1 May
I’ve posted earlier on the wonderful Floralia Brussels exhibition, the spring flower show held on the grounds and in the greenhouses of the Castle of Groot-Bijgaarden (this year’s event is now closed). Regular ‘Discovering Belgium’ reader Wendy Deyell went to the exhibition, and has shared some of her beautiful photos. Enjoy!
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23 Apr
The Zwin nature reserve near Knokke-Heist is one of Flanders’ natural treasures. There are two ways to describe it. One is that it’s a 159-hectare lagoon which sea water enters on each tide. It comprises dunes, salt marshes, salt pans and two large inlet channels with adjacent tidal flat and creek systems. The whole region extends 2.3 km along the North Sea coastline on the Belgian-Dutch border.
And the alternative? The Zwin is one of those glorious, mystical areas where sky, land and sea merge to create a wonderful wilderness. It’s where the eerie call of the curlew will make the hairs on the back of your neck stand up. It’s where you can lie on your back in the sand and watch the clouds scudding overhead, taking your anxieties with them. And it’s a place full of contrasts. Sit on the seaward side of a dune and the wind will cut through your coat and chill you to the bone; move to the sheltered side and the sun will turn your face red in minutes.
However you describe the Zwin, the good news for lovers of wilderness and nature is that a new cross-border hiking network has been opened in the area. It consists of more than 50 kilometres of hiking trails both in West Flanders and Zeeland.
At the centre of the network is the Zwin nature reserve, but in West Flanders the footpaths also run through the surrounding dunes and polders, along the coastline and even through the streets of Knokke-Heist. On the Dutch side the paths pass through the charming municipalities of Cadzand and Retranchement, and connect with Zeeland’s own network of footpaths.
This means that one of my favourite coastal paths, from Breskens to Cadzand-Bad, has suddenly been extended. Now I am able to keep going by crossing the Uitwateringskanaal and walking along the edges of the Zwin nature reserve itself. I can even go further and walk into Knokke-Heist to do some shopping if feeling decadent enough. However, as the total distance from Breskens to Knokke-Heist is over 25 kilometres, I think I will get the bus back to Breskens.
Feet, wheels or hooves?
The Zwin nature reserve and surrounding polders are largely undeveloped, so the footpaths provide spectacular views of the sea, the vastness of the estuarine marshes, and the dunes. But don’t forget this is a network. It’s not just a string of paths laid out randomly. This is an expertly devised criss-cross of well-developed and excellently signposted and maintained paths. Thanks to a useful and informative water-resistant map (6 EUR from local tourist offices) you can devise your own walk, making it as short or as long as your time or energy allow. You simply go from one numbered junction to the next. Each junction is clearly marked and points you in the direction of the next one.
The network isn’t just for walkers, but for cyclists and horse-riders too. Some of the paths are like a three-lane rural motorway, with dedicated lanes for feet, bikes and horses. Just make sure you stay in the right lane.
P.S. This article refers to the Zwin Nature Reserve, which I clearly rate highly. It does not refer to the Zwin Nature Centre, which I consider an awful place. For an insight into my views on the Zwin Nature Centre, read this. Anyone got any views on the Zwin (nature reserve or nature centre)? Drop me a comment.
9 Apr
I’ve visited and reported on many different museums on this blog, from cheese to tobacco; lace to glass; the Romans to draft horses. But I have to admit that few of them have been such fun to visit as the Goalmine football museum in Genk.
Of course, to get the most out of a football museum it helps to be interested in football in the first place. But I am sure that people with only a passing interest in the beautiful game could spend an hour in Goalmine and come out smiling.
1 Mar
Gerardus Mercator was a geographer, cartographer, scientific instrument maker and mathematician. Born on 5 March 1512, his mapping technique, the Mercator projection, changed the way people looked at the world. The quality of his maps was the envy of generations of mapmakers. His legacy, his projection of the world globe onto a map, is still used today for navigation purposes, on sea, in the air and for GPS car, cycling and walking navigation applications. To commemorate the 500th anniversary of Mercator’s birth, SteM, the urban museum of Sint-Niklaas, is organising an eye-catching exhibition, a series of lectures, and an international cartographic conference.
The centrepiece is the Mercator Digitaal exhibition, which opens on 4 March. The highlights are Mercator’s original earth globe from 1541, his celestial globe from 1551, and a series of his atlases. Seven kiosks bring a digital presentation of various aspects of Mercator’s life and work into a contemporary context. The 51 constellations of his celestial globe are illuminated one by one, and the secrets of the world famous Mercator projection are explained.
15 Feb
If you want to visit the key World War One battlefields around Ypres, you can always do it yourself, but enlisting the help of one of the many specialist tour guides available is a good idea. Not only do they know the best places to visit and when to visit them, but they can also help bring this unforgettable time in world history back to vivid life with their knowledge and enthusiasm. Here’s a personal pick of some WW1 battlefield tour guides in Ypres.
8 Feb
Guest blogger Masha reports …
Known as the smallest town in the world, Durbuy is also one of the prettiest. Due to its picturesque location on the banks of the Ourthe River, in the Belgian province of Luxemburg, the town became a pleasant holiday resort. This small but at the same time enchanting place has a lot to offer to visitors. Ironically, the smallest town on earth has the largest topiary park with more than 30,000 square feet of impressive animal and human forms. For those of you who prefer taking pictures, there is an excellent spot at the top of the cliff with a magnificent view over the town and the River Ourthe.
13 Jan
Between 17 February and 17 March, Ieper Library is running a fascinating exhibition paying homage to American artist, printmaker and filmmaker Andy Warhol. The exhibition features the extensive collection of lifelong Andy Warhol fan Diederik Vandenbilcke and is timed to commemorate the 25th anniversary of Warhol’s death.
The exhibition aims to be truly unique and is composed of Diederik’s personal collection of Warhol memorabilia. Diederik, a resident of Ypres, has followed the work of Andy Warhol for many years. His collection consists of original exhibition catalogues, posters, impressive street banners, cool Warhol gadgets and many other assorted items of memorabilia, as well as several diverse and rare books covering Warhol’s life and art.
21 Dec
Before you consider going on a winter walk in the Ardennes, I feel obliged to give you three small pieces of advice. First, there is a high chance that you will become addicted, because the Ardennes is a wonderful region for walking. It’s easily accessible by car, train or bus; there are hundreds of well-marked walking routes of various lengths; the scenery is breathtaking; the nature is fascinating; and yet you are never too far from a café, hotel or village shop. In other words, once you have walked in the Ardennes, your free weekends may never be the same again.
26 Nov
Red kite (note the forked tail)
I love the name “Erps-Kwerps.” It’s just a great name for a village. I used to live in the Netherlands near a village called “Ohé en Laak”, which was also memorable. But nothing beats Erps-Kwerps for sheer absurdity. As you can probably imagine, Erps-Kwerps was formed through a unification of two villages, Erps and Kwerps, although each still has its own church, village center, bakers and cafés. And knowing Flanders, each probably has its own dialect too. And it wouldn’t surprise me to discover that people from Erps don’t talk to the folk from Kwerps!
3 Nov
Have you ever been by car to Tienen in the autumn? If so, you have probably got stuck behind a slow-moving tractor pulling a trailer loaded to the brim with large, white, carrot-like root vegetables. They are sugar beet. Next time it happens, you might like to dwell on a startling statistic. Six million tons of sugar beet are transported on the public roads around Tienen every year. Tienen – the Sugar City – is therefore the place to go to find out about sugar, and specifically, its Sugar Museum.
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