Six weeks non-stop travelling through countries I had
never been and learned the most enriching stuff of my whole life are behind my
back now. Im finally arriving into my own country where I was born. Whats
better to discover spots in nature where I have never been?
Given that I came southwards, my first stop is in the
Ardennes. This territory is sometimes called the green lung of Belgium and is
situated in Wallonia.
My first stop takes place in Bouillon[1],
a wonderful little city, dominated by Godfried
van Bouillonin the Middle Ages. Im
taking a walk to the Tombeau du Géant,
a wonderful phenomenon of Mother Nature which came into existence by year-long
sedimentation of the land.
The place where Im going next, is situated in the High Fensof Belgium, particularly the Naturpark Hohes Venn-Eifel. How a piece
of unspoiled surface can silence me mouse-still. For me this is just the
perfect place for the Belgians to come together. One can find Flemish, French
and German all together in perfect harmony, guided by pure nature. This is the
moment for hiring a bike and enjoying a mix of fields, forests, flowers, tiny
rivers etc.
Sadly enough, to every fairy tale comes an end and Im
awakening from my silly day-dreaming. Im heading to the other part of Belgium
that has also got to offer wonderful nature: Flanders wide and open fields. Where the poppies grow[2],
wrote John McCrae in 1915. Unfortunately, Im not at the coast but the reverse
side of the country, the region of Voeren[3].
If youre strongly interested in biking between picturesque villages, you have
to go there once in a lifetime. Not convinced yet? Well, the eternal sympathy
of the people of Limburg will persuade you.
To finish my green week, Im going to the Flemish
Ardennes where yearly the Tour of Flanders is held. In order to test my biking
skills, which I definitely improved over the last days I presume, Im riding
the route of Flanders most beautiful.
The last
country of our journey is Belgium. That's why I would like to mention some facts
to get to know Belgium a little bit better.
History
Belgium has
been called "an accident of history". It is made of leftovers of
other European countries like, e.g. Spain, France, Italy and Austria.
It was the Belgians who founded New York City.
General
In Belgium you can find the longest tramway
line in the world, namely the coast tram. This tram operates between De Panne
and Knokke-Heist, in other words it operates from the French border to the
Dutch border.
Our very own Circuit of Spa-Francorchamps is
the longest and the second oldest Formula 1 Grand Prix circuit which is still
in use.
Even as a little snow here in Belgium and
neighboring countries, we cant handle. The winter 2011-2012 we were able to
see the result of 5cm snow
Food and drinks
Typical for
Belgium are its beers: Belgium has the greatest diversity of beers (over 800),
many of them flavored with herbs, spices and fruits. And because we are famous
for our beer, the average of the beer consume is stated on 150 liters of beer
per person a year!
There are 3
sorts of Belgian waffles, namely Liege waffles, Brussels waffles and galettes.
Belgium is
also very well known for their chocolate. Therefore I want to mention some
great companies, all from Belgian origin. I am sure you are going to know the
following chocolate makers: Côte dOr, Guylian, Leonidas. And even better: the
Brussels International Airport is the Worlds biggest chocolate selling point.
Brussels
sprouts really do come from Belgium and have grown in the Brussels area for
over 400 years.
Finally
Ihopethat these factshave
helped you to get to knowBelgium alittlebetter. I ampleased that ourtripis over.We haveseenmany countriesand have learned many things of them. After thislongtripI'mglad to be homeagainandcanenjoy
everythingI already know.
The name of
Belgium goes back to the Belgae, a Celtic tribe whom Caesar described as the
most courageous tribe in all of Gaul. Its present surface occupies a part of
the Roman province of Belgica. The tribe was overwhelmed by Caesars forces
around 50 BC. It stayed a Roman province for about 300 years.
After this period, it was overwhelmed by the
Franks in the 5th century. Then
it was part of Charlemagnes empire in the 8th century. In the
Middle Ages, life centred around the towns where independent trading and
manufacturing were the main way of making a living.
Then followed
a period of centuries of war to end into the possession of the country by
Charles V around 1500. The arrival of Protestantism polarized the country into
2 hostile camps. The split was both geographical and political and resulted
into the northern provinces to become
the actual Netherlands. The Catholic south was more or less equivalent to
modern Belgium.
After 2 centuries of Spanish rule, the Austrian Hapsburgs controlled the
country from 1713. Napoleon annexed it to France in 1794 and in 1815, after his
defeat , Belgium was annexed to the Netherlands again. The people of Belgium
revolted and became independent in 1830.
Leopold I
was installed as the first king of Belgium. His successor, Leopold II,
colonized Congo in Africa and made it his personal possession.In European matters, Belgium always tried to
stay aside and succeeded in that until 1914 when Belgium was occupied by the
Germans under king Albert I.
Between the
2 world wars, there was a blooming of Flemish culture in northern Belgium and
an ethnic rivalry between the northern Dutch-speaking and southern
French-speaking emerged.
Belgium was
occupied in 1940 by the Germans again.It succeeded to win the war together with the Allies. The government
however, under Leopold III, who ruled in exile from the UK, was forced to
abdicate in 1951 in favour of his son Baudouin. This king granted independence
to Congo, and ruled until he died in 1993. He was followed by his brother
Albert II, who is still ruling.
