Belge Blog Deux

I am apparently the only pedestrian in Brussels with the slightest concern for their life. Everyone else blindly soldiers straight into busy streets confident that their right of way will be respected... either that, or they have been hit by a Smartcar or two and didn`t find it all that inconveniencing. Today I wandered down to the internet cafe on my own, managed to get a sandwich and an amber Leffe despite being unable to speak any intelligible French, and almost got killed crossing the street. I poked my head out past a parked tram car just in time to see another tram barreling straight for me. Shaken up, I waited for a minute before following a savvy looking 50 year old woman across the street. 50 year old women know what's what.


Favorite street shot thus far.
The city itself feels like Paris or London on qualudes. For a Euro capitol people are friendlier, or at least less perturbed to be talking to a stupid tourist. Belgian waffles, frites and good beer are all available on every street corner. My mission is to enjoy these treats daily. Yesterday I tried the curried mayonaise sauce with my fries... not quite as good as it sounds. I have yet to try a poor beer however. Even the ubiqutous Jupiler (Belgium`s Budweiser) is pretty good.

The country seems to suffer from a slight inferiority complex however... especially when compared to their big sister France. They attempt to be very proud of their Atomium and their mischievious peeing boy statue/fountain but a recent poll showed that Belgian citizens know more about the upcoming French presidential election than they know about their own national politics. They also seem to really enjoy comic books... especially those of the Robert Crumb/Harvey Pekar variety... ie confessional ramblings of self-described lonely introverts. Maybe the country identifies with this view of life a bit more than the bigger/brighter/louder approach we see so much of in America. I did not see any Marvel superhero books.