Belgium

8 - 11 May 2013 - Belgium

My visit here was too short and too quick for my liking.  However, I came to Belgium - and only too briefly to Brussels and the Flanders region - on an invitation from a good friend and travel companion with whom I shared many wild adventures in Southeast Asia (Saigon, 2011).  Not only was I in the great company of a fellow trekker - but this time I was in her home turf!

However, I slowed down enough to snap a few shots along the way.  This post is derived from that approach to being in Belgium - but after such a short visit maybe the only two substantial things I can say about Belgium are: the beer is phenomenal, and the people are incredibly welcoming and fun-loving. (The third thing: Belgians are gorgeous, too!).  I can say that, but also that this beautiful and richly historical nation demands more than just 3 days to explore!

In addition to the great company of a friend, I had even brought some of my family along!!! My fearless cousin from New Jersey had met up with my brother and I in Dublin for the short hop across the English Channel. We landed in Brussels and hit the ground running.  Then, we didn't stop to make the most of it.


On our first pass of Belgium, we took Brussels by storm.  The next day we descended on some of the older Flemish cities as we ventured across West Flanders.  Finally we dipped down into the local scene to be carried away by almost-too-much fun...  and then all too soon we had to depart.

View down Elisabethpark towards (but not of) the National Basilica of the Sacred Heart.  Great walk and very cool neighborhood - and a remarkable hostel and a short hop into the central district.  Elisabethpark, Brussels, Belgium.

The strong, prosperous working person - suckling from the teat of the mother state.  Or some such imagery here.  A cool building in an old part of the older city of Ghent, Belgium. 

A nice curbside treat in Ghent - for only 2 Euro's! It's a delicious snack, and the owner/chef/server is an ebulliently pleasant guy who enticed us not only with his wit and candor... 

...but also with his wares: Gestreken Mastellen!!  A unique local bread, some sugar, a few pats of butter, and some time in a flat iron - perfection.  Ghent, Belgium. 

Flemish castle of Gravensteen, in medieval style inspired by the castles of the Crusades, it was originally built in 1180 AD and later renovated in the 1800's.  It is quite legitimately a castle!  Gravensteen, Ghent, Belgium.

In an almost fantastical way, Brussels exhibits a very practical but quaint approach to retaining the beautiful traditional architectural styles of the country, while reconciling and accommodating the need for growth and expansion.  It's not only very cool-looking and functional, but it reflects (perhaps...?) an undertone of the reconciliatory ethic of a nation that is home to the seat of the EU.  Brussels, Belgium. 

The parking lot along the side of this single commuter train station was completely packed with BIKES, despite the clouds!  Likely thousands of bikes parked here and it was just a normal Friday.  It was a very nice sign, seeing so much 'green' and healthy modes of transit - out in the suburbs.  Train to Bruges, Belgium.  

One of my favorite things ever - street art - here in the making.  Live and in real-time, nothing virtual or digital or cloud-based about this set up; just motor bikes, spray paint, hoodies, and an alley wall. Ghent, West Flanders, Belgium.  

Shot from the inside of Staminee de Garre, in Bruges.  This place ROCKED - the beer was out of this world (a must-try: the house trippel!), the crowd seemed like a balanced mix of local and visitor, and the place looked like it came out of the 15th century.  I will most definitely return for both the beer and the vibe.  Bruges, West Flanders, Belgium.

The Provincial Court, here in the central market square, the Grote Markt of Bruges.  The square is ringed by an old group of buildings (some circa 12th Century), though with many renovations and re-facements over the centuries. Bruges, West Flanders, Belgium. 

At the end of the second full day we found ourselves in rural West Flanders.  Here, we slowed down for only a brief time to recharge and regroup before heading out, locals style.

Remote and non-descript, not the place one would expect to host a birthday/going-away/welcome-home Friday night fete in rural Flanders.  Cafe de Smoutpot, West Flanders, Belgium.

And here, unobtrusively tucked away behind the cafe, off a side street on the borderlands between a rural community and suburban outskirts is the (sizeable) barn which played home to the aforementioned party.  Somewhere in West Flanders, Belgium.

Ahhh... but here, in this legit country barn party the DJ had his space on one end... 

...and the bar commands the other.  I was mighty impressed with the seriousness folks here have for  having a great time and not being serious....

...and for graciously sharing that wisdom.  Here, the three musketeers - en route across the old continent to meet up with the 4th!  Waylaid by, and slowed down to enjoy, a Barn party -  West Flanders, Belgium. 

