Browse Topics
Tools
Editor's choice

Photos by Wim Wenders and partner in Madrid

The exhibition includes scenes from many of the famous director's movies and his wife's work as his photography director.

How restaurant service in Spain has evolved

Gwendolyn Alston wonders if good and personalised service in Spanish restaurants is a thing of the past.

Spain starts exhuming grave of poet Garcia Lorca

Any bones found in the mass grave in Alfaca will be sent for analysis to enable families to identify their ancestors.

Visiting a Spanish dentist

Blogger Chris Showers experienced a cultural shock upon his first visit to an outspoken and talkative Spanish dentist.

Internaxx Stock Market
Index Last Var.(%)
BEL 20 2119.3 0.50
DAX 5252.45 1.50
IBEX 30 10726.8 0.59
CAC 40 3377.59 1.40
FTSE 100 4564.5 0.79
AEX 276.85 0.95
DJIA 9096.72 -0.13
Nasdaq 1975.51 0.39
FTSE MIB 20341.67 1.65
TSX Composite 10570.54 -1.74
ASX 4148.9 -0.60
Hang seng 20135.5 -2.37
Straits Times 0.00
ISEQ 20 442.48 0.27
You are here: Home Life in Blogs & photos Knokke Knokke, Heist there?

05/09/2007Knokke Knokke, Heist there?

Never one to throw in the beach towel, editor Paul Morris believes that an Indian summer is imminent.

On the first day of September, spotting some blue in the firmament, I headed down to the coast, to Knokke in fact. If you have read this far you have excused the terrible pun in the article’s heading but what’s a scribe to do? It has been a very very long Summer. The weather (I promised myself I would refrain from Belgian weather bashing - though a trip back to Scotland has finally put all that into perspective) has been south of absolutely lousy. At the risk of sounding like one of those Expats you meet in the Irish bars who can talk about the vagaries of the climate for at least three pints, I will just say, "We had a nice June though, eh? And I hear tell that we are on a promise - for an Indian summer." Looking out the window at another hue of grey, I would agree: « If you live in India."

www.flickr.com/photos/jkivit/tags/knokke/

It required all manner of electric wheeled transport - metro-train-tram - to deliver me to Knokke-Heist, to give it its full double-barrelled moniker. Dark foreboding clouds followed the train as if I had somehow personally insulted the weather gods in this or a past life. The train to Blankenberge however was pleasant enough, although it took the entire hour and a half to recover from the visions of Gare Centrale, which currently looks like downtown Baghdad on a bad day.

An old boy who shared my bench commented on the fact that has been while since the building works started (he could hardly bring up the weather since we were 50 feet underground). Sharp as a pin for an eighty year old he did point out the workers were giving folks ideas and pointed upwards to the ceiling with his walking cane. Once I realised he wasn’t attacking me, I let my gaze venture upwards and sure enough, some wise guy had fashioned a handy hanging rope made of electrical cable. I suggested it was for the architect.

0 reactions to this article

participate in the forums
ask your question
find the business you need
Discussion Forums

Discuss Spanish Culture

Are Spanish people Tactless and arrogant or just forthright?, by john4efc66

Jobs

cvExpres, work in Spain as a teacher in a private school or academie, by santi21

Soapbox

Madrid Revisited, by honantong

Jobs

Help Needed - Entertainment Industry, by stewartw

Travel & Transport

WINE & MOUNTAINS, by kathyinhuesca

participate in the forums

Inside Expatica
Checklist for expats moving to Spain

Checklist for expats moving to Spain

Before you head out to explore the new city, make sure your paperwork's all done by referring to our guide.

Job hunting in Spain

Job hunting in Spain

Looking for a job just got harder with the global recession. Here’s a guide to make things a tad easier.

How to open a bank account in Spain

How to open a bank account in Spain

Expatica's guide to opening a bank account in Spain.

Spain country factbook

Spain country factbook

This in-depth profile of Spain includes geography, people, government, economy and transnational issues.