in english

Finnish Juhannus

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Lake Scenery

Originally uploaded by Chiva Congelado

The Midsummer celebrations in Finland are one of the highlights of the year when living in that country. If possible, people will go to their summer cottage, where they spend the time playing, eating, fixing a couple of things and going to sauna.

Given that here in Belgium they don’t seem to celebrate it very much, I’m really missing it. One doesn’t start to know about Finland until spending the midsummer long weekend with the Finns in a small house in the woods, maybe next to a lake, in the middle of nowhere. Probably there’s no better sauna than the one at the summer cottage, probably the smell of the woods is what relaxes you, probably it is because you spend a relaxing time with friends and/or family. Regardless it is one of the quintessential things that makes Finland the way it is, and I’ve realised how much the place has changed me now that it is not celebrated where I am.

Hyvää Juhannusta!

en español

Sobre visas, permisos y cosas peores

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Un amigo me comentó que ahora que se muda de regreso a España, los requisitos de visita se han puesto mucho más estrictos, incluso para nosotros que no necesitamos visa.  Uno está totalmente de acuerdo en que los países libres y soberanos tienen derecho a proteger sus fronteras de la manera que mejor le parezca, pero los requisitos me parecen francamente excesivos (especialmente la parte sobre necesitar una carta certificada por la policía española en caso de alojarse con algún conocido durante su estancia)

Entre eso y lo tardado que se está convirtiendo renovar mi permiso de residencia en Finlandia (aunque he vivido 6 años en el país, no tengo antecedentes penales, tengo trabajo en el cual ya me están esperando, pago mis impuestos puntualmente, hablo el idioma y me voy a casar con una local) no me cabe la menor duda que en cuanto me sea posible voy a conseguirme la nacionalidad, porque realmente es un dolor de cabeza.  Los que son ciudadanos de la Unión Europea no saben la suerte que tienen.

Lo que más me preocupa es que antes de mejorar, la situación se ponga peor.  Según he escuchado, en Francia ya van a empezar con lo mismo que está haciendo España.  Ya le tienen mucho miedo a los inmigrantes y están agarrando parejo…

Cómo me gustaría que Tlatelolco se pusiera las pilas y aplicara el principio de reciprocidad así como lo hace Itamaraty: si los estadounidenses se ponen tan difíciles con las visas para mexicanos que se les pidiera lo mismo, y que si los españoles empiezan a pedir cartas y demás que se les haga lo mismo cuando intenten entrar al país.

Por desgracia, la SRE prefiere quejarse sobre estupideces como Big Brother Australia (que sí, tal vez ofende, pero no es ni para darle importancia).  Para eso me gustaban…

in english

Gilberto Bosques, Mexican hero

You probably already know about Oskar Schindler, the German industrialist who saved thousands of Jews from certain death during World War II.  He was not the only one.  Other famous and not so famous individuals involved were Raoul Wallenberg, Algoth Niska, Chiune Sugihara, Traian Popovici or Gilberto Bosques.

A veteran of the Mexican Revolution, before the beginning of the war he worked as General Consul at the Mexican Embassy in Paris.  When Hitler conquered Paris, the Embassy was moved to Marseille, and Bosques was left in charge.  He gave thousands of visas to Jews, resistance fighters and Spanish Civil War refugees to escape to Mexico, and even went as far as organising lodging for thousands of them in two castles near the city of Marseille.

Eventually, however, he was imprisoned by Nazi Germany for a year with the rest of the Latin American diplomatic corps at Bad Godesberg, not only for helping "enemies of the regime" but also because by that time Mexico was also at war with the Axis.  He was freed in an exchange of prisoners between Mexico and Germany before the end of the war.

Why aren't these kind of heroes remembered at school, instead of more dubious individuals such as Pancho Villa?

More information here.

in english

WidSets

As I mentioned in my last post, I have been using WidSets for a while.  They are basically widgets for mobile phones and related devices running under Java.  Having been used Yahoo! Widgets for a while, I truly welcomed this development.

There are hundreds of widgets available, but the ones I use the most are news rss readers and special widgets for updating Jaiku and Twitter on the go.  If you have an unlimited data cellular contract and/or Wi-Fi capabilities in your device of choice, I'd really recommend you to try it out.

in english

Twitter & Jaiku

2 Comments

I have started using at the same time Twitter and Jaiku.  Whereas the benefit of telling the world what are you doing/thinking in 140 characters or less may be dubious for some, I find it quite addictive.

