It’s an icon of summers spent at the seaside, a protected architectural monument and a testament to the Belgian coast’s long history as a tourist destination. It’s survived two world wars, destruction by fire and damage by wind and water. The Blankenberge pier is 120 years old this year and…
In the middle of Maaseik’s main square stands a large statue of two men wearing elegant medieval clothes. These are the brothers Van Eyck, Jan and Hubert, the fifteenth-century painters who are the city’s most honored sons. The two stand side by side, Hubert noticeably older than his more famous…
Once a year, the Royal Greenhouses in Laeken, just outside Brussels, are opened to the public. I’d been hearing about them for years but had never seen them–until now. I have to say, I was completely unprepared for the experience. I had seen pictures of the main pavilion, a fantastical…
I recently learned that there’s an abbey brewery just to the south of Hasselt. I was surprised that I’d never heard of it before, since it’s only three-quarters of an hour’s drive from here. But I’ve found that’s a peculiarity of life in Belgium: Here in Flanders, we hear relatively…