| Page Views: 681 Last Visit to Belgium: June, 2005 | Kingdom of Belgium by rubbersoul75 - last update: Apr 24, 2006 |
The problem with Belgium is that it is actually Koninkrijk België (Dutch); Royaume de Belgique (French); and Königreich Belgien (German)...
call it diversity, but the fact that the country has 3 officially recognized languages, a country smaller than the state of Maryland, is most certainly a negative and confusing. Confusing when you are driving towards Lüttich, which becomes Liege on the signs, then it turns into Luik... all the same city. (I've experienced this particular example about 10 times driving in this area of Belgium) |
| Ghent, from the bridge Sint-Michielsbrug |
|  | : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : From wikipedia -
Two major languages are spoken in Belgium: Dutch–sometimes unofficially called Flemish–is mainly spoken in Flanders to the north, while French in Wallonia in the south. The capital, Brussels, is officially bilingual, while the majority of its residents speak French, and an officially-recognised German-speaking minority is present in the east of the country. This linguistic diversity often leads to political conflict, and is reflected in Belgium's complex system of government and political history. |
Reasons to Visit... I'm not overly impressed with Brussels, or some of the larger towns (like Liege, Mons, Namur, Charleroi, Verviers) which are surounded by a lot of ugly industry.
That being said, Belgium contains some truly great towns and history, including Brugge - one of the most amazing preserved medieval cities on the planet. Other stops I feel are worth a visit are, Tournai and Ghent with "The Adoration of the Mystic Lamb" by Van Eyck; one of the most important Medieval works of art. Never made it to Antwerp but would love to some day.
Of course if you're a fan of war History, there's Waterloo and a must for WWII historians is a visit to Bastogne. | | |
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| Pros: | "amazing variety of Beer, worlds best Chocalate?" |
 Comments for rubbersoul75 about Belgium | | | | |
Helga67 Tue Sep 26, 2006 12:25 UTC
You're so right about Belgium. Good writing. Do visit Antwerp some time. |
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