This is just awesome - in Brussels International are placed these DIY-esque mobile device charging stations, where you Do the generating yourself!  Not  fancy shot or a particularly great one for aught else but the subject.  Belgium, I'll return to see you again! 

The photos laid out heretofore are taken with a Sony Cybershot DSC-HX30V 

 
These works by Tim Paez are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License

Old City, New City - and the Canal in between

Urbanizacion Panama

Both within and beyond the City's bounds it's evident there's a whole other side of Panama that spans time and crosses era's.  Immediately upon arrival, on the ride from Panama City airport into the City proper, it was evident that Panama is undergoing a another big transformation in context of a long history of change.  I was shocked - as the plane crossed the mountains, out from the tropical forest abutting the Pacific sprouts a stand of glass, concrete, and steel towers.  The skyline of Panama City - in a strictly North American context - approximates New York City's in scope, Miami's in color, San Francisco's in style, and Vancouver's in its laid back vibe... all overlain entirely with Latin  and tropical threads.    

The keystone to Panama City's arch through time (post-colonial), of course, is the one and only: the Panama Canal.  It's not like a tower or building visible from any one point; though it is visible as a glimmer on the landscape when seen from one of the various mounts.  The mark of the Canal on the citysphere is evident everywhere, from the cranes dotting the skyline to the layout of the city's districts and roads relative to the port. It's clear the Canal, and the geo- and domestic political and economic history surrounding it, have shaped the current city.  Yet (as an outsider..) there seems to be something in the spirit of the (..history of the) genesis of the City that carries through all into even today. 

At some points, I envisioned that in some places I was right in a spot to capture something of each era I'd sensed there. 

A critical part of the Canal's history - rail car used in the building of the Canal. Panama City, Panama.

 

Seen on approach -Panama City.  Nears the Southern terminus of the North/Central American stretch of la Carretera Internacional, the Interamerican Highway.

View upstream into the Canal, with a never-ending procession of ships passing through it in either direction.  From the Interamerican Highway Bridge over the Canal.

From Old Panama City towards the New.  It's amazing what a few centuries will do to a place. 

A remnant memorial to an age quickly receding further to the past.  Here a national monument not far from the capital's center.. but rather forlorn and forgotten.  At the end of the fortress wall on el Paseo las Bovedas.

Another view of Past towards Present - from el Paseo las Bovedas, Panama City.

Reviving and restoration of the Old Pananma within the urban shadow of the New; and all within an uncertain economy.  From el Casco Viejo, Panama City.

Relics of Old Panama from the early era of the Western Colonial period in Central America.  Lit up now only..for effect.  Casco Viejo, Panama City, Panama.

My second digitally edited photo ever! I liked the framing and perspective, but the sky was basically washed out in the shot, and way to expansive.  But.. what do you think?

Private underground party, for the City's business and medical elite.  In a converted fortress bar, this was just one of the party rooms & drink corners.  No lighting effects or any digital editing - this was it.  Casco Viejo, Panama City, Panama.

Modern Panama City 'ghetto'; here, the local version of public housing.  Brand new, and from a very popular government to the poorest people, this is one way Panama City is dealing with extreme poverty in context of a quickly booming local economy. 

 

Images from beyond the City, in a very well-cared for version of the colonial-era decor that would denote all parivate buildings in the Old Panama City center.  This abode now houses a bank, hours from the city itself, in Las Tablas, Panama.

Slightly edited photo, this from inside the ruins of such a colonial-style building - in the urban style.  This crazy wreck is literally across the street from a whole complex of Panama's federal government buildings. One of the many clear exhibits that Panama is growing, and growing fast.  Casco Viejo, Panama City, Panama.

This could have gone in the post on beaches and sunsets. But this one is in fact from the wall of the fortress that surrounded el Casco Viejo, or the Old City.  That parapet now overlooks a shallow, muddy shoreline whose reach extends only to where the Panama Canals begins on the Pacific - right under that bridge where the Interamerican leaps it.  That one monumental human feat - not just its creation, but its maintenance and now concurrent expansion - has shaped everything in Panama City and strongly, almost directly, influenced everything in this part of the world.  Not only people and nations, but as seen here, the very landscape and environment, too.

The photos laid out heretofore are taken with a Samsung Galaxy Nexus 

 
These works by Tim Paez are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License