Yesterday evening, 25 May, European Sleeper‘s first commercial run departed Berlin. The first train with passengers left Berlin Gesundbrunnen station and has arrived in Belgium in the morning, passing Amsterdam and Antwerp. The non-profit organisation Back on Track Belgium, the interest group of night train passengers, is pleased with that train.
Tag: Belgium
Will Belgium win the Eurovision Song Contest ever again?
In the aftermath of the 2023 Eurovision Song Contest in Liverpool I wrote an op-ed for Songfestival.be, a Flemish fan medium. This is a translation and slight adaptation, as the original was written fit for the Songfestival.be audience. Belgium won the ESC only once, in 1986 with Sandra Kim singing ‘J’aime la vie’.
NMBS / SNCB dons train in rainbow colours for pride
For International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia, Biphobia, and Intersexphobia (IDAHOBIT) and for Brussels Pride, NMBS / SNCB added rainbow colours to one of its Siemens Desiro Main Line EMUs. The #trainbow refers to Trainbow Belgium, the LGBTQIA+ network at the Belgian Railways, i.e. NMBS / SNCB, Infrabel and HR Rail.
Plans for a steam train heritage service between Brussels and Mechelen shelved
“If all goes well, Train World will operate steam train between Brussels and Mechelen (Malines), reports Gazet van Antwerpen. The service could start in 2020″, we wrote in 2019. Quod non. Minister for Mobility George Gilkinet (Ecolo) declared in Parliament it’s not happening because it’s too complicated.
LIMBURG | Bokrijk, an open-air museum of folk buildings heritage
On sunny October 2022 Tuesday, Jeroen and I visited Bokrijk, an open-air folk heritage museum near Genk in the province of Limburg. The Netherlands have the Nederlands Openluchtmuseum in Arnhem, Sweden has Skansen in Stockholm and Belgium has Bokrijk.
Museum At the Stream opens ‘City at war, Antwerp, 1940-1945’ exhibition on 8 September
On 8 September 2023, a new exhibition at the Museum Aan de Stroom (Museum At the Stream, MAS) about Antwerp during World War II opens at the MAS. Antwerp was particularly hard hit by the war. Nazi terror, persecution of Jews and military violence killed 25,000 city residents. Captivating personal stories make this important part…
REVIEW | Icelandair Brussels Airport (Zaventem) to Reykjavík (Keflavík International Airport) on Boeing 737 MAX 8 in Economy
Iceland in November and December? Really? I saw an Icelandair promotion on Instagram which I couldn’t resist. The catch? It had to be late November to the start of December 2022. But I could – easily – enthuse Oriol to come along for a road trip in the South and West of Iceland.
Air show for 100 years of Antwerp International Airport on 20 & 21 May 2023
Antwerp International Airport (ANR) in the Antwerp district of Deurne turns 100 on 25 May 2023. Te Stampe & Vertongen Museum organises an air show for the anniversary, on Saturday 20 and Sunday 21 May.
ANTWERP | Traveling exhibition #StolenMemory at Museum At the Stream (MAS)
Watches, jewellery, family photos, intimate trinkets: these are the (often last) belongings of concentration camp prisoners that were taken away by the German occupant during World War II when they were arrested. Arolsen Archives, the International Center on Nazi Persecution, still holds some 2,500 of those ‘personal securities’ and is seeking next of kin of…
Belgium’s Great Spa Town of Europe Spa
After visiting the Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps, Oriol and I decided to have dinner in the spa town of Spa. Yes, the word spa comes from Spa in Belgium, just as the duffle coat is named after the Belgian town of Duffel.
Trip By Trip 