Aug 18
Get to know Belgium
2004 at 01.26 am posted by Veerle Pieters
It’s unbelievable how much has changed on my blog since it all started in September 2003. The biggest boast came with my CSS tutorial which you find in the tutorial section. So I want to take this opportunity to thank and raise a glass of Belgian beer on Douglas from Stopdesign and Jeffery from The Daily report for linking to my CSS tutorials and of course all others for linking to this site too. Too bad that I don’t have access to Star Trek technology otherwise I would certainly beam a glass across ;-)
Since a lot of new readers have arrived, now is a good moment to show you little bit more of the country that I live in. I didn’t take these photos myself, it’s Belgium through the eyes of John Woodruff from the US. He did a marvelous job since the pictures give you a wonderful sense of the place, from its looming gothic cathedrals to its gorgeous rolling countryside. The pictures where taken on June 2003 and you get a very good idea about my country. You’ll see the typical old centers of a few of our nice cities such as Brussels, Ghent, Bruges and Namur.
One thing you need to know about Belgium is that we have lots of different sorts of delicious beers (a few hundred). The picture was taken from one of the nicest places in Brussels, the “Grand Place”, where it is perfect to have a drink because of the surrounding old buildings.
10served
1
Gotta love that Belgium beer - I have had that one quite a bit (yep you can get it in NZ!) and its grand indeed - like your website and that great tutorial you’ve got me hanging off the edge of my seat over!
2
Belgian beers are great, believe me, it’s said by a guy from Namur !
Beside beer and chocolates, another typical thing from Belgium are, ironically, “French” fries. And what Walloons call “mitraillette”, I don’t know how to say that in English, not even in Dutch…
3
Very nice pictures and very delicious beer!
But I have to disagree with you on the point of getting to know your country through these pictures. They’re merely a tourist’s view on a few of the most touristic places. It’s like saying you get to know the States by viewing pictures of the Statue of Liberty and the Golden Gate bridge.
Judging on the pictures, I would think Belgians are still living in the Middle Ages ;-)
4
@danny, it’s not getting to know in the sense of every detail of the way we live etc. it’s more a visual guide for those who haven’t got any clue where Belgium is on the map, let alone that they know how it looks. Some people even think Brussels is a country, so it’s only my way of showing some part of it.
But in general, this IS Belgium, all our major cities have monuments, even smaller ones. I’ve said it literally that it is Belgium through the eye of a U.S. visitor. Can’t blame us for having such a rich culture. Besides, I’m quite proud on still living in the Middle Ages :-)
5
@S.F. thanks for sharing this. Even I didn’t know this, the name Mitraillette is funny ;-) Have no idea what it could be in Dutch, not even sure it exists in Flanders.
BTW, for those who don’t know in Belgium we speak Dutch, French and some minority speaks German. The French part is called Wallon (more the South-Eastern part of the country starting from Brussels down to the Ardennes) and the Dutch part Flanders (North-Western part the coast etc.). And in Brussels it is a mix of both Dutch and French.
6
Thanks for the toast CHEERS!
I was in Brussels once and sure it brought some nice memories back!
7
I would like to share some pictures of Gent as a contribution to this article. I like this blog and I plan to redesign my web and use some Veerle’s ideas.
8
belgium kicks a****
veerle, thank you so much for sharing a wealth of information. you are a permanent tab on my safari browser. btw are you single?
9
@senobiah, I’m pleased to hear that ;-)
@Milan, nice pictures of Ghent, thanks for sharing. I live very nearby Ghent btw just 20 minutes driving. If I go ‘serious’ shopping I often go to Ghent or Bruges.
@hari rao, no I’m not single. Me and my husband are happily together for 11 years now.
10
I’m using new nickname (I’m registered member now) - previous was Milan.
@Veerle, I’m glad that you like them. I hope I will be able to take more pics next week during my Gent visit ;-)