Belgium !

[svandamme]

In case it doesn't ring a bell , we're that small patch of land between Holland and France... historically, folks be coming down to our patch of land mostly for fighting.

(Caesar, Charlemagne, ze French, The Dutch, The spanish, The English, Prusians, Napoleon, Germans, ... etc etc etc.)



Today, is 21st of July , it's our National Holiday.


Belgians, in typically never bothered much with NH's, we weren't really bothered much with national pride... Our army , we were like "pff, whatever." People don't generally raise a Belgian flag for any occasion.. Media seems more focussed on dissing the Army and dissing our "king" then any thing else.

We were to busy drinking our awesome beer. Our soccer team hadn't won anything recently..National pride was virtually non existing.


Meanwhile our politicians buggered up things, over complicated stuff, spent more time chopping up things then uniting or getting stuff done.
We had elections more then a year ago, and we still haven't gotten a guvmint because of silly things like "what language should we speak in what part of the country".. They buggered up things so much that they can't even figure out a way to form a government, on the basis of virtual problems that do not affect people's lives, yet they somehow convinced enough people that these problems are in fact "real"

Anyway , i shall not bore you with these things in to much detail.

Myself, i was out of country for about 6 years... It taught me to appreciate what i had left behind... Belgium ain't all that bad..

And i spent much time on this forum during those 6 years...
That taught me that it's OK to be proud of your home country.

For that, i bid you my thanks.

Some say Belgium does not exist, others say it's a surrealistic place...
I say it rocks.
We got beer, fast drivers (Ickx), good music (Toots), great food (everywhere), the greatest gundesigner figured it was a good place to be (JMB), we work hard, and we play hard...

Now for some blatant propanda:


Belgian National Holiday, let's get this party started with the Best Song ever made about our little country... Made by our northern neighbours no less.




6 Year in Holland, and that song was played EVERY time i crossed the border going back home !!











Oh, and i got a flag on my house right now... So a-typical for us Belgians!
Y'all did that to me, thanks again .

[pwd72s]

Good pool balls are made there...so were my Browning pistols.

BTW, you'd be welcome to use the USA Constitution...since many of our politicians choose to ignore it.

[krichard]

I just got back from vacationing in Europe and Belgium was one of the highlights! We spent two days in Brugge then headed down to Poperinge for two days to visit the Westvleteren Trappist brewery. Probably the best beer I have ever had in my life.

We are already planning our next vacation to Belgium where we will make our way to all 6 Trappist breweries as well as some others that are on our favorites list.

[look 171]

You do have The Ronde van Vlaanderen and those tough farm boys that make the rest of them pay on the pave.

[azasadny]

Congratulations! Enjoy your day!!!

[Grady Clay]

Stijn,

Sounds like my USA promo.
Good for you.

Keep in mind my invitation for you to tour the USA & Canadian Rockies.
Buy a nice 911 here, tour and take it home. I’ll help.

I’m working on a ’13 trip for Peter & family.

EDIT
Oh, yes,
I just returned from almost two weeks in the Grand Tetons N.P., including rafting the Snake R.
Also Yellowstone N.P. with 5-star accommodations at the Old Faithful Inn and camping in some of the most beautiful N.P. and National Forrest sites (some $7.50/night).

No literate person should live without experiencing this grandeur.
I have a picture of me at the North Entrance arch in 1949.

Best,
Grady

[Grady Clay]

Just a simple view out of my tent, early in the morning:



Falls Campground | Wyoming | Public Lands Information Center | Recreation Search

Everyone shoule experience this beauty.

Here is Nathan (7) at The Falls:



The campground was <20% occupied and absolutely quiet.


Best,
Grady

[pete3799]

Happy National Holiday
French fries and mayonnaise? That's just wrong

[willtel]

I've been to Belgium once. It was very nice, we stayed in Brugge for a few days. I was very impressed with the Flemish meal I had.


