Belgium, Summer 2012

Returning from a recent trip to Belgium, I wondered why it is not a big time tourist destination, when for me it is so much fun. I’ve only been there twice, but both times were amazing! The first time was a side trip from Amsterdam and the second trip was to visit Brussels and Gent. This time we took the no frills, low cost Ryanair from Carcassonne to Charleroi, then bus to train, to short walk to hotel in the center of Brussels. Next, all we needed to do was follow the tourist maps to all of the “popped up” points of interest. A short train ride put us in Gent for a lovely day of wandering around in the castle and old city. On a prior trip, we stayed in the walled city of Brugge for a few days. Belgium is fantastic; we will return again when family and friends come to visit.

Belgium has a long involved history dating back before the Romans. They called it Gallia Belgica, which was a part of Northern Gaul. The territory of modern Belgium was fought over and divided many times between all the superpowers of the ages: France, the Holy Roman Empire, Spain, the Habsburgs and so on. Finally, in 1830, the Belgian Revolution takes place establishing the country as a Constitutional Monarchy. The Belgian Congress recruited several men to be King and King Leopold the First accepts the position. Leopold was a rather interesting fellow from the House of Saxe-Coburg Gotha in Germany. He was appointed a military colonel as a child and apparently was very successful. He refused an offer from Napoleon I to fight for him, rather, sides against him and joins the Russian Imperial Army as a general. Later, Leopold marries the Princess of Wales and as a result becomes second in line for the British Throne. His wife dies, but he retains his noble British rank. Leopold has an offer to become King of Greece, which he turns down, and receives the offer for King of Belgium which he accepts. He is a forward thinking leader with a goal of international rail travel through his country to all other European countries. Today Belgium is one of the best connected countries in the world.

Belgium was occupied by Germany in both WW I and WW II. In the later part of the 20th century, Belgium positions itself to become the seat of the European Union. Throughout all of this, internal struggles remain between the major factions in the country. The North is made up of Flemish speaking people and the South is French speaking Walloons. There is also a small German community to the east. This results in 3 official languages and a very complex governmental structure. Frequently, disagreements leads to talk of separation into independent countries related to the nationalities.

Belgium has everything going for it as far as I am concerned. Nice, helpful people who will take a minute to figure out what you are trying to say in your mixed up French/ Spanish/ English and a German “Prost” thrown in for good measure. My bet is that they are used to it from the multiple national languages and visitors from all over Europe and the rest of the world. Bikes and bike rentals are plentiful, as this is a major method of transportation, especially to the train station for a longer commute. Bike paths complete with road signs and driving circles outside of Brugge can take you all the way to the Atlantic coast.

So what’s stopping you from putting Belgium on your must see list? You’ll find the world’s best beer, great food: fantastic chocolates, waffles all day and night, mussels and frites, art museums, night life, parks, castles, palaces and all the public transit you need. Did I mention the beautiful buildings? Many conveniently located on the same squares so you can just point and shoot to take a postcard worthy picture. The next several posts will be all from Belgium: one for Brussels, one for Gent and a guest blog from my husband on the beer in Belgium. Later in the fall, I’ll be visiting again and you’ll have an update on Brugge.