Electrabel

While i am still in the plane on the way to Kiribati island, here is a beautiful video that was release last year for the years by the Belgian electricity company called Electrabel. This video is using stop motion with thousands of tiny candles, I recommend to watch this video in full screen mode.



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The End Of An Era

Since 1976 the year when the Brussels subway launched it was assumed that the subway users would be honest enough to punch their ticket before accessing the subway platform. As you can see in the picture below, there is absolutely nothing to prevent you from accessing the platform if you haven’t punched your subway ticket like you can find in Paris for example. It is so easy to gain access to the subway without paying for it that I suppose most of Brussels inhabitants are doing it from time to time.



The STIB, the company in charge of all public transportation in Brussels said that enough was enough. They decided to install small hatches in all the subway stations of the city. Of course it will take a while to have all this done but the result will look a little bit like what you can see below. It is a pity I really enjoyed watching people look for where to punch their subway ticket, it reminded me of when I first came to Brussels.



Goodbye Brussels, see you soon.

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Brussels Under The Snow

This week-end I had decided to stay in Brussels to take a few pictures of the city. When I woke up I saw that it had snowed during the night and I had the motivation to go walk in the cold but around the beginning of the afternoon it was still snowing outside. I decided to head outside because I didn’t feel like staying in all day long.



Here I am outside taking pictures. I first started taking them with my gloves but it was more trouble to power the camera on and off. As soon as I was in a large street and I would want to take a picture, I would have to use a building to cover me from the cold wind and take my picture properly. In all I got my fingers frozen for just a few shots. I ended up taking a break from the cold in a bar called La Gueuze in the city centre, in there I had a tough decision to make: have a hot chocolate or a nice Belgium beer. I chose both of them to give me strength to get back in the cold. I walked outside for a while for a bit and as I passed a movie theatre by I took the opportunity to go see a movie in its warm interior.



I just learned that this Friday will be my last day in Belgium as I stop working on this project: I am being replaced by a colleague coming from Egypt. I used to think that I would still have the opportunity to travel in Europe with my work even though colleagues from countries where the salaries are much lower would cover the other continents but I was wrong. The higher ups in my company decided that French employees are far too expensive and employees from “low cost” countries would be used as often as possible. My job will now be of starting a project but never seeing it to its completion because of the money I cost. It is a pity for me but my company has to save money. In any case don’t feel sorry for me because next week my work sends me somewhere very far where it is hot and sunny, I am not sure they have internet over there so don't be surprised if I don’t post as much.




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Got Water?

This morning after eating breakfast i put my bowl in the kitchen sink and when i opened the water i got a nice surprise.



Thankfully after 5 minutes the normal water colour returned.


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Belgium Under The Snow

Last Thursday snow fell over Belgium, it was a real treat. Some tiny snowflakes started falling in the morning, they became much bigger and Belgium was covered with snow around lunch time.



After lunch a colleague and I started a snow fight, it was the best way to digest. It was not easy to avoid being hit by snowballs as I was wearing Derby shoes but I managed, luckily for me my colleague was as bad at throwing snowballs as I was. We were so spent after the fight that we almost went for a nap.



There is nothing more beautiful than a country covered by snow.




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Kim Clijsters Is In The House!

I love working here! This morning as I was taking a break I discovered a conference with Kim Clijsters. The company I am working for here is one of her sponsors so they invited her for a Q&A with the employees. How many companies in the world do that kind of thing? After lunch the company gave everyone posters of the tennis player and you could have your poster signed by her. I may think of applying to this company...




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A Walk In Brussels

This week-end we decided to take a walk in the city, we went to the Grand Place where we got the surprise to find a Christmas market.



During this holiday season the Grand Place is really the place to be for Brussels inhabitants, when getting out of the subway one can see the flow of people walking toward that famous place. The more you get near the more the street gets narrow and you have to start struggling to find a path among the people if you want to keep walking at your own pace. The Terraces are full even if it is cold outside and people look up to witness the light and music show going on city hall walls.



From the Grand Place, we went for a walk on rue du Lombard then on rue du Midi to get to the Bourse where a lot of wooden cabins where ready to satiate the need of any belly. Cotton candy, caramel apple, fruits covered in chocolate on a stick, brioches, paella, tartiflette, hot wine, Touraine wine, wine with cinnamon… There is everything you need not to starve or to dying of thirst. As it is cold it is recommended to get a hot dish to warm the hands.



