{"id":4521,"date":"2024-12-24T21:59:42","date_gmt":"2024-12-24T20:59:42","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.fotocycle.dk\/paws\/?page_id=4521"},"modified":"2024-12-25T07:36:50","modified_gmt":"2024-12-25T06:36:50","slug":"week-49-brussels-christmas-at-the-office","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"http:\/\/www.fotocycle.dk\/paws\/?page_id=4521","title":{"rendered":"Week 49: Brussels, Christmas at the office"},"content":{"rendered":"

I spent the first couple of days of the working week in Brussels, speaking at a conference organised by the European Commission on Tuesday. Of course I took the opportunity to visit the Christmas markets in the centre of Brussels. Back in Alicante, we had a Christmas cocktail lunch for our department, and of course at the weekend, I was out enjoying the sunshine on my bicycle.<\/p>\n

49_1<\/strong>
\nOn Sunday I cycled south to Santa Pola and came back on the coastal road. There is a tiny chapel which I have photographed on various occasions, but this time, for the first time, it was open, apparently being tidied up for Christmas by a caretaker. So I took the opportunity to have a look inside:
\n\"1040613\"<\/p>\n

49_2<\/strong>
\n\"1040612\"<\/p>\n

49_3<\/strong>
\nI also stopped at the Urbanova beach on my way home, finding quite a few people out and about:
\n\"1040614\"<\/p>\n

49_4<\/strong>
\nOn Monday morning I went to work as usual, but at lunchtime I drove to the airport and flew to Brussels, where I was going to participate in an all-day conference the next day (I even managed to squeeze in a late afternoon meeting at the European Commission after I landed on Monday). In the evening, I took the metro to one of my favourite parts of Brussels centre, Place Ste-Catherine, now filled with the Christmas market there:
\n\"DSF2952\"<\/p>\n

49_5<\/strong>
\n\"DSF2956\"<\/p>\n

49_6<\/strong>
\nOne of the reasons I enjoy coming to Brussels are the many places that hold a special meaning for me because they are associated with memories from the 5 happy years I spent there in the late 1990s. This modest restaurant on Place Ste-Catherine is one such place. I came here with my son on a couple of occasions, then 9-10 years old, to feed him a “light snack” of traditional Belgian food such as stoemp<\/em> with boudin noir<\/em> (the words “light snack” are a family joke, this food is actually very filling). So on this Monday evening I went inside to have dinner there:
\n\"DSF2966\"<\/p>\n

49_7<\/strong>
\nOn Tuesday morning, suitably besuited, I went to the European Commmission’s Borschette Conference Centre, a short walk from my hotel, and spent most of the day in this room:
\n\"R000717\"<\/p>\n

49_8<\/strong>
\nDuring the lunch break, I went for a walk in the surrounding area, starting with Place Jourdan, a nice square lined with bars and restaurants. But its main attraction is Maison Antoine in the centre of the square, home to what some say are the best Belgian fries in Brussels:
\n\"R000731\"<\/p>\n

49_9<\/strong>
\nUsually there is a long queue for the fries, but this time is was very short, perhaps due to the cold, blustery weather, so I took advantage and joined the queue:
\n\"R000721\"<\/p>\n

49_10<\/strong>
\nAnd a few minutes later I had the Holy Grail of fries in my hand:
\n\"R000722\"<\/p>\n

49_11<\/strong>
\nI then walked through a nice park called Parc Leopold which also houses a high school and a library. I noted this amusing decoration in a window:
\n\"R000727\"<\/p>\n

49_12<\/strong>
\nIn the evening I went to see the Christmas market on Boulevard Anspach, another part of the centre:
\n\"DSF2997\"<\/p>\n

49_13<\/strong>
\nSharing a snack. One of the nice features of a Brussels Christmas market is the variety of food and drink on offer, far more than the traditional mulled wine and sweets one gets in Germany and other countries:
\n\"DSF2981\"<\/p>\n

49_14<\/strong>
\nA tiny marching band appeared:
\n\"DSF2985\"<\/p>\n

49_15<\/strong>
\nI then walked towards Grand’ Place along one of the many small streets leading to the square:
\n\"DSF3002\"<\/p>\n

49_16<\/strong>
\nGrand’ Place is the most beautiful square in Europe, and even more so in December:
\n\"DSF3005\"<\/p>\n

49_17<\/strong>
\nWhen I lived in Brussels, the nativity scene on Grand’ Place had real, living animals. But nowadays I guess concerns about animal welfare (which I fully share) mean that the practice is no longer used:
\n\"DSF3007\"<\/p>\n

49_18<\/strong>
\nI took the metro back to Schuman, the heart of the EU quarter, walking past Berlaymont (the headquarters of the European Commission) on the way to my hotel:
\n\"DSF3018\"<\/p>\n

49_19<\/strong>
\nOn Wednesday morning I was back in a familiar place, the departure hall of Brussels airport, one of the nicest airports anywhere:
\n\"DSF3021\"<\/p>\n

49_20<\/strong>
\nAs a sign of the seriousness with which Belgium takes comics, Tintin’s moon rocket has a prominent place in the departure hall. It was already there when I lived in Brussels in the 1990s, and I have always enjoyed seeing it. Back then it meant that I was back home, or that I was going on a business trip. Today it means that I am back in a place to which I still have an attachment:
\n\"DSF3020\"<\/p>\n

49_21<\/strong>
\nBack in the office, on Friday we had a Christmas cocktail offered by the office to each department, a new practice this year (there was also an office-wide party, but because there were many people changing jobs after the big reorganisation in July, the office wanted to give us an opportunity to get together on the department level also):
\n\"DSF3037\"<\/p>\n

