On Open Monuments Day on 8 September 2024 the former Museum Ridder Smidt van Gelder on the Belgiëlei or Belgium Avenue in Antwerp exceptionally opened its doors. This townhouse, hôtel particulier or stadspaleis is also known as Hotel Thijs.
Tag: Denmark
What is Schengen?
We haven’t travelled to the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg since 2018 and 2019, but in January 2025 we returned to get a taste of the Alstom Coradia Stream HC which the Société Nationale des Chemins de Fer Luxembourgeois (CFL) runs under the name Série 2400. The Coradia Stream HC was a candidate to become NMBS…
SPARTACUS GAY TRAVEL INDEX 2025 | USA and Eastern Europe under observation
Iceland joins the world’s most LGBTQIA+ friendly travel destinations for the first time, according to the Spartacus Gay Travel Index 2025. The gay travel guide keeps a close watch on Eastern Europe and the United States of America. Belgium ranks now 12th.
Dutch budget train GoVolta postponed after not getting funds
Dutch start-up train operator GoVolta will not be able to start train services this year after Rabobank decided against granting the new rail company a loan. The train paths (‘slots’ on the rails) allocated for GoVolta’s budget trains to Berlin in Germany, Copenhagen in Denmark and Basel in Switzerland have now been returned.
Switzerland, Czechia and Belgium top railway network density in Europe
In 2023, the European Union railway network had 200,947 km of railway lines, with the highest densities being found in and around main cities and other population hubs, a Eurostat blogpost reveals.
Çavaria: Federal Government Agreement takes steps for LGBTI+ rights but not for everyone
The new Federal Government Agreement in Belgium pays a lot of attention to LGBTQIA+ people and their well-being, but does not include everyone. Flemish umbrella organisation Çavaria is ready as a partner to strengthen the policy in all departments and to address the gaps in the coalition agreement.
European Sleeper now rides from Brussels to Venice via the Netherlands, Germany and Austria
In the night from Wednesday 5 February to Thursday 6 February 2025, the Belgo-Dutch night train company European Sleeper operates its first service from Belgium to Italy for the 2025 ski season.
UN WORLD TOURISM BAROMETER | International tourism recovers pre-pandemic levels in 2024
With 1.4 billion international tourist arrivals recorded globally, 2024 marked the recovery of international tourism from the worst crisis in the sector’s history. A majority of destinations welcomed more international tourists in 2024 than they did before the COVID-19 pandemic, while visitor spending also continued to grow strongly. For 2025, more growth is predicted.
2025: Overtourism overdose?
On 1 January 2024 we wrote about how rising prices affect travel. Not only the price of flights, but also the price of activities. Pricing was a topic the year before, 2023. In 2024, conventional and social media dug into the issue of overtourism. Articles about locals protesting, Instagrammers posting about big crowds in Japan…
GRINDR UNWRAPPED 2024 | Belgium and the Netherlands still love twinks
December is the time of the year for lists and recaps and gay dating hookup app Grindr did just that. It tells us some semi interesting facts about typical or not queer destinations we (don’t) go to. Why am I looking at ‘Grindr Unwrapped 2024‘ for Trip By Trip? While Danny is not a user,…