Video I shot during a recent family party in the Antwerp, Belgium suburbs. And you really believed Belgians couldn’t dance? 
[Update August 2009: during the summer months I will update this blog only whenever real news from Antwerp breaks.]
July 21, 2009
(video) And you really think Belgians can’t dance?
April 29, 2009
The royal Belgian greenhouses and palace: a personal visit
Trust me, it was a superb experience on a perfect sunny day. More details and a 360° tour at www.monarchie.be (in English)
November 6, 2008
Gay equals $0, straight equals $400,000
It’s a sunny day in Antwerp, Belgium, but I’m outraged. Like you may or may not know: I’m gay, living in a committed relationship with my male partner (who I only wish I’d see more often these days: he has a place of his own and his life has become hectic). Belgium is one of those rare countries offering its gay citizens full equal rights: gay marriage, gay adoption, legal protection against bigotry, along with a tolerant, liberal population without the classic overwhelming “it’s a sin” Christian religious attitude. Sure, we have right-wing bigotry and migrant Muslim intolerance towards gay citizens, but in general, most people adhere to the live and let live attitude.
Unfortunately, my parents broke that “in general” rule. While long having accepted my male partner, they recently decided that my late grandfather’s 300,000 euro ($400,000) house, a part of my expected future inheritance and originally for sale, “could serve best” as the home of my straight brother, since they totally adored watching his ever growing family live near their suburban home. To make it all legal, they came up with a waterproof “he’s renting it” construction, but let’s face it: my granddad’s house won’t be sold anytime soon. Upon confronting my folks with this unequal treatment, my father smiled and claimed he was convinced I felt just fine in my (rented) historic downtown home, totally ignoring reality: I’ve had it with downtown living and long to return to green suburbia. I didn’t push to get to the bottom of it all, my parents had made a very clear, not to be discussed choice.
So here I am, still somewhat stunned, wondering how to react when being invited by my charming ’straight’ brother to check out his new home and enjoy the company of his (quite adorable) family, as if nothing had changed. You know, this hurts, watching how my parents made clear they prefer having their grandchildren close, even if it means basically ignoring the needs of their gay son.
Like a gay friend of mine used to say: “no matter how many laws, no matter how much tolerance, we will often remain second class citizens”. This “second class citizen” was last visited by his parents 8y ago, although I do visit them every month at their place.
[Update: I got a message from a fellow blogger urging me to post more upbeat, more 'positively entertaining' write-ups. With countless great summer pictures/memories I'm quite able to follow that road, but when reality bites I feel the need to blog about that reality. Upbeat, 'positively entertaining' write-up coming up. But I grew up in the green suburbia and had intended to return there now that I'm 'all grown up'. The incident above will make that virtually impossible. Update 2: "what made you happiest all these years", my partner asked me, "the houses you lived in or the people who cared about you?". Guess I'm OK now."]
October 7, 2008
Honeymoon in Turkey: the fun, the sun, the genocide
No, hold, this is no intentional political post on the “Armenian genocide“! I recently returned from a fabulous honeymoon-replacing vacation in Bodrum, Turkey and I’m in the process of posting a small part of my +1,000 vacation pictures. I just love Turkey, admiring the way the country succeeded in separating religion/state, making it a liberal, though predominantly Muslim country. When I watched topless women at my Bodrum hotel pool, it was overtly clear that founding father Ataturk succeeded in separating religion and state.
Unfortunately, the Turkish government still felt that it was “appropriate” and “necessary” to post (yet again, in 2008..) a huge rebuttal regarding the killing of the Armenian population of the Ottoman Empire during and just after World War I, in the very distasteful form of a huge billboard right along the upscale Bodrum marina, in front of the entrance to the stunningly beautiful Bodrum castle. Hey, I was on vacation, thoroughly enjoying a walk around Bodrum Marina, home of the rich and famous, watching huge cruise-liners boarding, along with a stroll past the 5,000 head open-air Halicarnassus sea-side disco – and then I bumped into this.. You can imagine how this huge, Turkish government issued, quay-side “no genocide” right-in-your-face billboard-with-sculls totally baffled me. How would you feel?
