Just like last year (and actually like in 2004, 2005 and 2006) I went to Brussels with my brother to take part to the Belgian National Day celebrations. This time we took the car to get there, but it was quite difficult to find a proper parking lot, because it was forbidden to park in a lot of streets for "security reasons", I suppose. My brother and I walked to the Cathedral, where a so-called
te deum mass was taking place; the majority of important politicians, magistrates, judges, ambassadors and some members of the royal family were attending the ceremony. On the following picture, you can see the
Prime Minister's car (A.2) and
Mr Reynders's car (A.3). (Incidentally, A.1 belongs to the president of the
Chamber of Representatives, i.e.
Herman Van Rompuy.)
In front of the Cathedral lots of pro-Belgium, pro-monarchy people were waiting for the King to appear, shouting "Vive le Roi !". Curiously I didn't hear the same slogan in Dutch. However, "België best" (instead of the nationalistic "België barst") was embroided on a flag. There were more people than last year, as I can recall.
The King, the Queen and their sister-in-law Queen Fabiola got out of the Cathedral and got in their luxury cars. (I found that quite unfortunate, since
King Albert II complained about poverty in his semi-annual speech the very day before. He was saying that we (i.e. not him) had to make an effort to help people who are in need. My first reaction was to say that he could spend his own money on that, because His Majesty's fortune is one of the biggest in Europe.) The cars were preceded by a hundred of splendid horses.
After that I walked with my brother to the Place Jourdan where the famous "Friterie Antoine" is located. We bought chips (2,20 € for a pack) and we ate them in the park just next to the
European Parliament and the
Institute of Natural Sciences. Then we walked in the streets of Ixelles/Elsene before we slowly got to the heart of the city, finally reaching the Court Hall where the police had installed all sorts of stands promoting their administration. Here's a photograph taken from the Court Hall, showing you that a bad spell of weather was coming.
We continued our walk through Brussels, passing in front of the well-known
Manneken Pis (wearing the same awful clothes as last year), then we strolled on the
Grand Place.
After that, we wanted to get to the Belgian Parliament, in order to visit it for the fourth time, but there were so many people on the Rue de la Loi / Wetstraat due to the military parade that it was impossible to get to the Parliament, let alone all those umbrellas! (By the way, it was the first time in five years that it was raining.)
So we gave up, swearing that we would get back next year, unless Belgium doesn't exist anymore.
Note: you can also
read my account on last year's excursion in Brussels; there are some interesting parallels. Some things changed, like the price of a pack of chips: 2,20 € instead of 2,10 €, while potatoes are cheaper than last year!
I was especially surprised by the accurateness of a prediction I had made: "
Nous sommes passés devant le Ministère (non, SPF) de la Défense, où André Flahaut, à l’entrée, un verre de champagne à la main, accueillait pour la dernière fois ses généraux et autres chefs d’état-major." Indeed, we know that Mr
Flahaut (
Parti Socialiste) has been replaced by Mr
De Crem (
Christen-Democratisch & Vlaams) and that the latter's politics are far from being as liberal as that of his predecessor. As a result, there was no party for army officials in front of the Ministery! Generals and other that scum "working" in headquarters must regret Mr Flahaut and his soft politics that made of the Belgian army an amusement park.