49_22<\/strong>
\nThe food was provided by the office’s VIP service, normally used for special events:
\n\"DSF3038\"<\/p>\n

49_23<\/strong>
\nAs usual, I turned my camera on my co-workers. Now that I have a new department, I also have a lot of new “victims”. Here, Patricia (Spanish) and Gabor (Hungarian):
\n\"DSF3036\"<\/p>\n

49_24<\/strong>
\nSilvia (Italian) is my assistant, here with our Spanish colleague Rodrigo:
\n\"DSF3042\"<\/p>\n

49_25<\/strong>
\nOur restaurant head waiter, Pau, brings out a tray of goodies:
\n\"DSF3047\"<\/p>\n

49_26<\/strong>
\nNext door to us, another department was having its Christmas cocktail. They took the whole Christmas thing a lot more seriously than my department:
\n\"DSF3051\"<\/p>\n

49_27<\/strong>
\nPau took a group photo of us at the end. My department is small, we are 23 people, but not everyone was there on the day since some people had already started their vacations:
\n\"DSF3055\"<\/p>\n

49_28<\/strong>
\nAfterwards, in his office, Rodrigo pours me a glass of his homemade almond liquor. It is really homemade–he even distills the alcohol himself. Quality moonshine:
\n\"DSF3058\"<\/p>\n

49_29<\/strong>
\nOn my way home, I stopped at Plaza Seneca to buy some goodies in the Eastern European grocery store and to have a look at the small neighbourhood Christmas fair. Here, children are getting appointments to see Santa:
\n\"DSF3061\"<\/p>\n

49_30<\/strong>
\nAnd of course, there is the ever-present churrer\u00c3\u00ada<\/em>:
\n\"DSF3063\"<\/p>\n

49_31<\/strong>
\nOn Saturday, as always, I was out on the bike. In the normally sleepy village Aigues there was a lot of activity on the square. A Christmas market was being set up, including some musical entertainment to come later in the day:
\n\"1040619\"<\/p>\n

49_32<\/strong>
\nIn a place like Aigues, everyone participates in such events, also the young people:
\n\"1040622\"<\/p>\n

49_33<\/strong>
\nAll needs are provided for:
\n\"1040624\"<\/p>\n

49_34<\/strong>
\nThis nice couple were manning a stand selling t-shirts and other items in support of a animal rescue. I simply had to buy one of their t-shirts:
\n\"1040626\"<\/p>\n

49_35<\/strong>
\nI continued past Aigues into the mountains beyond the village. At the highest point of the ride, about 500 meters above sea level, another cyclist asked me to take several photos of him with his phone, and of course I also took one with my own camera:
\n\"1040627\"<\/p>\n

49_36<\/strong>
\nOn my way back, I stopped to take in the view of the coastal plain with Aigues in the foreground and Alicante in the distance:
\n\"1040630\"<\/p>\n

49_37<\/strong>
\nThe road is really curvy, and is enjoyed by many two-wheeled users, both motorcyclists and cyclists. I feel fortunate to have roads like this for my cycling:
\n\"1040633\"<\/p>\n

49_38<\/strong>
\n\"1040635\"<\/p>\n

49_39<\/strong>
\nOn Sunday morning I walked down to the beach to watch the sunrise over the Mediterranean. In mid\/late December, sunrise is a bit after 8 a.m., so for an early riser like me it is no problem to walk to the beach for the sunrise. Other people were out and about too:
\n\"DSF3068\"<\/p>\n

49_40<\/strong>
\nA cooperative seagull at the water’s edge provided some entertainment while I waited for the sun to appear:
\n\"DSF3076\"<\/p>\n

49_41<\/strong>
\nThe sun begins to appear:
\n\"DSF3083\"<\/p>\n

49_42<\/strong>
\n\"DSF3089\"<\/p>\n

49_43<\/strong>
\nAnother way to see the rising sun:
\n\"DSF3084\"<\/p>\n

49_44<\/strong>
\nI was not the only photographer on the beach:
\n\"DSF3091\"<\/p>\n

49_45<\/strong>
\nMeditation in the sand:
\n\"DSF3101\"<\/p>\n

49_46<\/strong>
\nThe cooperative seagull, now nicely illuminated:
\n\"DSF3095\"<\/p>\n

49_47<\/strong>
\nA local restaurant, nicely illuminated too:
\n\"DSF3103\"<\/p>\n

49_48<\/strong>
\nLater on Sunday, I cycled to the V\u00c3\u00ada Verde, a hard but beautiful ride:
\n\"1040640\"<\/p>\n

49_49<\/strong>
\nViews like this are an important part of the pleasure of the V\u00c3\u00ada Verde:
\n\"1040642\"<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I spent the first couple of days of the working week in Brussels, speaking at a conference organised by the European Commission on Tuesday. Of course I took the opportunity to visit the Christmas markets in the centre of Brussels. Back in Alicante, we had a Christmas cocktail lunch for our department, and of course […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":4205,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.fotocycle.dk\/paws\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/4521"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.fotocycle.dk\/paws\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.fotocycle.dk\/paws\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.fotocycle.dk\/paws\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.fotocycle.dk\/paws\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=4521"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"http:\/\/www.fotocycle.dk\/paws\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/4521\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4529,"href":"http:\/\/www.fotocycle.dk\/paws\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/4521\/revisions\/4529"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.fotocycle.dk\/paws\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/4205"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.fotocycle.dk\/paws\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=4521"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}