LEAVES AND TREES

After the busy trip at Rotterdam and the always busy and rushed life in Brussels, I went to look for some restfull place, for a change of mood.

Today was a nice, partially sunny day, and I went to one of my favorite places: Chateau La Hulpe

Times never stops. Since Man walks on this earth, he uses the nature's cycles to determine time.  trying not to get lost in the vastity and infinity of time. The moon is also used as a complement to count time.The origin of the Hollydays is mostly this and religion has a part in it too.

Now the winter is coming and it is time to prepare for the winter holidays: Sinterklaas is  the 5th december. Thanksgiving is already coming.Christmas is not far away.

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I like this view taken at 10 o'clock in the morning.

Many trees have already lost the leaves, some of the leaves have been able to take a beautiful color before leaving the branches of the trees.

The tree trees

More trees are towering over the old farm.

On the other side some trees are trying to reach for the sky, but they have to recognize their limit. It looks  like a ballet.

Magical place where the leaves become gold for a short time.

Magical place where Angels go sleep.

This are some images from Chateau La Hulpe, near Brussels, - Belgium,  the 21th november 2009.

Just trying to stop time for a short moment, at Xanga at least.

ROTTERDAM

Is a city on the water, and like Venice, or New York, or any other city on the world, which is built on water, Rotterdam has a special watery flavour. You look at the water and you want to go travelling; to where? doesn't matter, somewhere to look for gold, for money, for adventure, to America perhaps.

We went, with my daughter, for a boat trip around the port of Rotterdam, the biggest port of Europe.

In the second world war Rotterdam was bombed and completely destroyed  by a sudden bomb attack by the Germans.

Not much was left of Rotterdam, and that is why now Rotterdam had to build modern building, leaning buildings  like the Pisa tower ... or it is just a impression?

There are a lot of bridges and tunnels, you have to cross the Meuse channel and to do that there is either a bridge or a tunnel.

The new bridge is the "ERASMUS BRIDGE"  (Erasmus was a Rotterdamer, and will find a lot of things named after Erasmus.

The famous shipping  line "Holland - American Line " started his services in 1872, between Rotterdam and New york.

The old building is still there as hotel restaurant and it is called  "Hotel New York"

From far away.

To go there you can take a water taxi (You could swim but the water is cold)

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Or it will be like this? Th eRotterdam SS, famous cruise ship will be now a Hotel - restaurant and museum.

Better than the Titanic.  I was dreaming it was the beginning of the century and I was going to  America. Waw.

In third class of course.

THANKSGIVING DAY IS APPROACHING AND MY BIRTHDAY TOO.

Yesterday I went, together with my daughter and Speedy the dog, as captain of the boat, to visit the port of Rotterdam.

Rotterdam was flattened  in the first days of the WWII by Germans bombs, and that is the reason that no many old building can be seen.  I will post some of that later, now I go back to to the relationship of Rotterdam and thanksgiving day.

Many of you know that the Mayflower was the boat that brought the Pilgrim fathers to what is now become the US; but, perhaps, not many people know that one boat called the Speedwell tried to go together to the US, but never made it.

The speedwell was bought by religious English  methodist that ran away to Leyden - Netherland, to escape the intolerance of the English Anglican Church. They found out the even the Dutch  Calvinist were too soft in their faith, and decided to set off to the new world.

They sailed from the haven of Rotterdam (Delfshaven) that in the time belonged to Delft, a city not far away from Rotterdam.

They sailed to Southampton, in England, to start the voyage together with the Mayflower , a much bigger boat. They did start the voyage together, but the Speedwell didn't go far, they had to come back because the boat started leaking.

They tried once more, but again, they had to turn back.

The Speedwell didn't make it and was probably sold back in Holland.

One of the passenger trying to get to the new world was the ancestor of Barak Obama, Thomas Blossom. He reached the Us later, in the 1629.

I forgot to say that was a nice windy day

This morning I was going to take the subway, to avoid the traffic jams in the morning, and I was astonished to see the empty streets, "something wrong " I thought. I checked the time, it was okay, eight o'clock am.

I remember that in the shops somewhere said something about the shops being closed the 11th  of november.

I went back home, took the car and in less than 10 minutes I was at work - normally takes me  between half a hour and a full hour.

At work I asked what was going on, and a flemish lady told me that it is a holyday in Belgium, it is ' Armistice day' How come? I asked, I  know that the national  Belgian holiday is the 21th of july. Of course they have a different day for the Flemish and a day for the French-speaking (Francophone).

How much do I have to remember? I was just busy with the breaking down of the Berlin's wall and now I'm in the middle of the  great war remembrance day.

In Ypres (Ieper in France)  and whereabouts one of the most bloody battle was fought. More than 500.000 soldiers killed. You know the verses written by a Canadian," Poppy in flemish fields?" well. That is the place.

So many lives lost not even knowing why? do we know now? Why? I don't.

Tomorrow I will take the subway again and it will be all back to normal.

TEAR DOWN THAT WALL

The wall built at Berlin to divide the city in two, wasn't very beautiful,  in fact it was very ugly. The worst of all was not just the wall - walls are built to be climbed-  the problem were the soldiers with guns watching from the watch- out towers. They shot to kill, and they did.

Now the wall in Berlin is gone, but in other places is not gone yet. In Germany too, there are still a difference between the west germany and east germany, economical and cultural. Twenty years have been not enough to remake to take away all the differences.

Here in Brussels, that is a kind of capital of the uropean Union they have try to show what it was like to have a wall. They have make a ' Check Point Charlie'

The luxembourg square in a rainy day became like Berlin.

They brought a part of the wall  all the way from Germany.

It is scary and ugly : Halloween stuff.

Happily is not Berlin  like it was 20 years ago. Now we are together,  the ex- communist countries, Poland, Hungry, Slovakje etc.

Who would thought some years ago to be working together with all this people from behind the walls.?

You know, in a few years, people will be playing games at putting down the wall, and nobody really will know what really has been the past.

People tend to forget very easily and very quick. Don't let the forget. They are still building walls. They will never learn?