Belgium Travel Report

Belgian artist Marc Michetz and I are in a two-person art exhibition in Belgium called "Samurai: Reality and Fantasy," which runs through September. I was invited to the opening in Brussels, and flew out of LAX early Wednesday morning, April 24.

Day 1: Thursday

I arrived in Brussels at 10:30 A.M. Thursday, and was met by Samuel, one of the show organizers. He drove me into the city, where I met my Dutch publisher Erik once again. I was interviewed for a magazine at the office, then was whisked away for a radio interview and to preview the show. The exhibition is held in a historic landmark called the Japan Tower, built in the traditional pagoda-style with natural wood, brass, and carpentry. The only thing that looked out of place were the stained glass murals based on famous Japanese prints. The Tower is adjacent to the royal residence and was built in 1901 by King Leopold II. Later, I was driven back to the city center for another interview, then back again to the Tower for the press reception.

We had dinner in a Flemish restaurant where, passing up on the "rabbit in prunes," I had "eels in green," a Flemish specialty. Belgium is known for its mussels, but I arrived at the end of April - the last month with an "R" and so the end of the mussels season.

Erik and his family opened up their home for me to stay while in Belgium. They live in a small town with the curious name of Erps-Kwerps, just outside of Brussels.

Day 2: Friday

I was taken to Antwerp to visit a comic book store. Belgium has three official languages: French, Dutch, and German. This store carries comics and albums in French, Dutch, and English. It just so happened that Willie Linthout was there. Willie is one of Belgium’s most popular cartoonists, with about 100 graphic albums to his credit. He's a very nice man and even agreed to illustrate a back cover for one of the forthcoming Usagi books.

We took a quick tour of the city, including trips to a castle that actually looks like a medieval castle and to the statue erected to the town's founder, who cut off his hand and threw it into an open field. The spot where it landed was where the city was built. We drove across the border to Amsterdam and to Haarlem, where I did a signing. Holland's landscape can be summed up in one word: flat.

Day 3: Saturday

The public reception for the exhibition took place in the morning. Cartoonist Hermann came down for the opening. I had met him a couple of years ago at the comics festival in Gijon, Spain. He is a fascinating person, and I enjoy talking to him. This was the most elegant signing I have ever had. There was a string trio playing Japanese music, though filtered through western instruments, as well as a sword demonstration and kendo matches.

In the afternoon, we drove to Koksijde in Flanders on the Belgian coast for a library appearance. There was an exhibit of my "How I Draw Comics" story from The Art of Usagi #1, and a Usagi coloring contest was held through schools, in which each participant was given comics and cards. I had noticed there were large collections of comics albums in both the children's and adult sections of the library. We later went to the seashore where I just had to touch the North Sea.

On the way back to Erik's, we went to the Atomium, a huge building designed after the iron atom and built for the Brussels Exposition in the 1950s.

Day 4: Sunday

I had a morning signing at the Japan Tower. There I had a Belgian waffle. It was not like the light, crunchy ones that we call Belgian waffles in the U.S., but was heavy and sweet. While in Belgium, I also partook of Belgian endives and Brussels sprouts (though they're both known by different names there).

Day 5: Monday

Belgium has a microclimate that can change with the hour. We were treated to alternating sunshine and rain all day. We entered a short tunnel when it was sunny and emerged to a short, but heavy, hailstorm. Most of my time there was very pleasant, though.

The Museum of Art had a Hergé exhibit and had offered to open on a Monday for me, but since I had done very little souvenir shopping, I opted to go back to the city center where I wandered the streets alone. I had scampi at an Italian restaurant then went around the corner to the old fish markets. The fishmongers had been replaced by seafood restaurants, each advertising their specialties - mussels. I was tempted to eat a second lunch but didn't think I could handle it, though I knew I would regret it later. I continued my wanderings to the old city center, the State Church, and to various other old world buildings, including many with murals by famous Belgian cartoonists. I followed a lot of tour buses to one of Belgium's biggest attractions: Mannekenpis, a fountain of a little boy urinating. Sometimes he is dressed up by various civic groups - as Elvis, Santa, a samurai warrior, the Blues Brothers, etc. - but he was unclothed that day.

Day 6: Tuesday

Back to the U.S. I had been given a case of fine Belgian beer that took up half my suitcase and had acquired a lot of books that almost took up the other half. Fortunately, I always travel with a spare bag, which comes in handy in situations like this. I flew out of Brussels in the morning and arrived in Los Angeles in the early evening, just in time for dinner (not mussels).

Enigma, my Dutch publisher has posted pictures of my trip on their web site at: http://www.b-gevaar.com/store.asp?lang=eng