching in the morning for around 20 minutes before breakfast and work.  After work, I would do around an hour of (amateur) exercise, which include 60 pushups and sit ups, 200 swings of the racket (forehand and backhand), 100 calf raises and aerobic jumps. I increased the sets slowly, and by the end of 2 weeks, I almost doubled the initial workout regime.