Posts Tagged ‘Belgium’
Swans and medieval atmosphere in Bruges, Belgium
I’ve already written about the great spring day my younger son and I had last year biking around picturesque Bruges. But I also wanted to spotlight this stunning town, whether you plan on exploring on two wheels or two feet. If you’re taking public transport, Bruges is an easy train ride from Brussels. We came…
Read MoreOn the menu in Brussels
I’ve already posted a fair bit about a four-day get-away my younger son and I made to Brussels, Belgium. He chose the city for our get-away (his first time there) and we saw a lot, but he continues to rave about Brussels and say he’d like to go back. Although we had a lot of…
Read MoreManneken Pis: Symbol of Brussels
I’ve already expressed my doubts about the symbols of Brussels. I enjoy Belgium’s capital. I love its elegant art deco galleries, and its stunning, gold-plaited Grand’ Place, so it does seem odd to me that the symbols of the city are a giant model of an atom and a fountain dedicated to a urinating boy. That…
Read MoreVisiting Brussels’ Atomium
Paris has the Eiffel Tower, Rome the Colosseum. In London it’s Big Ben, and outside of Beijing it’s the Great Wall. Brussels has – er, well – either (take your pick) a tiny statue of a urinating boy or a large model of an atom built 165 billion times its natural size. While I have…
Read MoreA birds’ eye view of Gent, Belgium
I’ve already written about the visit with my youngest son to visit the charming, medieval town of Ghent, in Belgium. It was my first time in that picture-perfect town, which was rendered even more beautiful by the warm spring sunshine. My son and I did what we always do when we visit a new town…
Read MoreBasking in the spring sunshine in Gent/Gand, Belgium
On a recent trip to Brussels with my younger son, we took advantage of the spectacular spring weather to make a day trip to a Flemish city I’d never visited – Gent in Flemish, Gand in French. It’s only a short train trip from Brussels’ Central Station. Of course, the advantage of tiny Belgium is…
Read MoreBruges by bike
My younger son and I enjoyed a long weekend in Brussels earlier this month, and while there we had a great time visiting the medieval city of Bruges. A Belgian colleague had told me about a bike trail leading from Gent/Gand to Bruges – a 45-kilometer bike towpath trail along a canal. With the benefit…
Read MoreA solitary, early morning walk on Brussels’ Grand’ Place
I was recently in Brussels for a conference. I haven’t been to Brussels for years, and was curious to return to its central Grand’ Place to see its whimsical architecture, but my work schedule and flights made that difficult. So I woke up early one morning, took a walk, and made the startling discovery-well, perhaps…
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