September 27, 2008
Gay honeymoon in Turkey: Paris Hilton and lots of obnoxious Russians
Yes folks, we’re back home in good old Belgium, as I’m typing this post under a rather unexpected, clear blue Antwerp sky at 21°C/70°F. You know that feeling of slight derealization upon your return from a great vacation abroad? It actually feels weird adapting to the familiar yet profoundly different surroundings of my Antwerp home after the past days exploring the south coast of Turkey.
This “gay honeymoon replacing vacation” in Turkey has been absolutely stunning: from the breathtaking sights and sounds of a country I’d visited quite often before to the changes that are visible to anyone who has spent time/vacations in Turkey over the past 15 years.
A quick recap to bring you up to date after ten days of radio silence: having a “gay honeymoon” appeared to be perfectly possible at the upscale seaside resort of Bodrum, Turkey: as long as you’re not Turkish [being gay in Turkey remains a social taboo for a native, especially outside Istanbul] or expect a cheering crowd of hotel staff, nobody will really care if you hold hands or show affection in public. There are limits though and obviously, a “classic gay nightlife” is nowhere to be found, but the degree of tolerance includes accepting topless women at the hotel pool. One of our Turkish hotel waiters clearly was gay and bent over backwards to please my SO. I stopped him 
The numerous historic sites we visited were spectacular (although I’d seen them before), the “wow-level” of the prestigious 5* WOW Bodrum resort was truly breathtaking (wholeheartedly recommended at EUR 1,000/$ 1,500 a week in low season, do check out the WOW (World of Wonders) website), while I even managed (as it was the only realistic and mature approach) to completely ignore the omnipresent hordes of filthy rich, yet noisy, drunk and dumb/arrogant Russian tourists who have completely invaded the eastern Mediterranean coast the past five to ten years. One ‘fashion road kill’ Russian Paris Hilton lookalike (way too much jewelry, stiletto heels, blue ABBA-era make-up, mini-skirt short enough to show her sanitary pad: the full pathetic package) was so drunk on Vodka and Champagne that she bumped right into me with a full plate of fine Turkish delicacies. I laughed in her face, took her picture, followed by several more shots showing all the empty bottles she left behind. Free entertainment! [ Русские в Турции: богатых, наглых и пьян- Related blogpost: "Obnoxious Russians invade Turkey"].
Enjoy this first selection [please click to enlarge] out of 8 GB worth of photographs (almost 1,000 shots) and videos. Stay tuned, much more funny, unusual and moving images/ stories coming up. Feel free to share your vacation or honeymoon experiences in Turkey, even the straight ones 
[Update October 2nd: I've got a cold and some other medical issues that kept me from updating (Belgium: 10°C/50°F with heavy rain). I will post my Turkey pictures/stories as soon as I can comfortably spend longer periods in front of this pc. Thank you for holding.]
July 12, 2008
Happy birthday Flanders!
Happy birthday Flanders! The July 11 show in front of city hall was just perfect. More to follow.
My photo: the yellow Flemish Lion flag flies on top of Antwerp cathedral at noon, July 11, 2008.
[Please click images for details]
Quote:
“Flanders, the Dutch speaking majority in Belgium celebrated its official “national day” July 11, 2008. The Flemish Community Holiday on 11 July remembers “The Battle of the Golden Spurs (Dutch: De Guldensporenslag, French: “bataille des éperons d’or”) , fought on July 11, 1302, near Kortrijk in Flanders. It is considered one of the main reasons that Dutch is the language spoken in Flanders [Belgium] today. The day is remembered every year in Flanders as the Flemish Community’s official holiday”.
Related: A funny ’social/political’ note: while the Dutch and French speaking Belgians have been on an neverending, ongoing political collision course during the past 50 years (especially regarding Brussels, the rather arrogant Belgian capital – once a Dutch speaking town, now ‘bilingual’ but in reality +90% French speaking, right in Dutch speaking Flanders), we do poke fun at each other. Even when a number of parties are doing their utmost to split Belgium.
In 1986, Sandra Kim, a 13 yo girl from French speaking southern Belgium, won the Eurovision song contest. It was the only time Belgium [links to wikipedia] actually won this contest. Today, 22y later, Dutch and French speaking Belgians are still poking fun at each other using her song. If you can understand spoken or written French, check these YouTube videos On top: the 1986 original, second one: a Belgian/Dutch speaking actor making fun of the French original, in French, with French subtitles. 22y later that former 13 yo girl, now a grown 35yo woman, is still making a living based on that singe “j’aime la vie” song. At present, she’s ‘featuring’ in a soap TV commercial
July 4, 2008
Happy 4th of July America, from all the folks in Europe!
