What is the point of Belgium? How can a country of a similar size and location to the Netherlands be so painfully anonymous and unremarkable…?

It’s an excellent place to fight a war, as history has proved.

Beer

Chocolate

OP, have you ever been to Europe/Belgium?

It’s a country created by the British to annoy the French.

Still plugging away then iDave…?

You sound like Arnold Rimmer.

The topic is slightly ironic being a cycling forum no?

Iain

I had some great times in Antwerp. Lots of great bars, a good underground punk scene, loads of festivals…running fights with the Nazis back in the early 90’s…

No just asking. It has a lot going for it which you may not see from your sofa. That’s all. As you were…

Flanders is full of nazis and Wallonia full of drunks(a lot of them my friends, and 1 an ex :))

If every country in the world was annonymous and unremarkable the world would be a much better(and drunker)place.

Cyclocross, Tour of Flanders, Leffe. Bike shops. That’ll do me.

Like the beer not keen on the chocolate and they seemed friendly enough.

Are there anymore strings to belgiums bow than beer and chocolate and JCVD…? I’m sure we can name numerous famous Dutch people, but famous Belgians…?

Audrey Hepburn??

Druid knows his famous Belgians
🙂

Famous Boggies?

Van Damme
Mercx
Tintin
Poirot

What more do you need?

Jacques Brel, Eddy Merckx

I’d say Belgians could name some more.

Who were the famous Dutch you had in mind?

a part of the world that should have a deeper meaning for most of us

“there is some corner of a foreign field” and all that.

Eddy Wally!

The film “In Brugge”: Modern day classic IMO..

Cyclocross, Tour of Flanders, Leffe. Bike shops. That’ll do me.

Plus Ghent six day. Well for me in three weeks time anyway!

I lived in Holland for 4 years and have to say, Belgium was our regular escape route – particularly weekends in Antwerp. Better food, better beer, better service, not so uptight and generally a lot more fun loving and laid back bunch of folk to hang out with.

A lot of people’s perception of the Netherlands is based on a weekend visit to Amsterdam -that’s as wrong minded as basing your entire view of the UK on couple of hours in Covent Garden. The rest of the country is not like that at all.

People who’ve only ever been to Amsterdam seem to think that the Netherlands is a shining beacon of hedonism and tolerance. In reality it’s a deeply conservative country with a lot of snobbery bubbling under the surface and a LOT of overt racism. Also virtually nil sense of humour- I can’t say I ever found that in the Belgian cities I’ve spent time in (Antwerp, Ghent, Brugge etc).

Antwerp in particular has a great music scene, really strong design culture and a vibrant food culture.

I think the reason that the country as a whole has something of an image problem is that it’s really only been an independent nation for a few hundred years.

Sure it’s got its share of s***hole industrial wastelands, notorious serial killers and a pretty dodgy colonial history, but doesn’t that sound familiar?

Soulwax

and Leffe

they don’t need to do anymore

and fritjes

Nice people, great cities, great archictecture, excellent beer and chocolate and cheap train travel – what’s not to like?

I’d move there tomorrow.

Mods, please ban this man for using the most offensive
word in the entire civilised universe

Adolf Sax inventor of the saxaphone.

I’ve always thought Plastic Bertrand’s Ca plan pour moi was the only decent pop song the French gave the world but I’ve just found out he was Belgian

Spa and Houfalize too

Whats Belgium famous for ?

Chocolate and……

Was this thread inspired by today’s news that Nigel Farage has been elected leader of UKIP ?

It was Nigel Farage who earlier this year described Belgium a “a non-country” and calling it “an artificial construction”

Well was it loddrik ? You strike me as someone who might have a keen interest in UKIP…….the political party for the more angry Daily Mail reader.

You clearly share its leader’s contemptuous attitude to Belgium.

Farage defiant after calling Belgium ‘a non-country’

Nope, didn’t see farages comments but, daily mail aside, maybe he’s my type of guy 😉

Why did your visit to Belgium disappoint you OP? Was it not as nice as your part of Liverpool? Could they not understand you?

I think he is actually.

How can you get yerself worked up over Belgium ffs?

You’ll do yerself a mischief, thinking too much.

loddrik – Member

Nope, didn’t see farages comments but, daily mail aside, maybe he’s my type of guy

So just a strange coincidence then…..

And yeah, I reckon he could well be your kinda guy………he’s a right ranting right-winger……

In fact some people have suggested it was his ranting which caused the plane crash he was in ……

Some people also say he died in that crash…..

Why would you think Belgium is pointless? Anonymous perhaps but don’t confuse anonymity with discretion. If you prefer the american ethos of shouting about how great everything is there then I’m happy for you.

Over here we’ll just enjoy our ‘pointlessness’ in private thanks… 🙄

I was with a belgian girl last night, and based on the fact that she’s about 10 times classier than most english girls, I like Belgium.

beer, chips and chocolate. Breakfast of champs. Perfected in Belgium.