Kids have to know the history of their musical instruments

Almost 15 years after my first visit to MIM (Musical Instruments Museum) in Brussels, I had the opportunity for a revisit, this time as a father (you can find what I wrote (in Turkish) about my first visit in my other blog).

This museum visit coincided with my 6-year-old’s first train experience, and together with my 12-year-old, we had a fantastic train journey from Antwerpen-Centraal to Brussels-Central.

I expected my older son to be interested in the history of musical instruments, particularly the keyboards because of his piano studies, but my 6-year-old turned out to be even more enthusiastic than his brother, especially after I described to him that he can look at the little plates with numbers, enter those digits into to the digital guide hanging on his neck and enjoy the fantastic sound recordings of those instruments via the earphones (“Dad, can we buy this digital guide, there’s so much music in it, I like it!” :)). I found the whole experience exhilarating: seeing my kids going from one instrument to the other, listening, reading, asking questions, and making comments.

A kid has to know his other Manneken Pis

If you’ve ever been to Brussels, Belgium, you probably came across one of its most iconic landmarks, known as “Manneken Pis” (Dutch for ‘Little Pissing Man’). But did you know about the other “Manneken Pis” statue located in the small town of Geraardsbergen?

I recently discovered this small town and its famous statue, and finally had the opportunity to visit with my then 5-year-old. Geraardsbergen is one of the oldest cities in Belgium. It came into  existence close to the settlement of Hunnegem and in 1068 was one of the  first communities in Western Europe to be granted city status.

A kid has to know his World War II history

A few months ago, we stayed at the small Belgian city of Houffalize for a few days. Apart from its great scenery, delicious food, and nice people, I will always remember this place within the context of World War II, because of the role it played during the brutal Battle of the Bulge, also known as the Ardennes Offensive, “the last major German offensive campaign on the Western Front during World War II. The battle lasted for five weeks from 16 December 1944 to 28 January 1945, towards the end of the war in Europe. It was launched through the densely forested Ardennes region between Belgium and Luxembourg. It overlapped with the Alsace Offensive, subsequently the Colmar Pocket, another series of battles launched by the Germans in support of the Ardennes thrust.”

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As my 5-year-old son enthusiastically went around an old Panther tank (ordnance inventory designation: Sd.Kfz. 171), and later around some other war relics, I couldn’t help myself but to think about the kids that lived through the brutal and horrible winter more than 70 years ago. The ones that survived should be more than 80 years of age by now, and I wondered if any of them were still alive, if they remembered those days. Wherever we turned, we came across signs and memorials dedicated to the victims of war, that lead to silent echoes, contrasting with the beautiful and lovely scenery of the town, as well as green hills surrounding it.

To this day, I pray for my and other children not to endure the cruelty of war, knowing very well that this action doesn’t amount to anything for the innocent ones that continue to live through the horrors of war. My children had been very lucky so far, and many others not so much at all, having paid and still paying the price of the actions conducted by people they had no control over.