Today was a travel day from the Netherlands to Belgium. We were reminiscing on the train about how before the European Union the train would stop at the borders of European countries and an official would come on the train and check everyone’s passport. That of course is a thing of the past unless you are a refugee trying to make your way to Europe. We haven’t seen any though have had numerous conversations about how this impacts all of Europe. Lots to look at our the window of the train. We traveled with our bicycles and had very little trouble making the connections. The challenge will be to find our way to the right road to Ghent, our next stop. For the next few days we are in Bruges, a beautiful historical city (at least the historical center is).
I never get tired of looking at a landscape that looks like the paintings and looking at paintings that look like the photographs.Pamela and her childhood friend chatting with the conductor. He’s showing us the high tech green light sign.Windmills are everywhere expected to provide up to 20% of the power for the Netherlands by 2020. Most are in the North Sea but you can see them across the landscape. A bit different from the windmills of yesteryear but obviously a good location for them.Crossing the border into Belgium a distinct difference in architecture, a lighter colored brick and buildings not so tall. Belgium is about the same size as Holland but has fewer people so they have more space.Elaborate graffiti on most trains and walls close to stations.The Central Station of Antwerp. We had to make our second train change here with the bikes. It was built 1895-1905. It’s another amazing thing that it wasn’t destroyed during World War II.The lobby of the train station in Antwerp, considered one of the greatest stations in the world (for architectural beauty).
Poetry Without Words 