From la Bourse we walked through rue Paul Delvaux which led us to Brussels Chinatown. I am so used to the size of Chinatown in Paris that it is odd for me to see a Chinatown which is only the size of a street. Existing Chinatown we discovered Sainte Catherine church with an exhibit about Mongolia in front of it. Half of fake yurts were place all over the square in front of the church were visitors could buy traditional objects, pictures, culinary specialties or find tourist information. We tried the mare milk, it is like drinking the milk that sits on top of a yogurt: it is really not that good.
There was a beautiful roundabout which really caught my eye next to the exhibit: le manege d’Andrea.



From there we went to the quai aux briques and the quai aux bois à bruler, you can find the biggest concentration of wooden cabins for the Christmas market between those streets, there is even an ice rink. Whether you are hungry or thirsty, it is not possible that don’t find some dish to satisfy your belly. You can find products from all over the world: Vietnam, China, Canada, France, Spain... After having filled your belly, I recommend a ride on the Ferris wheel.




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How To Keep Your Salad Fresh?

You just need to sell it with its roots in a watertight bag. This way the salads keeps all its freshness much more longer.




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Trains On Time, Oh Joy!

I take the train everyday to go to work, i love using public transportation because it gives me a lot of time to read. The trains here are often late, you can see the billboard of Brussels Zuid train station on the picture below and notice that there is a special column dedicated only to display the delay of each trains. That is what I call efficiency.




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From Time To Time

It doesn’t happen often this days but sometimes the sun manages to shine through the thick cloud layer that stays above the city early in the morning and when it happens you get this!




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Tired While Shopping

If you go shopping at Galerie Louise in Brussels you will be able to rest on one of these benches when you feel like you have walked too much or your bags are to heavy.




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Nice Office, Fun Office

During my stay in Belgium I have had the luck to work in a great environment. I usually work in old building with no windows and in the middle of servers that make a lot of noise. Thankfully it was time for a change.



I work in a brand new building that is filled with large windows for walls that completely negates the confinement feeling you can get in some office buildings. As you get natural light almost everywhere in the building you almost feel like you are outside when you are going for a walk. The open space have been so well designed that the employees don’t feel like they are crowded.
Everything is done to have relaxed employees, you can find coffee, tea, sparkling water and plain water dispensers in every open space; the building is completely smoke free, plants and couches are disposed here and there so that everyone can enjoy a comfortable break and not be far from their desk.



The office cafeteria is hiding the best surprises, there are stairs in the back of the cafeteria that lead to a playroom and a fitness room. In the playroom you will be able to play Table football, Pool, Pinball or Air Hockey. The best thing is that you will find 2 Wii with which you will be able to compete against your colleagues on Wii Sport, thanks to this game I managed to understand how Baseball is played! For fitness enthusiasts the fitness room will offer you all the necessary equipments to keep in shape. You can run, ride an indoor bike, use the steps or work on your abs. You now have the choice between fake sports with the Wii and the real deal in the fitness room.
I am quite happy to go to work in the morning!



Updated on November 23rd 2009

Today our customer organised a small bike show in its office because it is sponsoring a cycling team. You would find bikes for hardcore cyclists, I say hardcore because the feature bikes where worth an average of 4000€. You could buy every product of the karcher brand, try all necessary devices to turn your garage into a real bike garage, collect all the necessary accessories need by every cyclists, taste some power bars… Some cards with questions were given in the office in the morning, when you would give back the cards you would get a nice hat with the company’s colours, then at the end of the day one card would be picked and the winner would go home with a nice race bike. Cycling is an important thing here.


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Are You kidding Me? The End

This is the end of the story. Last week-end I met the general manager of the hotel who was back from holydays, I wanted the hotel to pay for the 1000€ I paid to change my door lock. He was ready for me and had prepared what he was going to say, he said that when I accepted to be compensated for my suitcase and what was in it I lost the ability to be compensated for the replacement of our door lock. I don’t know where he has read that being partially compensated for the loss of my suitcase prevents me from being fully compensated. I tried to explain that there was no law protecting the hotel when something was stolen from their storage room. I reminded the manager that his hotel had no security system at all but he wouldn’t hear me. I was a little bit pissed off when I left him but I will stay in Belgium long enough to find an organization who can help in this can of problems. I am not worried.
To be continued...


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Funny Bike

Riding a bike is the same as driving a car here, people don't hesitate to ride their bikes to bring their children to school. It is quite common to see bikes like the one below.



I even saw bikes with covered seats for the kids in the front for rainy days, i will try to take a picture of one.


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From Blue To Gray

In Belgium, when the sun rises the sky is beautiful but then bad weather is taking back its place.




