Snapshots: 2016 summer in Europe

Here are snapshots taken in five European countries -- the U.K. Belgium, Poland, Czech Republic and Hungary -- in July and August in 2016. It was about a month after Brexit –- the U.K.’s decision to leave EU.


EU and UK

28 EU flags in Brussels  
  -- When will it become 27?

At a bookshop in Bloomsbury, London

  -- Disputes continue over Europe

Flags in front of Financial Times 
  -- Company flag and EU flag, no Union Jack (late July, 2016)

Border control @ St. Pancras Station, London
  -- for Eurostar trains

Terrorism, migration and national security

Guards at Brussels South Station
  -- It became the scene of everyday, everywhere

Brussels International Airport
  -- the road to departure floor

Sint-Jans-Molenbeek in Brussels
  -- Many migrants here

Budapest East station

  -- A handwritten board: “Europe, your humanity is lost”

Presidential Palace in Warsaw

  -- Flags of Poland, EU and NATO

European integration

UK café in Warsaw

  -- No borders for companies

Prices in Euro and forint in Budapest
  -- around Euro zone

ATM for Euro and zloty in Warsaw
  -- exchange commission is low

Bike sharing in Budapest
  -- rapidly spreading throughout Europe

Common value, common culture

Wenceslas Square (Václavské náměstí) in Prague
  --Prague spring, Velvet Revolution

Hungarian Parliament in Budapest  -- Hungarian Revolution of 1956 

Franz Kafka's birthplace in Prague-- Good cafe restaurant

Copernicus statue in Warsaw
  -- The Copernican theory was released in the 16th century

  

Visit also
Budapest: August 2016
Prague: August 2016
Warsaw: July-August 2016
Brussels: July 2016
London (after Brexit): July 2016

Belgium Beer Weekend @ Roppongi Hills: Sept. 24, 2016

I am familiar with Belgium as I used to live there. It is quite natural for me to enjoy “Belgium Beer Weekend” every year. I visited the event held in Roppongi Hills today.

Japan has extraordinary much rain this month in many places, including Tokyo. Today, too. It rained through the day. 

It stopped raining in the evening, and I walked out to taste Belgium beer.

The event site was crowded. Belgium musicians played the music and people enjoyed it. The scene looked like a big disco hall.

More than 100 brands of beer were served. (see the second photo from the top)

Belgium foods such as fritz (fried potato), carbonnades (Belgium style beef stew) and waffle were also served.

I joined the event several times in the past several years. They were held not only in Tokyo bat also in other cities like Yokohama and Kanazawa. 

The reports are posted at:

Belgium Beer Weekend (BBW) in Tokyo (Roppongi) in 2010

BBW in Tokyo in 2011

BBW in Yokohama in 2014

BBW in Tokyo in 2014

BBW in Kanazawa in 2016

Nakasendo Walk (17) Niekawa (33/69)-Narai (34/69): Sept. 19, 2016

Today’s walk was from Niekawa, the 33^rd shukuba station to Narai, the 34th station. It sometimes rained.

Niegkawa was a small station. It was owned and managed by the Owari (Nagoya) Tokugawa family in the Edo era. An office was set to check the trade of Japanese hinoki cypress. It was rebuilt in the 1970s. (see also the 2nd photo from the top)

The old town has been lost because of the fires. The public water wells remain.

I moved southward to Hirasawa district, which is famous for the production of Kiso lacquer ware. There are tens of craft houses and shops along Nakasendo.

I bought sets of wares. The industry developed here as they produced good woods.

The Japanese lacquer is now mainly imported from China as the domestic production is decreasing. (Globalization!!) I got such information from the store’s madam.

I arrived in Narai. The old town and houses are well preserved. The area is registered as the country's historically important place..

Inns, shops and restaurants are in traditional buildings. There are no electric poles.

Public water wells are working.

Restaurants serve local foods. I enjoyed soba and iwana fish.

