The Stilted Generation

Pic of the week

Two this week actually, taken at a stilted street parade through Mechelen over the weekend. 

I've always loved the street performance culture in Belgium. A lot of the time they arrive unannounced too, like these drummers and butterflies that marched through town during the annual kid's festival, adding a welcomed element of surprise and unexpected entertainment. 

What street performances come through your town?

Want to see more? Follow me on Instagram.

Pic of the week

Christmas lights on the Bruul in Mechelen

Bike-in cinema

Pic of the week

This "bike-in cinema" is one of many art installations seeking to redefine the parking spot that you'll find scattered throughout the streets of Mechelen throughout the summer.

Beware of God

Pic of the week

Curious collection on the dashboard of a parked car

Carnival

Pic of the week

Float in the Mechelen carnival parade

Hands down

Pic of the week

Playing with coasters at the Honoloeloe cafe on the Grote Markt in Mechelen. The full name of the bar is actually "Als ik mijn oven toedoe, ben ik in honoloeloe" - which means, "When I close my eyes, I'm in Honolulu."

The coolest place you’ve never heard of: Three things I love about Mechelen

The tower of Saint Rombouts Cathedral in Mechelen

London. Paris. Amsterdam. Brussels. Bangkok. New York. These are some of the world’s greatest cities and some of my favorite destinations too – each an undeniably awesome center of culture amazing in its own right. 

But my favorite city – the one I’m always happy to come back to – is my home town of Mechelen, Belgium. 

What, you mean you’ve never heard of it? 

Mechelen is a small city of about 80,000 people in the Dutch-speaking region of Belgium, a quick twenty minute train ride from both Brussels and Antwerp. Before I moved to Europe more than a decade ago, I had never heard of Mechelen either. But now I’m proud to call myself a Mechelaar. 

While it might not be that big, Mechelen has a perfect mix of young and old, traditional and trendy, and local and global influences, making it uniquely dynamic and charming at the same time.

You don’t have to just take my word for it though. I hit the streets to find out what other people like most about Mechelen too. So without further ado, let me introduce you:

This is me, John 

Age: 34 

Occupation: Marketing by day, Blogger by night 

Place of origin: Alliance, Ohio (USA) 

What I love about Mechelen

1.) It’s got the best beer in the world. No joke - the local brew, Gouden Carolus, won the World’s Best Dark Beer prize in 2012. 

2.) Its many independent coffee bars. Yes, this is one of the few places on earth where you won't find a Starbucks on every corner.

3.) And last but not least, it’s home to some of the friendliest people I've ever met...

Myriam “De Bellemadam” (The Bell Lady) 

Age: 60 

Occupation: Town crier; retired caregiver 

Place of origin: Mechelen born & raised

What I love about Mechelen

1.) Everything! Its many monuments, beautiful buildings, Town Hall, the Bontanique park, the Big and Small Beguinages, … 

2.) The people (Mechelaars). They can be shy at first, but once you get to know them they are friends for life. 

3.) Its long and proud history that goes back for centuries and centuries. 

Jens 

Age: 30 

Occupation: Hairdresser 

Place of origin: Hamme, Belgium 

What I love about Mechelen

1.) There are a lot of cultural activities organized throughout the year and many beautiful historical buildings. 

2.) It’s really gezellig (cosy).

3.) People still stop and talk to each other on the street and there’s a more personal feel than you have in bigger cities. 

Roos 

Age: 23 

Occupation: Food service industry 

Place of origin: Sint-Katelijne Waver, Belgium

What I love about Mechelen 

1.) It has nice restaurants. Den Beer on the Grote Markt and De Tien Gheboden on the Woolemarkt are my favorites. 

2.) The Vismarkt is a good place to meet friends and have a drink on the weekend. 

3.) The shopping street (Bruul) where you can find anything you need. 

Frans 

Age: 87 

Occupation: Retired butcher 

Place of origin: Boortmeerbeek, Belgium 

What I love about Mechelen 

1.) The beautiful old buildings, like the Town Hall and Saint Rombouts Cathedral. 

2.) Taking walks along the IJzerleen. 

3.) The new public swimming pool at the Nekkerhal.

Brice 

Age: 29 

Occupation: Student (Business Management) 

Place of origin: Cameroon 

What I love about Mechelen 

1.) The city center is nice. Always a lot of people around, nice cafés, and good places to hang out with friends. 

2.) Near the train station there’s a nice café with good music where I like to go with my brother. I forget the name though! 

3.) The football team, KV Mechelen. I go to a lot of games because my brother plays on the team. 

Annemarie 

Age: 70 

Occupation: Retired primary school teacher 

Place of origin: West-Flanders, Belgium

What I love about Mechelen 

1.) It’s a safe city and the police are nice. It’s also evolving in a good way thanks to the work of the mayor. 