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See Carrefour And Die

Carrefour is an international retail chain from France like Wall Mart in the US or Tesco in the UK. Last week we went to Carrefour to buy some beers and we were completely stunned by the shop. The store looked like a hard discount store: uneven corridors, old shelves, dirty linoleum floor and products everywhere. I have never seen a supermarket in such a state, you can have a look at it below.




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Are You kidding Me? 2

Last October 16, the trolley that I left in the storage room of the Lindner hotel in Antwerp disappeared, it was first believed that the suitcase had been given to another customer by mistake.



Last week as I was fed up of waiting for the hotel to actually start looking for my suitcase, I went to see the hotel manager. This country seems to bring nothing but bad luck to me, the manager had gone on holyday the exact day I wanted to see him and he was returning 10 days later. I sat down with his assistant to talk about my trolley and I learned that the suitcase that was staying in the storage room belonged to a frequent hotel customer who wanted to travel light. Just like that I learned that my suitcase had been stolen from the storage room of the hotel (locked with a magnetic key) and not given to another hotel customer; if I hadn’t asked the hotel would probably not have told me. When I explain how the hotel should operate to find the thief, I just get an understanding smile from the manager. The hotel as no surveillance system but to video cameras are located on the side of the hotel entrance, one would just have to look at the video to see at what time the thief left the hotel with my trolley and crosscheck with the checkout of the hotel customers to know who stole my suitcase. But we can’t look at the surveillance video! But we can’t browse the checkout logs! But we can’t call all our clients! Once again I am faced with a total lack of will to find my suitcase. I leave telling her to contact the manager’s boss to find a solution and again she is not convinced with my idea.



On Thursday as I am going to have breakfast, I get stopped by a hotel employee who tells me that everything is settled and the assistant will explain it to me when she gets to the hotel. I stay calm and go enjoy my breakfast. When she arrived, she explained that she called the regional manager and he agreed to pay the amount that was on the bill I gave them. I told her that I wrote the bill to give them an idea of the money I would have to spend to buy back my things and to replace my door lock; I expected them to pay for everything and not just a part of it. The hotel was willing to pay for what was on the bill but nothing more, the assistant said that the hotel didn’t have to pay me any money because it was written on the storage room receipt that the hotel was not liable for anything happening to what was left there. I told the assistant that If I had made a more expensive bill (like my wife told me to) the hotel would have spent much more money, she answered that people are honest in Belgium. Amazing, they are willing to pay some of my expenses but not all of them! As I leave, I explain to her that I want a full refund and I am willing to go to court to have all my money back if necessary. As always she just nodded.



I went to the police station to declare the theft, as I was giving details the policeman explained that going to court would only waste my time and money as the case would not go anywhere. I finally accepted the hotels offer because my insurance company told me that hotels never pay anything when suitcases are lost in cases such as mine. The new lock cost 1000€, thank you very much Lindner hotel!


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They Don't Know How To Use Restrooms Here

So they put a user guide!




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Are You kidding Me?

Last Friday, I do my checkout and ask the hotel to keep my trolley while I go to work before catching the train back home. After work I go back to the hotel 30 minutes before the train departure to fetch my suitcase. I give my ticket and start waiting, waiting, waiting...



The person I gave my ticket to comes and goes but each time without my suitcase. At one point she even asks me to whom I had given the trolley even though she was the one I gave it to in the morning. She is looking for my trolley but can't find it. I come with her to look for it in the storage area but it is not there: Lindner hotel has given my suitcase to someone else! As I have to catch my train and will be back on Monday I tell them to do what is necessary to find my suitcase and call me during the week-end to let me know so that I don't have to travel back to Belgium with another trolley. Of course I get no calls during the week-end and each time I call someone tells me that they have found no information about the person who has my trolley in the remaining suitcase.



I am back in Lindner hotel on Monday, I have to remind you that it is a 4 stars hotel, they still don't know who has my suitcase. When I tell them that they just have to call every person who left the hotel on Friday, they answer that Friday is their busiest checkout day so they couldn't do it. How great is that? They lose my suitcase and are patiently waiting for the person who has my suitcase to bring it back! The guy has my address and my frigging keys. I served them with a bill containing everything that was in the trolley and the replacement of our apartment door lock: a minimum of 600€! What a bunch of jackasses!


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A Poem In The Workplace

Here is a poem you can find fixed on walls in offices here:

This is a little friendly poem
Asking you to clean your desk before you go home

Keep the kitchen and meeting room clean
Than nobody has to look at you mean

Every day an office neat and tidy
With some extra effort on Friday

It will keep away the bugs
And you might deserve some hugs


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