FRIDAY's FAVE 5

1. The week started as usual with aqua gym and in the afternoon Nicole and I wanted to go for a walk and a coffee somewhere, but because of the rainy wet weather we decided to better stay home and drink our coffee in her living room.

2. The next day my so peaceful world was very much shaken. When I opened my newspaper on line I saw that something was wrong in Brussels. Mr. G. turned on the TV and there we saw the disaster. Probably the same pictures as you did, because journalists and cameramen came over from the whole world.

3. In Waterloo, we didn't notice anything, it was as peaceful as usual. But on TV we could follow the whole day what happened in Brussels minute by minute. My friend Ilona who had to go for a check up to a hospital in Brussels, arrived well there, wondered that the main door was closed and that she had to go through a side door. When she came out a hell had broken out. Ambulance after ambulance arrived in the hospital, Police and Military were everywhere, the whole public transport was cancelled, cars blocked, people couldn't leave Brussels. Finally she decided to walk home instead of sitting there in a little café and waiting that a miracle would happen. She walked and walked for 2 1/2 hours (she lives about 18 km from Brussels center) and finally stopped once outside and called her caughter who picked her up. At one moment the telephone broke down, too many people using their mobiles or smartphones. The provider had to open other wifi lines.

4.


I thought about going to Brussels and to "La Bourse" where all people gathered and had put flowers, candles etc but then I decided not to go there was already enough trouble and difficulties on the streets for people who had to go to work. I watched a little TV not the whole day anymore, and heard that there are still people missing and couldn't be identified, sometimes they only found body parts and it takes time to do all the DNA analysis.



The King and Queen visited the airport and metro station and also the hospital where the heavily injured victims are. They were very shocked when they saw the damages !

5. The main theme in my painting course was of course the attacks. Fortunately nobody had somebody injured amongst family and friends, but several sons and daughters were stuck abroad and couldn't fly home to Brussels. Some of them managed to land in the other two available airports in Belgium, and are now without their cars, because there is no access to the airport parking in Brussels. The main difficulties was to get home from Brussels in this mess, some people did like Ilona they walked until they were outside Brussels center and then called somebody to be picked up.
The public transports are still not all running and the city is congested.

We painted and tried to have some fun, to distract us, we can't change anything we have to learn to live with the fact that it can happen everywhere at any time.

more participants at Susanne at Living to tell the Story.