To my American readers: I wish you all a very peaceful Independence Day. If any “fire” is really needed, please focus on the barbecue
If the 4th turns into a boring “we’ve done this all before’ event: just spice it up, as suggested by the European Union. By the way, I, along with the Dutch speaking majority in Belgium, will be celebrating July 11th, with the official Belgian July 21st celebrations being largely ignored in my area. I spent my Belgian 4th of July shopping downtown – a favorite American recreational pursuit
June 16, 2008
April 13, 2008
Heritage day 2008 Antwerp
Today Flanders (Belgium) and Brussels celebrate National Heritage Day, a yearly event when churches, art collections, museums and even private homes open their doors to unveil their often locked away treasures. [Dutch-only program for Antwerp: www.erfgoedcelantwerpen.be]
Unfortunately, it’s raining in Antwerp and I didn’t manage to borrow my father’s digital SLR camera, so please check back for some regular shots as soon as I manage to face the rain.
The event ended at 6pm (UTC+2). Update: medieval treasures in the old city library (yes, I visited their vaults):
April 6, 2008
A Belgian customer service horror tale
“No”, said the male customer service phone operator with a campy, high-pitched voice with a contemptuous tone (hello, Mr Humphries, are you free?), “we sure won’t deliver or pick up *anything* broken weighing 27kg/60 lbs over a spiral staircase (escalating dismissive voice), “imagine, our staff could drop off that rickety stairs, and get hurt!”, totally ignoring that I might be living in a riverside penthouse, with my in-house staircase wide enough to handle twice his inflated ego. “But I’m physically challenged” I exclaimed as a desperate last resort, only to be confronted with what sounded like the ‘customer service operator’ clicking the ’start muzak’ button.
Living in the medieval downtown area of Antwerp with its cute and ever so romantic buildings may sound great to the casual tourist, but the reality of daily facing these in-house spiral staircases with no elevators to lift you to that great riverside view might quickly change your mind. Don’t click away yet: you’re virtually in the middle of a weird story about how a very mundane event (buying something) turned into a nightmarish experience, in a far away country where asking for ‘customer service’ is sometimes considered more offensive than engaging in open-air sex [anyway, don't try this while visiting Belgium 
]
My beloved 1001 function microwave died recently, a rather inconvenient incident as I was expecting guests.
The online choice in replacement appliances was large, but like I mentioned, no shop in Antwerp appeared willing to pick-up and deliver here. To cut a long story short: I dragged my broken 27kg/60 lbs oven down these never-ending revolving stairs to my car with the help of my s/o. It crashed, the oven I mean, although my dearest s/o also saw parts of the stairs he never knew existed. After a bumpy ride to the nearest “Best Buy Antwerp” outlet, nobody answered the “pick up here for instant service” phone, with a microphone equipped security guard (speaking hardly two words of Dutch, but hey, I’m multi-lingual) addressing me like I was a criminal. Numerous calls and 30 mins later an employee (you know, one of those showing advanced signs of burn-out) put a huge box right in front of my feet – placing it in my car trunk just 2m/yards away was visibly too much of an effort – swiped my credit card and closed the door. No “have a nice day”, no “enjoy the new oven”. Nothing. Belgium and customer service, it’s no marriage made in heaven.
It took me 1 full hour, assisted by my s/o, to drag the oven over all the revolving stairs to my home. I was in pain and totally exhausted. I’ve never lifted this much weight after my physical injury. And I shouldn’t have, ever.
When I finally opened and checked the heavy box it dawned on me that this didn’t look like the cutting edge space-age oven I had ordered and paid for. It wasn’t: those nice people over at ****** had given me a much cheaper model, although the receipt mentioned the correct appliance. I took one deep breath, picked up the phone and called ‘customer support’. “You must have caused this issue”, the campy Mr Humphries operator exclaimed in his high pitched voice. “Just bring back the *unopened* (!) box, without any signs of use, right now”. I couldn’t, wouldn’t and didn’t. Aaargh! It’s a pity you can’t hurt someone through the phone.
Do share your customer service horror stories, it will make me feel better [image unrelated to the Antwerp horror mega-store]
This blog is not affiliated with or endorsed by the city of Antwerp, Belgium.