Belgium | België | Belgique by vinterriket

[vinterriket]

For many people, Belgium is just an overpopulated, polluted and boring place between Germany and France where the EU is headquartered. If you think that way too, I hope this thread will prove you wrong

This trip-report covers 3 months-worth of trips throughout Belgium, a place I knew little about before going there, but which I find today surprisingly familiar.

I will try my best to do a selection of pictures to keep the number at a "normal" level

The summary looks like this:

1. Flight to Brussels
2. Mechelen
3. Brugge | Bruges
4. Kortrijk
5. Leuven
6. Brussels
7. Tournai
8. De Kust | Oostende & De Haan
9. Namur
10. Liège
11. Antwerp
12. Ghent
13. Luxembourg City
14. Dinant
15. Ieper | Ypres

[Cosmin]

Oh boy, oh boy! Let me inform Mr. Farage about your little thread!

[vinterriket]

Originally Posted by Cosmin

Oh boy, oh boy! Let me inform Mr. Farage about your little thread!

Bring it on
As for the "little thread", it's going to get epic soon

==============

So, a few pictures from the flight from Bucharest to Brussels. I flew with one of Tarom's B737-700 at the end of February. The mountains look good in winter

Bucegi and Leota Mountains


Frozen engine


Piatra Craiului


Fagaras Mountains

[cinxxx]

Keep them coming, post all of them!

[vinterriket]

2. Mechelen


Mechelen is a Flemish city of about 80.000 people located in the province of Antwerp, between Brussels and Antwerp. It's often overlooked by tourists, which means the town is less crowded and less filled with kitschy souvenir shops

Pedestrian walkway on a canal.

[vinterriket]

The great square (Grote Markt)


Aldermen's House. Built in 1288




The city hall

[vinterriket]

[vinterriket]

St. Rumbold's Cathedral. Built in the 13th century

[vinterriket]

The tower of St. Rumbold's Cathedral, on the UNESCO World Heritage list




Church of Saints Peter and Paul

[vinterriket]

The train station

[Cadîr]

Oh boy oh boy...Gingerbread-like houses
By the way, the Romanian National Railway Company also has a similar 'brand':

I could only find this, but there is also one available near Gara de Nord. Here, you must carefully look at the bottom of the badge:


http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images...500500oi1.jpg/

[vinterriket]

Originally Posted by Cadîr

By the way, the Romanian National Railway Company also has a similar 'brand':

I know the old logo of CFR, too bad they changed it. As for the Belgian one, the bas-relief on that wall is quite old, and I guess the symbol of a wheel with wings was historically related to railroads and trains. Anyway, the current logo of the Belgian railway company (SNCB|NMBS) is this:

[AndreiB]

A lot of railroad companies had flying wheel related logos. CFR's old logo is vastly superior to its current one. I think any rebranding attempt of CFR should restore the old logo.

[vinterriket]

3. Brugge | Bruges


Bruges (as it's known in English and French) or Brugge (the Dutch name) is one of the most known and visited cities of Belgium. It lies in historic Flanders (not to be confused with today's federal region of Flanders) and is the capital of the province of West Flanders (West-Vlaanderen).

Its historic centre is a UNESCO World Heritage site, and the city's main attraction. It is, indeed, a beautiful place, full of great architecture, but it has a downside as well, a least in my opinion: everything in the centre appears to exist for one purpose alone: tourism. And it does attract very big crowds of tourists, but to me, it makes it look a bit too commercial. It's a nice place to see, but not a place where I would like to spend much time.

I don't know, I guess it's (famous) charm simply didn't work for me And compared to neighbouring Ghent, I think Bruges is a bit overrated.

[vinterriket]

[vinterriket]

The city hall

[alexandru.mircea]

Mmm, I love Belgium. Judging by those wonderful pics of Mechelen, you simply can't go wrong with any city in it.

I've been to Bruxelles and Bruges and loved them both (though they are very different). I know what you mean about Bruges, when something is so perfect, combined with the great affluence of tourists, it has something uncanny. But that doesn't bother me, and it was mindblowing. Also, just outside the major squares and streets, the old houses are actually inhabited by regular people, which I loved to spy on. As you know, Belgians have large windows that they don't cover with drapery, even at ground level rooms. So I could stroll along the houses and see inside the houses, where people were reading the newspaper, waching TV, and they were looking back at me and even smiling sometimes. A great memory.

[vinterriket]

Originally Posted by alexandru.mircea

As you know, Belgians have large windows that they don't cover with drapery, even at ground level rooms. So I could stroll along the houses and see inside the houses

Indeed I was a bit surprised at first, but then I kept looking inside with interest and most of them had really beautiful homes

[vinterriket]

More pics from Brugge

[vinterriket]

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