Since both services are very similar, there is some healthy competition between them.  Twitter has going for it the fact that it's very heavily used in the States, and, crucially, has Facebook integration.  Jaiku, on the other hand, has a more European user base, the interface is in my opinion more appealing and, interestingly, has the option to add other RSS feeds, so you can see not only my Jaikus but also my blog posts, public Flickr pictures, the music I've been listening to (thanks to Last.fm) and even my Twitter posts at the same place.

Both also have Widsets available to be used in my N93 (review upcoming), so I can update my status on the fly.

To compare both, you can check my Twitter and my Jaiku.  You're welcome to add me to your contact list if you want.  Which one do you prefer?  Or do you think it's useless?

in english

Brussels for beginners

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After Beco posted about travelling in Europe and good ol' Ceronne about visiting Paris, I just feel compelled to contribute.  However, as many of my readers aren't that proficent in Spanish, English is the language of choice.

Brussels, being between Paris and Amsterdam, can be easily missed when touring Europe.  It is frankly a mistake.  Sometimes berated as a city with no character of its own, the truth is that it has many, as it sits right at the border between Latin & Germanic Europe and is rather appropriately a mix of both.  As such, be aware that even though the city is mostly French-speaking, Dutch is also common and English is widely understood.  Furthermore, don't be surprised if somebody speaks Spanish.

City hall
City hall

When to arrive?
Preferrably before the weekend.  Pack an umbrella, it tends to rain very often.

How to arrive?

From the airport to the city
Quite easy.  Coming from Zaventem there is a train every 20 minutes, which costs 2.8 EUR.  From Charleroi is a little more difficult, there are hourly buses as that airport is quite far away and only serves budget airlines.

Transport within the city
Brussels has two metro lines, buses, trains & trams.  I would recommend buying a 10 trip ticket at the vending machines at the metro stations, since the city is comfortable enough to walk to most places.

  • Don't try to take the public transport without a ticket.  Even though It is possible, the fines are quite steep.
  • There are only night buses during weekends, so I recommend staying at a hotel within walking distance of downtown.

Accomodation
If you're on a budget, I can recommend Hostel Van Gogh and Sleep Well hostel.  Otherwise, there are plenty of nice little hotels in Avenue / Adolphe Max / Laan or Place Rogier / Rogierplein.

Basic tourist information
Preparing yourself

  • Map of Brussels.
  • Map of the public transportation system (includes bus and metro)

What to see?
Basics

  • The Grande Place, one of the most beautiful town squares in Europe. 
  • The Manneken Pis, the renowned statue of the peeing kid.
  • Just walk around downtown.

Further away

  • The Laeken Gardens, including the Japanese Pagoda and the Chinese Pavillion.
  • The European Quarter, with the buildings for the Commission, the Parliament and the European institutions.
  • The Belgian Comic Museum (Centre Belge de la Bande Desinée).  Required if you're a fan of Tin Tin or Lucky Luke.
  • The Parc du Cinquentennaire with the Royal Museums of Art & History and the Military Museum.
  • The Atomium and the Mini Europe amusement park.
  • The Bois du Cambre Park.  More like a mini-forest, really.

Within 3 hours of the city centre

  • Tervuren and its Museum of Central African Cultures
  • Antwerp, the centre of Flemish culture.
  • Ghent, another nice Flemish City.
  • Brugge, the best preserved city in Flanders.  Going there is like being back in the high middle ages.
  • The Adrennes forest.

Where to eat, drink & shop in Brussels?
Eat

  • One of my favourite places is, without a doubt, De Ultieme Hallucinatie in Rue Royale / Koningsstraat.  Typical Belgian fare in an art déco building.  Not exactly in downtown, though.  Try the Carbonnade á la Flamande.
  • If you don't mind eating with other tourists, Rue des Bouchers is a typical haunt offering Belgian & international cuisine, next to the Grande Place.  I recommend the first restaurant to the right, next to an art gallery, but can't remember the name.
  • In Rue / Jules van Praet / straat there is plenty of good restaurants.  Le Chat Noir is nice for mussels (only in season), Réves d'Asie has excellent Thai food and there is plenty others.
  • Nearby, at Arteveldestraat (I think), there is an excellent Vietnamese haunt called Da Kao II.  Very affordable prices as well.
  • If you're in a budget and its lunch time during a weekday, you can have a baguette at a sandwicherie.  There's plenty in the business district around the Gare Centrale / Centraalstation.
  • Furthermore, some of the best things in Belgium are edibles: French fries (known here as frites / frieten) and chocolate.  For the fries, the best ones are supposedly at the Maison Antoine at Place Jourdain, whereas the best chocolates are Neuhaus and Pier Marcolini (although Leonidas are also quite OK and much cheaper).

