The capital Brussels is a mix of the two ethnic groups. The country might split in two except neither will cede Brussels to the other, both claim it as their capital. In that sense, it resembles the Arabs and Jews fighting over Jerusalem. We humans don’t get along together very well, do we?
A sad sign of the times, our ship served as a training ground for Belgian and Dutch marines this a.m. as they practiced retaking a ship underway with terrorists aboard. Details are classified, there were supposed to be helicopters and fast boats involved. I slept through it so all I know is what we were told.
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Remember I wondered if there were any remnants of WW II fortifications and destruction in Cherbourg? I didn’t go ashore to make a careful survey but from the vantage point of the top deck of the ship, which was the tallest thing in town, what I saw were two little “forts” at the entrance to the outer harbor.
My guess is the last time they were garrisoned was by the Nazis, and they are truly in tumbled down condition - likely bombed all to heck during the attack to oust said Germans. Other than that, everything looks like it had never seen hostilities which is what I expected.
Cherbourg seems mostly a busy ferry port, I saw several large car-carrying, ocean-going ferries enter and depart while we were there. One was from Ireland, likely runs between here and Dublin. Others probably went to Britain and the Channel Islands.
Putting your car on a ferry and heading out is a real thing here in Europe; the Mediterranean is overrun with these big floating boxes. Most have a giant trapdoor for a stern, which drops down to become a drive-ashore ramp for cars, trucks, and buses.
Ferries have never caught on in the States, I’m not sure why. I’d think there would be a market for them running up and down the east coast between the Northeast and Florida. You’d put your car on board, retire to your cabin, and a day or so later debark in Ft. Lauderdale or Port Everglades.
Maybe also between Vancouver and Seattle and, say, San Pedro or San Diego, to accommodate “snow birds.” Ships chug along at about 20 mph but they do it 24 hours a day. A day’s cruising = 8 hours driving at a 60 mph average, in distance covered roughly 480 miles.
