5 things to love about Belgium
Belgium has so many possibilities for French teachers; it should be at the top of your travel list!
I leisurely ambled up the beautiful cobblestone walkway, enjoying the cool summer breeze. As I crossed a footpath over a picturesque canal, I paused to enjoy the family of ducks gliding serenely below. I thoughtfully munched my crisp, buttery waffle as I contemplated all things beautiful: architecture, literature, art… A tiny bell sounded behind me (ding! ding!) and I dove for cover as I narrowly avoided being plowed down by a racing bicyclist in a helmet, suit and tie!
True story! From dreamy storybook cityscapes, idyllic green spaces and canals, amazing street food, a leisurely lifestyle, and mild weather (I love the rain!) - Belgium has it all! This oft-overlooked travel destination combines the romance of the French language with northern-European practicality and an openness to international visitors due at least in part to its role as the headquarters of the European Union. After visiting for FREE with the Brussels-Lux study fellowship for teachers (more on that later) I’m convinced Belgium should be on everyone’s bucket list. And yes, the speeding bicycle is true too! If you hear that little bell, you’ve likely accidentally wandered into the bike lane. Jump back quick! Just think of it as ‘extreme city touring’! It’s just one of the reasons Belgium is at the top of my list of favorite French-speaking destinations!
5 Reasons to Love Belgium
Reason #5 to Love Belgium: Bicycle culture
Look out! There are bicycles everywhere in Belgium. Pedestrians must watch for a slight variation in the color or pattern of the sidewalk, which indicates a bicycle lane. If you hear a bike bell dinging, you may have strayed onto the bike path. Be prepared to jump out of the way!
The pavilion just outside the EU headquarters includes pedestrian walkways (the brick) and a bicycle path (the reddish pathway).
Similar paths are common throughout Brussels; in this case, the bike path is on the left and the pedestrian sidewalk on the right. Stay in your lane!
Belgium boasts what must be the world’s most impressive bicycle parking lots! Here’s the bike parking outside the Bruges train station. Amazing! (How do people find their parked bikes?)
Of course, Belgium’s flat terrain and cool weather make biking exceptionally practical.
Reason #4 to Love Belgium: The Chocolate
This didn’t come as a surprise; Belgian chocolate (with hazelnuts, please!) has been my favorite indulgence since I tasted it on my first trip to Europe as a teenager. A chocolate making workshop was one of the highlights of my trip; click here to register! And don’t miss my blog post about how I brought my learning back to my classroom by making chocolate with my French students. Spoiler: best lesson ever!
Reason #3 to Love Belgium : The EU headquarters
Every world language teacher should have a basic understanding of the European Union’s history, cultural, and political significance. Visit this blog post for 11 Facts You Should Know about the EU and click here for Free Resources for teaching about the EU. And if you’re a K-16 teacher, you should apply for the Brussels-Lux Study Tour to get a firsthand look inside the EU.
Reason #2 to Love Belgium: The WWI battlefields
I’m a big history buff, and couldn’t leave Belgium without visiting Ypres and the famous World War 1 battlefields. It was sad. A few things I’ll never forget:
Red lines delineate the locations of the boundaries between the two fronts during trench warfare. In some places, the front lines are extremely close.
I took this picture standing on the WW1 German Front Line. My friend is standing on the Allied Front Line - just yards apart!
Fallen soldiers were buried quickly as their bodies arrived. Their headstones share all known information, in some cases only a unit or nationality.
This photos shows four tombstones with four different types of identifiers.
The tombstone on the left is for “A Soldier of the Great War” and lists a specific artillery company.
The second-from-the-left simply says, “A Soldier of the Great War”.
The third tombstone denotes, “an Australian Soldier of the Great War”.
The stone on the right has the soldier’s name (Private G. T. Hemsley) along with his rank, nationality, unit, and date of death.
So many families never learned the fate of their loved ones.
This WWI monument is scarred with bullet holes made 25 years later during World War II. Fresh flowers have been placed in some of the bullet holes.
Like all battlefield tours, this one left me somber and grateful for those whose sacrifice enables me to live in relative safety and security.
Families were able to pay to add inscriptions to their loved ones’ gravestones. This family engraved, “Second Lieutenant Arthur Conway Young… Sacrificed to the fallacy that war can end war.”
Over 100 years later, the gravity of this sentiment maintains its impact.
Reason #2 to Love Belgium: The House of European History
On the history theme, this not-to-miss museum has an incredible permanent exhibit with artifacts including the pistol used to shoot Franz Ferdinand, sparking World War I
The Vortex of History sculpture rises 6 floors through the center of the museum. It is comprised of important quotes from throughout European History. Click on the image to learn more!
The temporary exhibitions are also world class, as is their website complete with virtual tours. See for yourself (in 24 languages) at historia-europa.ep.eu The museum has free instructional packs for teachers; be sure to request yours at the information desk before you leave.
Reason #1 to Love Belgium: The Atomium
On a lighter side, I loved my afternoon visit to the Atomium! This symbol of Brussels was built for the 1958 World's Fair and replicates the atomic structure of iron, magnified 165 billion times. The monument fell into disrepair until in the early 2000’s, Belgians realized (as my Belgian friend told me, “Paris a son Tour Eiffel…Nous avons un Atomium!” - Paris has their Eiffel Tower… we have an Atomium!) Renovations in 2005-06 included replacing the aluminum exterior with stainless steel and installing thousands of twinkling LED lights that make for an impressive nighttime view.
Inside the Atomium, the spherical exhibit spaces are connected by escalators and the fastest elevator in Europe, and include an exhibit on the making of the Atomium, light shows, traveling art exhibitions, and a panoramic restaurant and viewing platform. Is it touristy? Yes. Should you visit? Yes.
The trippy light show inside the Atomium
The Atomium was featured in the popular song, Bruxelles Je T’aime by Angèle.
Here’s the official website of the Atomium.
Visiting Belgium deepened my understanding of history and art, helped me better understand the EU, and gave me a lot of interesting ideas to bring back to my students. Oh, and I dusted off my bicycle (gotta work off all that chocolate!) Bruxelles, je t’aime!
Have you visited Belgium? What was your favorite part?
