City trip to Barcelona

It finally happened. In 2017, after I recovered from my operation, we looked at finding a hotel in Barcelona. But either the hotels were fully booked, or the flight was full. So we chose Madrid instead. In 2020 we had again planned and booked a trip to Barcelona (hotel + flight) - and then corona came and we were forbidden to leave even our own town. And now it finally worked.

We left on Wednesday and returned yesterday evening. We stayed in the center of Barcelona, close to two of Gaudi's buildings. 

The weather was glorious there in Spain, sunshine and warm temperatures. What a contrast to return to a Belgium where it was at least 10 degrees colder and rainy. 

We had a great time in Barcelona, enjoyed the warm climate, the food and the sights. I'll be posting a post in my travel blog as soon as all the pictures are downloaded. 

When we came back yesterday evening, the raillway station was overful with people who had been to see the Horse Bayard. As soon as we were home, we turned on the tv and could still watch the apotheose on the Great Market on the local broadcasting station. This was followed by fireworks, which we could watch from the bedroom windows. 

Town in upheaval

When I went shopping this morning, it was quite busy in town. Dendermonde is in full preparation (and into the final stages) of the 2022 Horse Bayard (Ros Beiaard) pageant which will take place on Sunday 29th May at 14.30 hour. 

This is always a big event for the town. Originally, this pageant only took place when there was something special happening (like a royal wedding, the completion of important works in town, etc.). In my lifetime, I saw it happen in 1958 (I was only 2 at that time, but I still remember something about it), in 1975, in 1990. From 2000 the town decided to have the pageant every ten years. It happened in 2010, but the next edition was postponed to this year because of corona.

The pageant dates back to the Middle Ages, when the guilts were mighty and had to show their wealth to the citizens. A big horse, referring to the saga of Lord Aymon and his four sons, was created, along with three giants: Indian, Mars and Goliath. Horse Bayard is 5 meters high and 2 meters broad, weighs about 1,000 kilos and is carried by 12 strong men. They walk the horse, mounted by the four sons of Aymon (4 brothers, born in Dendermonde) around town and even make the horse stagger. 

For a lot of older people, this is an emotional happening - for it may be the last time they see the horse. Bayard is in your blood, when you were born in Dendermonde. 

They expect a of people for this event, over 100,000. Especially when the weather cooperates, all inhabitants of town plus a lot of tourists will be attending.

The power of books

My most favorite hobby is reading. Even as a child, I was looking into (picture) books when I was about 1,5 years old. Growing up, I discovered more and more books and authors. When I was sent outside to play, I smuggled along a book and then climbed into a high tree where I stayed reading until it was time for supper. 

I can truly admit that most of my knowledge originates in books. As a child in elementary school, I wrote about sampans and travel abroad, while the other kids in the class hadn't even been to the North Sea coast.

When I reached adulthood I began to read in other languages as well. During a trip to London with our parents in 1972 (I was sixteen then) I picked up a pocket book by Victoria Holt in the railway station's bookstall and began to read it. Of course I did not understand every word, but I got the general meaning. Later on, I did the same with French and German. 

Nowadays, I read mostly in English. That's like my own language to me. I often think in English, as well. And every time I read a new book, I find out more about one or other subject I knew nothing about. It doesn't matter what kind of book you read, you can learn any time.

Alas, nowadays I notice that less and less kids are reading books. They are playing on their tablets or smart phones but never take a book in hand. Their general knowledge is close to nihil. Even ten years back, when I was still teaching, I noticed how little my students knew about the world in which they live. They don't know anything anymore about states and capitals (the capital of France is Cairo), have no idea about the big streams and oceans (Ireland borders the Pacific Ocean), not to mention they know zilch about history. When when the battle of Waterloo? Big eyes, and no answer

Our youth is getting dumber and dumber - and it's them that will rule the word in some decades God help us!

Eurovision Song Contest 2022

As last year's Eurovision Song Contest was won by Italy, the 2022 one will take place in Torino. It's being presented by Laura Pausini and Mika (and one other, unknown guy).

The contest consists of two half finals, on Tuesday and Thursday, and the grand final on Saturday evening. It's always a circus and even if most of the songs are nothing much, it's a spectacle worth seeing. 

This year, the bookmakers think that Ukraine will win. To tell the truth, their song is not that bad, and of course they may count on a lot of sympathy because of the war with Russia (which, by the way, is excluded from taking part in the contest). 

Five countries automatically take part in the contest (because they are the money providers): France, the UK, Germany, Italy and Spain. All the other countries (including Israel and Australia) have to pass the semi finals. Two groups of 18 contenders, of which only 10 per semi final pass. Belgium took part in the second semi final and secured a spot in the grand final. 

We are being represented by Jérémie Makiese, a young guy who is perfectly bilingual and who won The Voice Belgique last year. He's a cute guy and has a warm voice  and he knows how to play the camera's. Thumbs up for Belgium!!!

Weekend Utrecht

The past weekend we spent in Utrecht, the Netherlands. When we want to be a weekend away from home, we often go to Antwerp but every now and then we like something different. For that the Netherlands are an obvious choice. Most cities in Holland are easy to reach by train and it usually doesn't take longer than 3 hours (waiting times for connections included).

So this time we picked Utrecht as a destination. Utrecht is one of the biggest towns in Holland and has a famous university. We had wanted to go there for a while, but the times we wanted to go, there was no availability in the hotel. Now everything was ok, so we were able to see something of the town.

Of course, a weekend is short but we got a good impression of the city nevertheless. When our pictures are downloaded, I'll be posting a blog about our stay there on my  travel blog. 

We were lucky with the weather, as well. The weather forecast had predicted rain for Saturday, and instead it was quite warm and sunny. We didn't complain!

And now it's not long before our next city trip, to Barcelona. 

Undesired cancellation

Late yesterday evening, we got a mail from Norwegian Cruise Lines informing us that our planned cruise for September 2023 has been cancelled. Not great news!

We had made a reservation for this cruise because my sister will be pensioned as of September 1st, and this was to celebrate this. A nice cruise, full of luxury, to a beautiful spot in the world. Alas, this is not to be. Norwegian is doing major reformations to the cruise departures. 

Now we'll have to make other plans. In any case, we need to be away from home, as it is almost sure that the school will be trying to contact Chris and ask her how to do this and that. She has major experience in her field and knows everything there is to know about possible difficulties. But Chris has said that when she retires, school and the job are over for her. She won't think about it anymore. She has been carrying responsibility for this job for over 30 years, and never received a lot of gratitude from those higher up (who don't understand how much work is involved, often working from 7.30 am to 10 pm without pause, and also in the weekend). 

So the coming days we'll have to search the internet for a suitable destination for next year September. I'd prefer someplace where there is a of sun. I like warm temperatures! And preferably a place in the world where we haven't been before. 

Ah well, that's life!