EuroBillTracker gallery: Pictures by Ganymede

Currently viewing: EuroBillTracker gallery » 2004 » EBT Meeting 2004, Brussels, 6.-8.8.2004 » Pictures by Ganymede

<b>Day 1 - Paying bills the complicated way</b><br />This was after drinks on Friday night. Everybody was paying for their own drinks and still all these euro-obsessed people managed to make things complicated... ;)

<b>Day 1 - Playing tour guide</b><br />In the foreground Mr. Euro is playing the perfect tour guide. He is showing us Brussels' Great Market. I think the building behind him is the City Hall (but don't quote me on that!).

<b>Day 1 - There's a lot of bread in bread</b><br />This is the bakers' guild hall on the Great Market. Obviously the guilds were not short of a few bob in those days...

<b>Day 1 - Health and happiness to all</b><br />This is a statue, or rather a bronze plaque, that people touch to get health and happiness (you can tell where, by the shiny parts). I know it's not a very good picture, but I think it's Dakkus in the centre who is just about to touch it, that's why I included it.

<b>Day 1 - I thought this was illegal</b><br />But some people seem to get away with everything.

<b>Day 2 - Early start</b><br />Normally I'm not even awake at this time on a Saturday morning, let alone having driven 100 kilometer and waited 30 minutes... I remember Mr. Euro telling us something about the 'Mountain of Art', but only vaguely, sorry.

<b>Day 2 - A gaggle of Eurobilltrackers</b><br />... or whatever the collective noun is for a group of Eurobilltrackers. Maybe it's a murder, like crows, or a flock, like sheep.

<b>Day 2 - Tracks of a tracker</b><br />These are the marks left by (? I think it was Chiel ?) who nearly slipped in the mud on Saturday morning. The caption is a suggestion by Annie; Haemoglobin should have this picture too.

<b>Day 2 - Godfried of Bouillon</b><br />A statue of the first king of Jerusalem. I guess I got bitten by the tourist bug...

<b>Day 2 - Is this above board?</b><br />No comment... ;)

<b>Day 2 - Follow the leader</b><br />Can you tell who's in charge?

<b>Day 2 - EBTM04 visits the King... </b><br />Here's Chiel in front of the Royal Palace.

<b>Day 2 - ...or not</b><br />Unfortunately there is no flag on top to signify he's in. I bet he doesn't have to raise and lower it himself, like I have to do on the IN/OUT board at work...

<b>Day 2 - A walk in the park </b><br />This is the park in front of the Royal Palace. On the other side there are two parliaments, don't ask which, there are too many (my opinion) in Belgium! Notice Mr. Euro busy on the 'phone, trying to guide some latecomers to a meeting point with the rest of us.

<b>Day 2 - Cathedral</b><br />I did some homework, this is the cathedral of St-Michiel and St.-Goedele. I don't know the history behind this, but it sounds like an equal opportunities cathedral.

<b>Day 2 - Pain in the neck</b><br />Is what I got from looking up at this impressive building. Parts of it date back to the thirteenth century, but it only became a cathedral in the 1960's.

<b>Day 2 - Taking a break on the steps of the Cathedral</b><br />As we were waiting for some new arrivals, EBTM-ers take a break in front of the St-Michiel and St.-Goedele Cathedral.

<b>Day 2 - Pretty colours</b><br />Of course to someone religious there would be more to it than just the artistry of the makers. I recognise the adoration of the Virgin and Child in the center, and I notice at the same time all the heraldry at the bottom... (Call me a cynic if you want, it was good enough for Diogenes.)

<b>Day 2 - Hi!</b><br />Philippe had to shake a lot of hands.

<b>Day 2 - Uh-oh </b><br />He noticed the camera... Nice guy, by the way. And thanks again for the wonderful EuroBillTracker!

<b>Day 2 - Captive audience </b><br />Or maybe not all the time... But it was certainly a very interesting tour at the Belgian National Bank.

<b>Day 2 - Tapestry</b><br />This is one of the tapestries on the wall in the room seen in picture 021. It is the street between the National Bank (left) and the Cathedral (on the raised part you can just see on the right).