There is a bridge calles "Kiso no Ohashi" made of Japanese hinoki cypress over Narai river.

The river flows northward into Chikuma River and travels into the sea of Japan. 

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Shimosuwa: Sept 18, 2016 (off Tokyo)

Japan had extraordinary much rain in many places this September. The rain caused disasters in Iwate, Kyushu, Hokkaido and other places. The global climate change may be affecting.

Today was rainy and I could not walk Nakasendo. Instead, I visited the Suwa Shrines in Shimosuwa town

This is my second visit to Shimosuwa this year. The first visit was in May when they had the “Onbashira Festival”. There were tens of thousands of people gathering here to enjoy the event, which is held every six years.

The town was calm today. There were a few people in the streets. Shimosuwa is the 29^th shukuba station of Nakasendo and is a hot spring resort.

I visited two major parts of Shimosuwa Shrines -- Akimiya and Harumiya.

In the festival in May, four onbashira (wood pillars) were carried into Harumiya and Akimiya respectively. The pillars now stand in the four corners of each shrine. The onbashira is believed to be a god.

Two big lion sculptures sit in front of the shrine buildings in Akimiya. It rained heavily.

It also rained hard in Harumiya. (see also the 2nd photo from the top)

The onbashira are about 17 meter high.

It was banned to play Pokemon GO in the shrines, 

There is a stone sculpture of Buddha in the fields near Harumiya. It was made in 1660 (the 3^rd year of Manji in Japanese calendar) and is called Manji no Sekibutsu.

Visitors were walking around the sculpture as they prayed for the Buddha.  

Rain continued.

Nakasendo Walk (16) Shiojiri (30/69) -Niekawa (33/69): Sept 17, 2016 (off Tokyo)

There are 25 shukuba stations of Nakasendo in Nagano Prefecture (Shinshu in old name). I walked the first 13 stations in the eastern part of Nagano this spring. It was from Karuizawa, the 18^th station from Nihonbashi to Shiojiri, the 30^th.

I resumed my walk today. It was from Shiojiri to Niekawa, the 33rd station.

Shiojiri is an important transportation hub. The roads and railways from Tokyo, Nagoya and Niigata areas meet here. 

The rails go eastwards to Tokyo and westwards to Nagoya from JR Shiojiri Station. The window’s decoration is grape design.

The area grows good grape and produces wines. They had “the Grape Festival” as September and October are the harvest season.

There are many grape fields along the roads. (see also the 2nd photo from the top)

Grape picking services were offered in many farms.

I also saw the fields of lettuce, cabbage and other vegetables.

There is an archaeological site at the side of Nakasendo on the way to Seba, the 31st station. It is called Hirade remains. The houses of Jomon era (B.C 13-B.C.4 century), Kofun era (A.D. 3-7 century), and Heian era (A.D.8-12 century) are rebuilt. (see also the 3rd photo from the top) 

The grape fields spread around the remains.

There remains a set of milestone in the area. The rice fields behind were shinning gold.

I walked into the area of Seba station. I saw houses as well as vegetable and rice fields spread in the narrow lands between the mountains (see also the 4th photo from the top). 

Autumn flowers were beautiful at the side of the road. 

There is a legend that Minamoto Yoshinaka, one of the heroes in the 12^th century (late Heian era) washed his horse in the well here. The overflowing water was clean and cold.

I saw many fields of soba (buckwhest) on the way to Motoyama, the 32^nd station. The flower is white.

Soba was eaten from ancient days, but it was the Edo ear when people began to cook soba as noodle. The new style started here in Motoyama.

I walked southwards and arrived Sakurazawa area.. There is a stone monument at the side of the road.

It says: the starting point of Kiso road, down to south. (see also the top photo)

Kiso is a deep valley between the mountains.

There are 11 shukuba stations in Kiso road. I arrived in Niekawa, the first station of the Kiso road and the 33^rd station from Tokyo’s Nihonbashi.