Drink

  • Unless you're a teetotaller, a visit to Brussels is not complete without trying the beers.  You can check the Belgian beer review for a wider selection, but if you're in a hurry I'd recommend the following:
    If you like dark ales, nothing I've tasted beats Chimay Brune.  If you're more into clearer brews, I'd say Brigand Blonde or Ciney Blonde are quite good
    (but you'll probably find Leffe Blonde or Duvel more easily).  If you would like to taste fruity beers, Special St. Louis Kriek or Timmermans Kriek are quite nice.  On the other hand, if the taste of Brussels is what you have in mind, Timmermans Gueuze Lambic is what you seek.  And for white wheat beer, I still prefer Hoegaarden.
  • Different bars will have different beers, so don't be disheartened if you don't find your favourite one immedately.
  • As for the bars themselves, I like Delirium Café, where you find over 2000 beers from all over the world, Celtica for some fun and dancing, Le Corbeau for dancing on tables and Á la Bécasse for a relaxed, typically Belgian atmosphere.  There is also a nice chicha bar in Greepstraat, but I can't remember the name.  It's easy to find as it is the only one with arabic decor and nice sofas in dark red hues.

Shop

  • If you like expensive brands, the area around Avenue Louise / Louizalaan is what you're looking for.
  • If you like antiques and African handcrafts, you will find them in the Sablon / Zavel neighbourhood.
  • Rue Neuve / Nieuwestraat is also lined up with shops, especially clothes.
  • Souvenirs are sold in downtown, especially around the Grande Place. There is also a couple of stores that specialise in European-themed goods, one of them near the Manneken Pis.
  • There's also the City 2 shopping centre in case you're still missing something.

Important to know

  • Tipping is not needed.
  • Avoid theareas around the Gare du Nord / Noordstation and Gare du Midi / Zuidstation at night, or preferrably altogether.
  • Be careful with pickpockets.  Even thought the problem is not as extended as in Italy, you can still find them.

References

You can also check my pictures about Brussels in Flickr.

in english

Sateluco forever

In Mexico City, there is a special brand of people, who work in the city, but live outside the limits of the Federal District.  If they don’t work in the
area, which after all is one of the largest industrial zones in Latin
America, they live their early mornings and late evenings listening to
the radio in their car while being stuck in the Periférico, the local
12-lane ring road, jokingly referred to as the largest parking lot in
the world.

Being a suburban boy means that, when growing up, crossing the city limits towards el D.F. was a day-long excursion, whereas going to the south was more like being in another city.  When coming back, being greeted by “las torres de Satélite” was comforting, as you knew you where in a familiar place.

Where I grew up, you would meet people at the mall (Plaza Satélite, the first one and still one of the largest in the country) for a cup of coffee to catch up with life.  Now that they all work, you assume they’ll be there after 7.  Funnily enough, this area of the city until recently didn’t have a very strong identity like Coyoacán and la Roma, being relatively new (developed since the 1950’s, but with large-scale urbanisation until the 1970’s).  That is a status that an organisation called “Satelín Torres” wants to revert, trying to give a memory to this part of the city.

Although considered by the rest to be a cultural wasteland, where people sleep, shop, eat and generally aspire to the middle class ideal and if they are interested to go to a museum or a concert they’ll cross to el D.F., it has spawned a number of rock groups.  Café Tacuba is of course the most renowned, but many other bands of the current indie movement come from this part of the city.

I started thinking about all this as I realised that it is my destiny to be a suburban guy, as I’ve lived in Espoo, suburb of Helsinki, for most of my time in Finland and that’s where I’m headed when I move back.  Furthermore, it feels really familiar, as instead of el Periférico they have Länsiväylä and instead of Plaza Satélite and Mundo E they have Iso Omena and Tapiola.

The time in Brussels has been an anomaly, more than the rule.