Belgium, Brussels. Vive la mixité!

Belgium, Brussels. Vive la mixité!



What Europe is and what it should be is often the subject of passionate debate. A unique concept whereby several nations are brought together under a humane, democratic system? The strongest economy in the world? A patchwork of different cultures? A tolerant home for freethinkers and the persecuted?



For Christa Klickermann, a 58-year-old native of Salzburg who now lives in Hamburg, Europe is, above all, somewhere she can call her own extended home. A loveable continent and a great place to live; a place of myriad cultures that shapes and inspires her in her daily life as a woman, mother and entrepreneur in the midst of life. A place so dear to her heart that she has decided to take a fresh look at Europe and, since 2012, has spent her time journeying across its borders. With a great deal of empathy and openness, she sets out to discover Europe’s people, their culture and their modern, everyday lives up close. Brussels, the impressive capital of Belgium, was the second capital on her journey.



Praise for Europeans at heart:



Interview with Deutsche Welle TV:

“After reading this book, you will find it impossible not to fall in love with Europe.”



Schekker, the German Government’s online portal for young people:

“This collection of accounts delivers a brief but brilliant glimpse into life in Europe’s incredibly diverse countries, as well as lots of useful information and fabulous pictures that will fill you to the brim with wanderlust. Having taken a literary voyage through the continent via the pages of this book, I can definitely say that I am European at heart. What about you?”



Polen-pl.eu, online Polish culture portal:

“‘The one language that we all understand, and which closely connects all of us Europeans, is the language of the heart: the desire to understand, to empathise, to laugh and find out more about one another.’ And that, according to Christa Klickermann, is the key to living together in harmony. With her book, the author hopes to inspire us and imbue us with a sense of confidence about Europe’s future, and she more than succeeds in doing both. Her approach is so effective in fact that as a reader you feel tempted to take leave and embark on your own European journey of exploration.”



Belgium, Brussels. Vive la mixité!



What Europe is and what it should be is often the subject of passionate debate. A unique concept whereby several nations are brought together under a humane, democratic system? The strongest economy in the world? A patchwork of different cultures? A tolerant home for freethinkers and the persecuted?



For ...



Europeans at heart is a vivid and colourful series of travel and culture books that brings you closer to Europe’s countries and its people. This eBook is an extended and updated travel account taken from ‘Europeans at heart: a journey of discovery through 28 EU capitals’.



CONTENT



+ The thrill of the unknown

+ Belgium (BE) at a glance

+ Vive la mixité!

+ Christa Klickermann, talking with Senne Dehandschutter

+ Additional Links

+ He who knows nothing, must believe it all: Europe, the key facts

+ In touch with Europe – an authentic journey of discovery



Vive la mixité!



Everyone’s heard of Brussels, even if they have only seen it on the news. It’s the city where Europe is made – well, at least on paper. A city where more than 40,000 people work on bringing this ambitious project to life and where a great many think tanks, lobbyists and experts are busy trying to influence proceedings behind the scenes. But Brussels is much more than just Europe’s unofficial capital.





I spot a sign for Baarle as we drive along the 280-kilometre stretch of motorway between Amsterdam and Brussels. Baarle is a town that lies directly on the Dutch/Belgian border and, as such, has two versions of everything: from its mayor and its post office to its telephone network. How incredible! It must require so much effort, and cost a fortune. “I can’t believe that something like that still exists in the middle of Europe”, says Bernd with surprise. He’s got a point, but it somehow seems fitting for a country like Belgium. As small as this nation of 11 million people may be, and as much as it embodies the idea of open borders by being home to the unofficial European capital, Brussels, its old boundaries still seem very entrenched. That’s because Belgium is divided into three different linguistic communities (Flemish, French and German) as well as three different regions (Flanders, Wallonia and Brussels) which are all administered and governed independently. In a report on Flanders in 2012, the German Handelsblatt newspaper wrote that the region was a popular test market for car manufacturers due to the contrasting cultures that exist in such a small area. Even the universal brand Coca Cola uses this cultural microcosm to develop and test its soft drinks before making them available to the rest of the world. A homogenous Belgium, it seems, is not easy to come by. The scene is suitably colourful in the maze of streets that form the Quartier du Centre old town district. Of course, there are finely dressed men in suits carrying stylish over-the-shoulder briefcases, and elegant women with shopping bags bearing the names of high-class brands, but what we mostly see are groups of Muslim women wearing hijab, as well as young Africans and Asians. And between them all, the tourists are everywhere to be seen; I spot a group of young Japanese women tottering on towering high heels as they make their way to the Grand Place. This particular UNESCO World Heritage Site boasts an array of photo opportunities with its baroque guildhalls built by rich baker, butcher and trader guilds, as well as a Gothic town hall. It’s so impressive! Several years ago I developed a cherished ritual for places as special as this: I find the centre of the square and turn around slowly and silently so I can take in all the sights and sounds surrounding me. Then I close my eyes and let it all sink in for a moment. This allows me to remember even the minutest of details, leaving me with an album of images in my head which I can revisit whenever I please.



I put the same ritual into practice a few steps further next to an enormous graffiti mural of Tin Tin and Snowy (who goes by the name of Milou in the Franco-Belgian original) which decorates the side of a house. Hergé, the creator of these fantastic characters who were our childhood heroes, was Belgian, as was Morris (creator of Lucky Luke), André Franqui (creator of Spirou and Fantasio, Marsupilami and Gaston), and Peyo (creator of The Smurfs). Even today, Brussels is still the European comic capital: there are over 700 authors here working on all forms of the so-called ‘ninth art’, from classic comic strips to stylish graphic novels. But why is Brussels, of all places, such a comic book hub?







Christa Klickermann has always been passionate about building good relationships both at work and in her private life. For 25 years, she worked on forming effective partnerships with her business clients during her time as a freelance marketing consultant in the field of customer management. Away from work, the 58-year-old Austrian has been happily married for 37 years and is mother to three grown-up children, as well as being a grandmother.



In 2012 she said goodbye to her career and fulfilled a long-held dream by moving with her husband from Bavaria to the very north of Germany. She now lives and works in Hamburg as a freelance author, speaker and blogger. On her travels, in her Europeans at Heart book series and in her intercultural panel sessions/readings, she tries to gain a closer understanding of people and their cultures, whilst promoting a peaceful and humane Europe.