<b>Day 2 - All the euros in a row </b><br />A display of euro notes and coins in the museum of the National Bank. Unfortunately I didn't get a good shot of the special € 2 coin on the right.

<b>Day 2 - Alexandros Philippou Makedonon</b><br />That's the one on the right. Also known as Alexander the Great. The history of Alexander is one of my other passions, so I simply had to take a picture at the museum. The one on the right is one of his father, Philip II.

<b>Day 2 - The money's in the bank!</b><br />Actually, this bank is empty.

<b>Day 2 - Moshi moshi!</b><br />If you want to find Manneke Pis, simply follow the Japanese tourists...

<b>Day 2 - Dead end street</b><br />Mr. Euro explains that tucked away in this dead end is an attempt by local entrepreneurs to rival Manneken Pis and lure tourists to their part of town.

<b>Day 2 - His little sister</b><br />And here she is: Jeanneke Pis. Unfortunately (?) for us she didn't have to go when we saw her.

<b>Day 2 - Efficiency</b><br />This was the weirdest thing: Mr. Euro ordered metro tickets for the thirty or so EBTM-ers at the ticket-window. And the clerk came out of his office to get the tickets from the machine! Actually I think there were two of them working simultaneously...

<b>Day 2 - Famous landmark</b><br />But we got the tickets and made our way to another one of Brussels' most famous landmarks. Built for the 1958 World Fair the Atomium wasn't meant to last this long - some cynics would say it hasn't...

<b>Day 2 - Cameraman</b><br />Haemoglobin, one of the other camera-persons on this trip. In the background one of the legs of the Atomium. Fortunately there is also an elevator!

<b>Day 2 - Sneaky </b><br />Someone was trying to take sneaky pictures at the foot of the Atomium... I wouldn't be surprised if a picture of me licking an ice cream popped up. Thanks Bhoeyb! ;)

<b>Day 2 - 'Typically Belgian: old and dirty!' </b><br />And don't hit me, I'm quoting Bhoeyb here! By the way, my Dad told me my uncle's picture was at the 1958 World Fair. It was taken at the garage he worked in at the time (as an apprentice I think) and it was shown at the Dutch Pavillion.

<b>Day 2 - Tragic memories </b><br />The King (grrr, I can't spell the French version of Boudewijn, sorry) Stadium, formerly known as the Heysel Stadium. A place with some very sad memories for me. I was only a little girl, watching the European Cup final between Liverpool and Juventus, when a tragedy occured and dozens of Italian fans were crushed to death.

<b>Day 2 - Birds'eye view of Europe</b><br />This is mini-Europe seen from the Atomium. And through the dirty windows...

<b>Day 2 - Life thru a lense</b><br />Fons didn't want me taking a picture of him and decided to take counter-measures. One of my American friends really wants the picture you took, by the way, Fons...

<b>Day 2 - Balls! </b><br />This was some kind of weird art/music installation inside the Atomium. There are cords between the white poles and when the big silver balls touch them, a sound comes from the amplifier (the black box on the floor). The EBTM04 participants finally let down their cover and proved what hooligans they really are. I think they even managed to get one of the balls down from the ceiling. Some of them were punished with a whack in the head, though...

<b>Day 2 - Art </b><br />Another level, another exposition. Actually, this object was kind of fun. It made a really relaxing sound, and I loved the flashing lights... I wouldn't mind that in the corner of my room. I never thought the picture would work as well as it did.

<b>Day 2 - Dinky toy </b><br />This beautiful little car isn't much larger than the average size shopping trolley at my local supermarket. Very shiny though...

<b>Day 2 - Balloons </b><br />This is a bit of a joke. It's a picture I took through the windshield of my car - while driving, I never heard of a ban on hands-on photography... ;) - as I was driving back to my parent's place in Zeeuws-Vlaanderen. This must have been somewhere between St. Gillis Waas and the border. I couldn't really zoom or focus or anything, I just picked up the camera, pointed it roughly in the right direction and pressed the button... It was quite an impressive sight, all these balloons suddenly appearing on the horizon.

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