Belgian employees now spend an average of 57 minutes a day travelling to and from work, according to new figures from HR services provider SD Worx. That puts Belgium firmly at the top of the European commuting league, ahead of all neighbouring countries. The heaviest commuters spend more than ninety minutes a day on the…
Month: October 2025
SICILY | Palermo
March 2025. We’re embarking on a train trip to Sicily. We fly from Brussels Airport to Leonardo da Vinci Rome Fiumicino Airport with ITA Airways. Then we take an Intercity Notte sleeper train by Trenitalia from Roma Termini Railway Station across Italy to Syracuse. Yes, the train is loaded on a ferry to cross the…
TRAIN TRAVEL | European Union records 429 billion passenger-kilometres in 2023 but domestic travel still dominates
Rail travel in Europe soared to new heights in 2023, marking the highest levels of passenger transport in years. According to Eurostat, total rail passenger transport across the European Union reached an impressive 429 billion passenger-kilometres.
SOUTH KOREA | Flying Jin Air from Jeju City to Seoul Gimpo
Autumn 2024. Ten years after my first trip to Seoul in 2014, I am returning to the Republic of Korea, better known as South Korea. Not solo this time, but with Oriol, who has never been to Korea. On the itinerary: flying with Qatar Airways to Incheon via Doha, the capital Seoul, the historic city…
ANTWERP | World War II deportation list transferred to City Archives
In August 2025, the Antwerp Police Department have handed over a list of people deported during World War II to the FelixArchief, the city archives of Antwerp. The document, originating from one of the darkest chapters in the police’s history, will now become part of the extensive police archive already preserved at the FelixArchief.
BELGIUM | Meise Botanic Garden
During the Ascension weekend in May 2025, Jeroen and I visited the Meise Botanic Garden. World famous in Belgium, but I had never been.
ANTWERP | Flemish government cancels €130 million new museum building for M HKA in Antwerp
The Flemish Government decided on Friday 3 October 2025 to cancel the construction of the new building for the Museum of Contemporary Art of Antwerp (Museum voor Hedendaagse Kunst Antwerpen, M HKA). The announcement was made by Flemish Minister of Culture Caroline Gennez (Vooruit).
The Tri-Country Train a role model for the Basque Country?
In March 2025, Basque Minister of Sustainable Mobility Susana García Chueca (PSE Euskadi) recently embarked on a two-day trip to Germany, the Netherlands, and Belgium as part of a European cooperation project focused on cross-border rail connectivity. The Minister and others were hosted by the Aachener Verkehrsverbund (AVV) or Aachen Transport Association.
Osaka wins, Brussels is 42nd: 2025 Yanolja Attractiveness Index for tourism
In 2025, Osaka in Japan has claimed the top spot in the Yanolja Attractiveness Index, overtaking Kyoto, also in Japan, (#3) and surpassing long-established tourism powerhouses such as Paris in France (#2), New York in the United States (#4), and Seoul in South Korea (#5).
PALERMO | Palazzo Butera in the Kalsa neighbourhood
March 2025. We’re embarking on a train trip to Sicily. We fly from Brussels Airport to Leonardo da Vinci Rome Fiumicino Airport with ITA Airways. Then we take an Intercity Notte sleeper train by Trenitalia from Roma Termini Railway Station across Italy to Syracuse. Yes, the train is loaded on a ferry to cross the…