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Walloon Brabant Province

Here you’ll find travel reports about Walloon Brabant Province. Discover travel destinations in Belgium of travelers writing a travel blog on FindPenguins.

11 travelers at this place:

  • Danielle and Co travelsNorthern Europe
    Day27

    Interesting signs & words we encountered

    July 21 in Belgium

    We decided to wait until tomorrow to head in to the centre of Brussels, as today is a public holiday and the centre would be packed. This means I have had some free time to catch up on my blog. Over our holiday we have seen some very humorous and silly signs, so I decided to include them in the next couple of entries. Some are train station stops, restaurants, stores, and some are just signs that made us laugh!Read more

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  • Danielle and Co travelsNorthern Europe
    Day20

    Hamburg and Buchholtz

    July 14 in Belgium

    We met Folke and his family - Meike, Fridtjof and Frederik - at the harbour at Baumwall, and headed out to check out some of the sights of Hamburg. We walked through the area around the harbour, got to see the participants in the Hamburg triathlon, and made our way to Elb Philharmonic, which has recently been completed. It has two concert halls and is a magnificent building. Meike told me that the acoustics are excellent - they were fortunate enough to attend a concert following its opening. We then wandered around the area, and again were able to watch the triathlon participants, first swimming and then some in the final running leg. We then found a lovely spot for lunch where we ate traditional food from the Rhine region, and it was excellent. We also saw many brightly dressed people who are participating on the Schlager Move event. This is a parade followed by many parties where they listen to 60s and 70s music, and lot’s of drinking and, I mean lots and lots of drinking - Aussies would fit right in!

    We then headed to St. Michael’s Church, which is one of five main Lutheran churches in Hamburg. It is considered to be one of the finest examples of Hanseatic Protestant Baroque churches. It is dedicated to the archangel Michael, and it has an 132 metre high Baroque spire which is completely covered in copper, and which is clearly visible on the Hamburg skyline. It has been rebuilt several times - it was destroyed by a lightening strike in 1750, it caught fire in 1906, and again following bombing attacks in 1944 & 1945. It required extensive reconstruction work. We climbed to the viewing platform in the spire that gave us great views of Hamburg.

    We then made our way to the trains and headed to Buchholz for afternoon tea with Fritz and Inka (Folke’s parents), and Folke and his family. Buchholz is as lovely as I remembered, and they have the garden looking beautiful. We had a delicious afternoon tea - the blueberry cake Inka made was amazing. We were there for many hours and we had a wonderful cold supper of traditional German fare which I loved, especially the meat salad. The time went very quickly and it was comfortable and easygoing, before we knew it it was time for us to catch the train back to Hamburg.    Read more

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  • Danielle and Co travelsNorthern Europe
    Day20

    Buchholz and time with the Bulda family

    July 14 in Belgium

    We caught the train out to where Folke had parked his car in Hamburg, and then he drove the last part out to his family home in Buchholz, for us to spend time with the Bulda family. We had a wonderful time, and before we knew it, we had to head to the station to catch the train back to Hamburg. Fritz and Inka were wonderful hosts - Inka baked three delicious cakes - Blueberry, Cranberry with cream and a chocolate and walnut - all were excellent. We then had a cold supper or smorgasbord with wonderful German cold meats and cheeses and delicious grilled vegetables, the spread was reminiscent of what Helga would prepare for family gatherings. It is a pity we are so far away from so much of our family, we have such a small family on the Bulda side we need to ensure we keep up the contact which I will do.Read more

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  • Danielle and Co travelsNorthern Europe
    Day21

    Miniatur Wunderland Hamburg

    July 15 in Belgium

    Another early start for us today, with a full agenda planned for our last day in Hamburg. We once again met the Bulda clan in central Hamburg, and made our way to Miniatur Wunderland. This was started by two bothers about 20 years ago. Initially, they found it difficult to get funding from the banks, but as popularity increased things changed. What struck me was the detail of the work - so far more than 760,000 hours have gone into building the displays. The displays transition from day to night in regular cycles, with thousands of lights coming on at ‘nighttime’. There is an area on Hamburg - the city, the airport and train station. There are also displays on middle Germany, Scandinavia, Italy, Bavaria, Switzerland, Austria and USA. I really liked Venice and Vegas. Angus enjoyed the hidden characters that don’t belong in a particular area, e.g. ET, Ghost Busters, Blues Brothers and Spider-Man. We spent much more time there than I thought we would need - it was really lots of fun, and we will need to return in future, as a number of new displays are planned within the next 1-2 years.Read more

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  • Danielle and Co travelsNorthern Europe
    Day21

    Elbe Tunnel

    July 15 in Belgium

    Folke took us down into the Elbe tunnel, where we walked down stairs and then walked under the Elbe to the other side, where we rode up a lift large enough for two cars. This tunnel was built originally for workers to get from the city to the factories which used to be located on the other side. It is now predominantly used by cyclists and pedestrians, who have free access, and cars use it very rarely but need to pay 1 Euro. Once you get over the other side, there are great views back across to central Hamburg.There are well maintained touches of Art Deco throughout the tunnel.Read more

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  • Danielle and Co travelsNorthern Europe
    Day23

    Sunny Brussels

    July 17 in Belgium

    Today we had an easy morning just catching up and not doing much, which is really lovely when you have been on the go for the last three weeks non-stop. We headed off to see Brigitte’s mum, my aunt Paulette around noon. Paulette lives in Everberg which is about 30 minutes away. Brigitte doesn’t have her key to Paulette’s at the moment, and so we had trouble getting in as Paulette was cleaning the pool. Finally we made enough noise to get her attention, and she came and let us in. We had a lovely lunch of cold cuts, a leek and potato quiche Paulette had made, and cheese, and then I tasted a peche plate (flat peach from France). It is one of the most delicious fruits I have ever had - so sweet and juicy and full of flavour - I will have to try and see if they are available in Melbourne. Just as we were finishing lunch, Nathalie and Sohan arrived for lunch and a swim.