2.) The train connection is very good to Brussels, Antwerp or anywhere else you want to go. 

3.) It’s a kid-friendly city with a lot of fun things to do for families like the Technopolis Science Center, Planckendael Zoo, the Toy Museum, … 

There’s a lot more to love about Mechelen, so let me know what’s on your list in the comments. And if you’ve never been, give me a shout when you do and I’ll show you around!

-----

I wrote this post as my entry in the Accor Hotels ‘A Tale of Three Cities’ contest. Find out more here.

First snow

Pic of the week

Metaphor: with the first snowfall arriving in Belgium on Saturday, mother and child (or children, in my case) are protected by a small roof while father ventured out for food. Child raises arm triumphantly; yet both can be seen cracking.
Photo by John Weaver

Allo Allo!

Pic of the week

Leaving Het Anker brewery, Mechelen  Photo by John Weaver

Have a happy Christmas everybody!

Future sense

Pic of the week

Street musician playing Auld Lang Syne in Mechelen
Photo by John Weaver

Under the bridge

Pic of the week

Mechelen, Belgium  Photo by John Weaver

Bird’s eye view

Pic of the week

A view of my neighborhood from atop the Sint-Romboutstoren  Photo by John Weaver

The story of the Moon Extinguishers

Quirky Belgium

The perigee moon, or "supermoon," can seem as much as 12 percent bigger and 30 percent brighter than the average full moon.  Photo by John Weaver

Did the Man In The Moon seem like he was a little bit closer this week?

If so, that’s because this week’s full moon was the last of three “supermoons” to light up this summer’s sky. 

The invisible hand

Wanderings

Yarnbombing along the Melaan in Mechelen
Photos by John Weaver

When we moved to Mechelen two years ago, one of the first things I noticed was a thriving street art scene. Not the stuff we were used to in Brussels – graffiti, posters, stickers, stencils – there’s hardly any of that in Mechelen. What I found instead was lots of yarn. It was everywhere, yards and yards of it in colorful patterns and cheeky scenes stitched around trees, lampposts, bike racks, bridges, railings…

Golden lands

Pic of the week

A gold-lit street in Mechelen, Belgium  Photo by John Weaver

“But why think about that when all the golden lands ahead of you and all kinds of unforseen events wait lurking to surprise you and make you glad you're alive to see?”

Let's dance

Pic of the week

Pass the hat! Cuban folk dancers at the International Folk Dance Festival in Bonheiden
Photos by John Weaver

People watching

Wanderings

Window decorations in Mechelen, Belgium  Photo by John Weaver

Walking down the street, you sometimes get a glimpse into people's lives through their windows. I don't usually stop and stare, but this house made me pause…

Bubble house

Pic of the week

Photo by John Weaver

I got a taste of Belgian surrealism this week when a cloud of giant bubbles drifted down on my path while I was out for an evening walk in Mechelen. I traced the bubbles to their source, a man named Bart who was making them from his second-story window and then taking pictures of his creations as they floated away into the faded blue sky.

We had a nice chat and at one point he asked me: 

"Do you have a tripod?"

"Yeah," I said.

"Ya ever take pictures of fire?"

"No," I said, laughing.

"Ah man, we gotta do that!" he said. 

…maybe a future project!

-----

Smile when you say Taxes

Here’s a new term they didn’t teach us in Economics class:

'Reverse Robin-Hoodism' - the belief that economic success depends on being nice to the rich, who won’t create jobs if they are heavily taxed, and nasty to ordinary workers, who won’t accept jobs unless they have no alternative.

This comes from this great NYT article by Paul Krugman, in which he argues that adults in their prime working years (25 to 54) across Northern Europe are much more likely to have jobs than their U.S. counterparts.

Diversity's many faces

Quirky Belgium

This year Mechelen celebrates 50 years of diversity. Various (multi-)cultural events are being staged around the town, including this collage on the post office. It is part of the FACE-IT project, depicting over 120 people from different origins that call Mechelen home. Photo by John Weaver

 
Today, half of all the children in Mechelen that are 11 years old and younger come from an immigrant background. That means either themselves, their parents, or their grandparents were born in another country. With 128 different nationalities represented in this town of about 82,000, it’s worth asking what that means for one’s identity?

Haverwerf, Mechelen

Quirky Belgium

Haverwerf, Mechelen  Photo by John Weaver

Mechelen was once a hub for the grain trade in Flanders. These three beautiful houses from the 1500’s and 1600’s sit on the Haverwerf (Oat Yard), where boats carrying grain on the Dijle river tied up when they arrived in Mechelen. 

About the houses...