March 25, 2000

March 25, 2000

I flew to the Netherlands for a business conference. We stayed at a hotel in Noordwijk on the North Sea. Another Nalco-ite and I stayed over afterwards to do some exploration. On Saturday we drove two hours south to Belgium. Our first stop was in the capital, Brussels, at the main square called the Grand Place. It is a beautiful medieval square. We sat and had a pint of the national brew Stella Artois. It tasted great! I don’t know if it is the beer or the ambience. We then walked a few blocks to see the Mannekin Pis, an iconic statue of a kid peeing. I remember my sister taking a photo of it when she came here.

We drove across town to tour the Atomium, a monumental metal building resembling a giant Tinker Toy assembly. It was built as the main pavilion for the 1958 Brussels Worlds Fair. Climbing through the hollow interior passageways, it looks like it hasn’t been renovated in the ensuing 42 years.

My colleague is a war history buff so he convinced me to drive to the Waterloo Battlefield site fifteen miles south of Brussels. This is where Napoleon met his final defeat at the hands of the Duke of Wellington and his Prussian allies. We watch a movie about the details of the 1815 battle. Since it was such a pivotal point in the history of Europe, a very large earthen mound with a lion statue atop was built as a monument. We check out some of the crucial battle sites and then make the long drive back to our hotel.

When I got home I kept getting notices in the mail that looked like a speeding ticket. I couldn’t tell for sure since it was in Dutch. I am guessing we must have violated a radar photo speed zone. I have no intention or idea of how to pay it.