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70,000 nails can’t be wrong

Posted on May 15, 2026 by Grubb

L’Arbre  à Clous (The Nail Tree) is a surviving folk tradition in the Liége region. Going back to ancient tree worship (I confess to a Shinto leaning in that direction), Wallonians believed ailments could be transferred out of the body and into a tree by means of a nail. The idea was that the tree absorbed…

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Le Petit Avion

Posted on May 15, 2026 by Ella

Two traditional Liege folk characters, Tchantchès and Nanesse, pilot the plane called Le Petit Avion. The pilots are sculpted as portrayed by the Belgian comic artist François Walthéry.  Tchantchès is cheeky, irreverent “everyman” who represents the spirit of the city. He’s traditionally a puppet character and there’s even a puppet museum dedicated to him in…

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A modern touch in St. Paul’s

Posted on May 15, 2026 by Ella

I mentioned we stepped into St. Paul’s Cathedral and Grubb has written a post on the hidden statue of Lucifer. I was more taken with the cloister, which was entered through a massive wooden door and might easily be missed if weren’t standing ajar with a view down the beautiful Gothic ogival arched hallway. In…

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Ascension and descension

Posted on May 15, 2026 by Grubb

Yesterday was Ascension Day in Belgium. We acknowledged it in our secular way by descending from our hilltop panoramic view into the city center. Getting off the bus, we walked by a couple of beer drinkers yelling at each other. One threw his brew into the face of his disputant and kicked at him as…

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boulets à la Liégeoise

Posted on May 14, 2026 by Ella

A boulet is a  meat ball made from minced pork or beef or a mixture of the two. Liege style boulets are large with a serving consisting of only one or two meatballs.  Smaller than a baseball, bigger than a golf ball. The boulets are simmered in a rich gravy made with onions, beef broth, and sirop…

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Wallonia

Posted on May 14, 2026 by Grubb

Before today if you would have asked me about Wallonia I would have thought you might have been referring to something the woman who wrote the Moomintroll series did in parodying the Oxford fantasists C.S. Lewis and Tolkein. But this morning we took the #53 bus into Liège to visit the Musée de la Vie…

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Among the Wallonians

Posted on May 14, 2026 by Ella

Today we tried to get a sense of Liege. With a population of 200,000 (630,000 in the metro area), Liege comes in as Belgium’s third largest city and is also the economic capital of Wallonia (Grubb will explain all things Wallonne). This is a French speaking region and very few people we’ve met speak more than…

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No, not the oil rig!

Posted on May 13, 2026 by Grubb

After facing a world migration in a tornado shaped building, Ella chose to relax at the Haven Hotel before we went out for a Surinamese meal. I decided that since the Maritime Museum was only one long block away I couldn’t just let it sit there like some gigantic mausoleum containing mysteries begging to be…

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In Liege, Belgium

Posted on May 13, 2026May 13, 2026 by Ella

A bit of a project, getting to our place in Liege but we are here with a beautiful view from the apartment. Rotterdam -> Brussels Nord -> Liege Gullimins -> Liege St. Lambert -> Rue de Saint Gilles, Liege. The trains were fine but the last bit was a local bus. The transit workers were…

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Amuchair

Posted on May 13, 2026 by Grubb

Design to a piece of furniture, in this case a throne, explain why someone might want to migrate.

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Watery wipeout 

Posted on May 13, 2026 by Grubb

In one of the video viewing rooms at the FENIX there was an ongoing loop of tsunami footage captured by residents trying to outrace the wave. I suppose the idea was that the instability of the ecosystem is another factor (besides drought conditions) that has to be considered in the rise of migration around the…

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Great Escapes

Posted on May 13, 2026 by Grubb

In 1955 a famous photography exhibition opened at MOMA in New York called “The Family of Man”.  The FENIX has a space divided into hanging panels displaying 200 enlarged photographs called the Family of Migrants depicting the story of migration. Some of them are recognizable masterworks like Dorothea Lange’s migrant mother escaping the Dust Bowl, and…

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Flamingos don’t

Posted on May 13, 2026May 13, 2026 by Ella

The FENIX gives homage to the birds amongst us. Migrants Who Don’t Give a Fuck, 2019 Kiluanji Kia Henda (Angola, 1979) “Towering walls, complicated visa procedures and lengthy asylum processes can make migration impossible. Kiluanji Kia Henda’s flamboyant flamingos defy such barriers. These pink birds, which refuse to be fenced in, symbolise freedom of movement.”

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The far reaches at the FENIX

Posted on May 13, 2026 by Ella

There will come a time, beyond a moon flyby, beyond The Martin, beyond Project Hail Mary…yes, it’s Space migration! Refugee Astronaut IX, 2024 Yinka Shonibare CBE (United Kingdom, 1962) “A lone figure carries a net bulging with belongings – a teapot, Dominoes, a lamp – hastily gathered. The nomadic astronaut is in search of a…

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Makita vacuum back packs

Posted on May 13, 2026 by Ella

At the FENIX, items must be carefully cleaned. 

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  • Barreling thru Belgium
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Recent Posts

  • 70,000 nails can’t be wrong
    by Grubb
  • Le Petit Avion
    by Ella
  • A modern touch in St. Paul’s
    by Ella
  • Ascension and descension
    by Grubb
  • boulets à la Liégeoise
    by Ella
  • Wallonia
    by Grubb
  • Among the Wallonians
    by Ella
  • No, not the oil rig!
    by Grubb
  • In Liege, Belgium
    by Ella
  • Amuchair
    by Grubb
  • Watery wipeout 
    by Grubb
  • Great Escapes
    by Grubb
  • Flamingos don’t
    by Ella
  • The far reaches at the FENIX
    by Ella
  • Makita vacuum back packs
    by Ella
  • Going out in style
    by Grubb

Recent Comments

  1. Wynette on A modern touch in St. Paul’sMay 15, 2026
  2. Wynette on boulets à la LiégeoiseMay 14, 2026
  3. Henry on Among the WalloniansMay 14, 2026
  4. Ella on Among the WalloniansMay 14, 2026
  5. Jw on WalloniaMay 14, 2026
  6. Wynette on Among the WalloniansMay 14, 2026
  7. Ella on The fabulous FENIX, RotterdamMay 13, 2026
  8. charlie on The fabulous FENIX, RotterdamMay 13, 2026
  9. Ella on Streets of Rotterdam with a preponderance of street artMay 13, 2026
  10. Charlie on Streets of Rotterdam with a preponderance of street artMay 13, 2026
  11. Charlie on Shutting the gateMay 13, 2026
  12. Henry on The fabulous FENIX, RotterdamMay 12, 2026
  13. Charlie on Classy PromenadeMay 12, 2026
  14. Henry on Dinner at Pesca, RotterdamMay 11, 2026
  15. charlie on Buttplug SantaMay 11, 2026
  16. Ella on Streets of Rotterdam with a preponderance of street artMay 11, 2026
  17. Marc B Sitkin on Streets of Rotterdam with a preponderance of street artMay 11, 2026
  18. Chinle on A Little more from DelftMay 11, 2026
  19. Ella on A Little more from DelftMay 11, 2026
  20. Jw on Limitless PhotographyMay 11, 2026
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