Work fine, Belgium sunny

Hi folks,

time is flying… While work is much but going fine so far and my research report’s taking shape slowly but surely, life mostly still shows its pleasant side. Since Marie arrived, we met a few times and enjoyed a world music concert and some Krieks together (probably not the last ones). Besides, I’m very lucky with my nice new trainee colleagues though I’m missing two of the girls with whom I shared my office in August. One of my three August mates is still here.

The pictures show Bruge and Liège, where we went one resp. two weeks ago. While Bruge is a nice small town, a bit kitchy, everywhere canals, crowded with tourists and even more horse coaches, Liège (in Wallonia) is bigger and instead of tourists and horse droppings, it is congested over and over with the worst-dressed fashion victims you’ve ever seen. The city awakes most of all an insignificant or ugly impression. I would not believe that Gaufres de Liège originate from this town... However, it hides some interesting corners and offers the visitor a view form the riverside that is somehow amazing - in a very strange kind. Weird. All in all not really a serious candidate for my personal Belgian Top Three Cities.

As you see, I’m not very keen on writing at the moment - too many other things at the moment... Today’s lame excuse is that I was out all day, visiting an experimental herb garden and an artiste school which had/have their doors open this weekend (many institutions in Brussels do so, therefore we're planning to visit amongst other things the Royal horsestables tomorrow), hence I’m tired now after strolling around. So just excuse me for the moment and enjoy the pictures!

great construction progress

I don't want to withhold you a new one-month-later picture of the construction in front of my window...
At least, 100db machine noise every morning (punctually at seven or a few minutes earlier) and dusty windows showing hardly any transparency have led to some progress fo far... Newly, the volume has gone a very little bit down - instead, the guys have discovered their love to disco music , volumed up to the end stop...

beginning of August 2006 ...and one month later...

Nevertheless, I love my room, my house, my street, my mates...

Paliament and some (more?) European nonsense

Dear everybody,

I promised you some Parliament impressions from the inside - these are some photos we took during our visit (my trainee colleagues Ilona and Nazli and me), see my post last week. Looks like a plenary hall should look like, I think...

While surfing the internet for some information on national disability legisations and statistics in Austria today (hey Firdavs, got some impressions yet?), I searched on the website of an Austrian ministry (I forgot which one exactly), and what did I find? Suicide statistics regarding 32 cuntries, showing Belgium - which has in general a quite high suicide rate - on 2nd rank at my age group, outstripped only by Finland. So if I ever feel I should follow these statistics, the easiest way will be having myself squeezed to death in bus 95, that's for sure...

However, I don't actually think of this as a good idea. If I ever feel I should leave my Brussels existence behind, I will prefer THIS:

(Rather practical, just a few metro stations from work, right on the pavement in front of Brussels' big Basilika...) What remains is the question where it may lead - I suppose, to Helsinki...