Brugge from Canal by willtel, on Flickr

[jtfreels]

Happy holiday
Belgium, one of my favorite countries, and definitely my favorite beer country. Fries with the right mayo are just fine.

Jay

[JR Indy]

I lived in Luxembourg for three years, Belgium was always one of my favorite countries to visit. Great people, great food, great beer.

[craigster59]

Beer, chocolate and guns. It's just the tip of the Belgian iceberg....Huh, huh, good tourism slogan? Whaddya think? Happy Belgian Day! Post that video of that guy drinking all the Duvel's, just for old times sake!!!!

[Normy]

Happy July 21st!

-Belgium is really the undiscovered country. It is cheap, it is safe, the people are friendly, it is clean, airline tickets to Brussels are usually hundreds of dollars cheaper than Amsterdam or Paris, and to boot you have great public transportation = no need for a rental car.

And of course, the aforementioned chocolates and beer (!). Brussels itself is a culinary capitol- there are 2000 restaurants in this city of 1 million people, and nearly all of them are excellent.

[folks, you can gain some serious weight in that town!]

I lived in Belgium for about a year back in 1999-2000, and really enjoyed the place. The one thing to keep in mind if you go there is the weather- it is very similar to Portland, Oregon or Seattle. This weather is why I call Belgium an "indoor" country, and probably is the reason that indoor pastimes such as food/drink and comic strip art are so popular. Belgians also tend to be quiet, unassuming people who don't care for ostentation. They have a king [Albert], who could probably walk down a street in most US cities and be unrecognized. He parades through Brussels on July 21st down to the Royal Park, where he makes a speech and then goes inside. It is party just like July 4th in the US, the only difference is the color of the flag. Big party and everyone has a good time.

Cool place. Anyone who is considering their first trip to Europe really ought to pick this city. There is plenty to see, nearly everyone speaks passable English, and if you want to see other cities on the continent trains are readily available.

N!

[Cloggie]

...ahhh yes....that rebellious province currently called Belgium....soon to rejoin the Netherlands as it should....

Just kidding of course, congrats and enjoy

D.

Rijswijk, ZH

[mikesride]

best beer in the world ( plus your "heart" flag makes me smile! )

[Dottore]

IMO Herge and his Tin Tin books are one of Belgium's great contributions to western civilization. (great video BTW)

[Geronimo '74]

Stijn,

EXCELLENT POST!

Well said and very true!

I saw parts of the King's speech and was pleasantly surprised that even he is getting bored with the political situation we are in. He practically told the politicians to stop acting like pussies, man up and get things moving!
I couldn't believe that he afterwards got some criticism for "participating in Belgian politics" (which he is not allowed to do)
And all he said was what an entire country is thinking....

Anyway, thanks again for making me feel some belgian pride on our national holiday. Because frankly, it has been a while...

Long live our small country!

(other countries, please send some extra hot chicks to engage in festivities... )

[LeRoux Strydom]

I think Belgium has taught the world a very important lesson:

You don't really need a government to function as a country and a society!

(At least, not a big and intrusive bunch of nannies....)

Stijn & Geronimo:

Genieten van je nationale dag, en bedankt voor het bier !!

[Normy]

Originally Posted by Dottore

IMO Herge and his Tin Tin books are one of Belgium's great contributions to western civilization. (great video BTW)

Bande desine. They have a museum there in Brussels for the comic strip art. Don't forget the Strumpfs- known in the US as the Smurfs!

La la la la la la N!

[Geronimo '74]

Actually we do have a government of current affairs that handles ongoing things but it will not adress new issues.
It is the forming of the new government that has been taking more than a year now. (and we're no closer to one that a year ago...)
I don't know how long we can keep this up.
I believe some kind of leadership is needed but I also think we have proven that one small country with multiple governing bodies with equal powers does not work. It leads to an endless proces of compromising when instead there should be one person at the helm making the final decision at one point. Trying to please everybody all the time is impossible. We need to learn that the most we can do is trying to please most of the people, most of the time.