TRI-COUNTRY TRAIN | Taking a peek at Heerlen and Aachen

After years of being in the pipeline, the (in)famous Tri-Country Train started running in the summer of 2024. Operated by Arriva and with NMBS / SNCB personnel on the Belgian side of the route, the Drielandentrein, Dreiländerzug or Train des trois pays connects Liège in the eponymous province in Belgium to Maastricht in the province…

Brussels Pride 2025 on 17 May: ‘Unite, time to protect our rights’

Brussels Pride, the successor of the Belgian Pride, returns to the streets of Brussels on Saturday 17 May 2025. International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia and Transphobia. IDAHOT or IDAHOBIT. This year, the theme ‘Unite, time to protect our rights‘ will call for a society where everyone’s fundamental rights are respected daily. A powerful and unifying…

AUSTRIA | Tourism hotspot Tyrol

Frustrated by the Dinner Train debacle in May 2024, Sam, Danny and I looked for an alternative activity. As Sam is water baby, we and we don’t object to swimming pools, whirlpools and wellness facilities either, we booked three nights and two days in August 2024 at Aqua Dome – Tirol Therme Längenfeld. This ‘Signature…

Rhodes

July 2024. Steve and I are cruising on the Norwegian Getaway, a Breakaway class ship by Norwegian Cruise Line or NCL. Interestingly, our stay on board happened shortly after the Getaway paid a visit to the dry dock for some refurbishments. The route? Piraeus, which is the port of Athens in Greece; followed by Mykonos;…

Brussels Pride officially recognised as Intangible Cultural Heritage

Brussels Pride is now part of the Inventory of Intangible Cultural Heritage of the Brussels-Capital Region. This was announced in a press release by Ans Persoons (Vooruit), Secretary of State for Heritage of Brussels. Brussels now wants to submit the candidacy of pride as Intangible Cultural Heritage to UNESCO, together with other cities and countries.

UNITED KINGDOM | Exploring London with a first-timer

To celebrate his graduation as a therapist and before starting his new career, Oscar from Denver in Colorado decided to take a vacation and travel to London on his own. Oscar and I have known each other for two years, but we never actually met in person. Until in June 2024. His vacation presented an…

HAINAUT | Discovering Mons

In May 2024 Thanh and I visited the Rodin exhibition at the Beaux-Arts Mons museum of fine arts. Obviously being in Mons, we explored the capital of the province of Hainaut in Wallonia. 

GRANADA | The Alhambra and the Generalife

Six days. Five overnight stays in five cities in Spain. Lunch in Paris. Stopover in Barcelona. Then Córdoba, Seville, Granada and Málaga. An Andalusia Whirlwind Tour where we visit the Mezquita and the Alhambra. We’re touring Andalusia in October 2023 to follow the trend of travelling to hot spots outside summer, as we did with…

BELGIUM | Introduction to Charleroi

A month after our visit to Couvin, we returned to the province of Hainaut. While Danny and I have conducted trains to Charleroi-Central many, many times, we never really got out of the station to explore the 5th most populous city in Belgium.