    After lunch, we headed outside to sit by the pool and enjoy the warm weather. We had a lovely relaxing afternoon, and Nathalie’s partner, Ahmet, joined us for afternoon tea where we had a special cake from Brittany which Brigitte had got on an earlier trip there. We headed off about 4.30 pm and had a lovely steak and salad for dinner, and an early night as tomorrow we head off for a couple of days to the Opal Coast in Northern France.    Read more

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  • Danielle and Co travelsNorthern Europe
    Day24

    Girls trip to the Opal Coast

    July 18 in Belgium

    We didn’t want to head off too early and get caught in commuter traffic, so we took it easy and headed off about 10am. It was a pretty smooth drive most of the way, and our first stop was Wissant, a lovely village on the coast of France. We stopped at a restaurant called Charlemagne, where we had Moules Frites and a lovely rosé, which was delightful. This dish is a specialty of France which my grandmother introduced me to when I was in my early 20’s. After lunch, we walked around the town - Brigitte has rented a house in the village before and so she knows the area.Read more

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  • Danielle and Co travelsNorthern Europe
    Day24

    Château de Ledquent, Marquise, France

    July 18 in Belgium

    Checked into our accommodation for tonight, and had a bit of a rest after our busy day. We headed down for dinner just after seven, and had a three course meal for 19 Euro, which is very reasonable and it was very good. We had a lovely French wine to go with it, which was also very reasonably priced. Brigitte had a vol au vent with seafood for entree, and I had the Provençal vol au vent with ham and mushrooms. For main Brigitte ordered the beef and I had confit duck, and for dessert we both had the specialty of the house - Profiteroles with ice-cream and chocolate sauce. Everything was delicious and they bake everything on site, including the vol au vent pastry cases. We had a walk around the grounds after dinner, and then headed to our rooms for a quiet evening as tomorrow we have a full day planned.Read more

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  • Danielle and Co travelsNorthern Europe
    Day25

    Le Touquet - Paris Plage

    July 19 in Belgium

    We left Marquise and headed for Le Touquet - Paris Plage which is about 35kms away. Such a beautiful town, with lots of pedestrian only streets, beautiful architecture, lovely houses, shops and restaurants and it is by the sea. It reminds me of the south of France without the heat and crowds - a real little gem. Brigitte did remind me that in August it will be much busier as this is when the French and other Europeans traditionally take holidays.

    We discovered a sculpture exhibition dotted around the town called the Big Foot Family Collection by self-taught artist Aidan Zareski, an Israeli French guy who now lives in Miami. We loved his work, but unfortunately due to the cars and Brigitte’s injured calf muscle we couldn’t get to all of them.

    We then found this lovely store called Atelier where they make beautiful ceramics. It is a family business - the mother and father make the ceramics and their son sells it. They used to have a store in Sydney, but the business grew too quickly so they have reduced what they do.

    We then had lunch at a lovely crepe restaurant, and again had a 0.5 litre of rosé with the meal. I have become quite accustomed to a glass or two with meals these days!

    After lunch we walked around a bit more before heading back to Brussels. While we were still in France, Brigitte saw on her GPS a change of route notification telling us to get off the highway. Lucky we listened, as we heard later that day that there had been a huge accident that closed the highway in both directions for several hours. A van had changed lanes without indicating or looking, and ran a group of English motorcyclists off the road. One dead, one in a very serious condition, three others in hospital and another six or eight with minor injuries. The GPS then took us on this roundabout route, which meant we saw some more lovely small French villages before making our way back to the highway and getting back to Brussels. home. We arrived home about 7pm and had a quiet evening.    Read more

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  • Danielle and Co travelsNorthern Europe
    Day18

    Memorial of the Murdered Jews of Europe

    July 12 in Belgium

    “It happened, therefore it can happen again: this is the core of what we have to say”. Primo Levi, born in Turin, was a chemist. As a member of the Italian resistance, he was arrested in 1944 and deported to Auschwitz. He survived and began to write in 1945, directly after his return. In 1987, Primo Levi committed suicide. His stories and poems on the Holocaust today belong to world literature. Primo Levi’s story is just one of the thousands on display in this memorial.

    Another story that really affected me was this “After lunch the corpses from five vehicles were buried. From one vehicle a young women was thrown out with a baby at her breast. It suckled its mother’s milk and died. On this day we worked under the light from the searchlights until seven in the evening. Also on this day a vehicle drove so close to the pit that we heard the choked screams and desperate cries of the victims as well as the pounding on the doors. Before work had finished, six of the pit workers were also shot”.

    The following is a letter from an inmate of one of the camps. “We are now living through a terrible time. Thousands of people receive summonses - they are to be sent away to work. The people know well, however, what to make of this and they are scared. And yet one reassures them: It probably is to work. One would be happy if one knew that it really is work. And one hopes, because perhaps indeed it is […]. And one also is indifferent, because we are all tired and exhausted or the point of death.”    Read more

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You might also know this place by the following names:

Province du Brabant Wallon, Provinz Wallonisch-Brabant, Walloon Brabant Province, Brabant Wallonie, Brabant Wallon, Waals-Brabant, Brabante Valão

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