More bike fodder. There is one particular electric bike that seems to be popular with the kids in the Netherlands. It is an OUXI v8. Every Dutch town we stopped in had a dozen or more kids racing around on these bikes. I think Mr. OUXI is making a fortune. He should continue to do so until there are so many of those bikes on the road it is no longer cool to have one.
I am going out on a limb here but I would say at least 75% of the bikes on the road in Holland and Belgium are electric. This is no small investment. A quick search on the web indicates the bike is in the thousands of Euros range. Still cheaper than a car I suppose and much easier to park.
People in both countries have a fascination with what I would call cargo bikes. Bikes with an extra long front end and either a cargo space or seating for a passenger or two. The passengers are usually small children but we have seen a couple of teens getting a lift from mom. These bikes must be super heavy but again they have an electric assist and the riders move along a good clip with very little input.
Another difference between Netherlands riders and the ones in Belgium is the Belgians are more likely to be wearing a helmet. They are still in the minority but there are more covered heads.
Today was a trip into Brussels central to visit the first art galleries we have seen this trip. The old masters gallery was OK. The paintings were amazing but not my schtick. A lot of religious subjects, again not in my realm of interest, and gory scenes of battles that took place long ago.
One painting we did stop at was the ‘Death of Marat’ by Jacques Louis David. Both Debbie and I had seen this painting in books many times and it is always amazing to see the original.
The exibition that was very good was the Magritte Gallery. It is a permanent collection with pieces from when he was very young till his death in 1967. There are a lot of paintings, sketches, some posters, some photography and some film. None of his iconic works were on display. I think they are around the world in many other galleries. One we have seen before is ‘Megalomania, La Folie de Grandeurs’ which is in the Menil Gallery in Houston Texas.
There are a couple of paintings that I have not seen before that made me stop and stare. Black Magic one of several paintings of female nudes painted up unusual colours.
Another is ‘Empire of Light’. A painting depicting a house lit by a street lamp, supposedly in the evening but with a full on daytime sky in the background.
The coolest building we saw all day was ‘Old England’. An amazing example of early 20th Century art nouveau architecture. Designed by architect Paul Saintenoy and built in 1899.
Tomorrow we continue our tour of the sights for Brussels.
