Belgium
Martin’s Relais Oud Huis Amsterdam – in Bruges.
Monday, April 22nd, 2013
Bruges really does have the best collection of historic hotels, which transfer you back to an era of decadence and drama. After a short walk along the picturesque Spiegelrei Canal, past a road of imposing properties and down cobbled streets, we finally arrived at the Martin’s Relais Oud Huis Amsterdam. The 13th century building was very imposing with large windows facing the opposite street across the canal.
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Belgium – Chocolaty and Mussel-Bound
Friday, April 19th, 2013
Those of you who have seen the film In Bruges know there are two different ways to look at Bruges. You can love it or hate it and it was about time for me to find out to which group I would be in. When thinking about Bruges I can’t help but think of the cliché: Chocolates, waffles, mussels and beer. But could a place really fulfil my expectations without Willy Wonka being involved?
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Bruges and Ghent – Two Medieval Marvels
Friday, January 25th, 2013
Having visited Belgium many times before but never really venturing out of Brussels, I was excited to be visiting Bruges and Ghent, particularly after watching the film In Bruges.
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The Battlefields of Flanders
Monday, June 11th, 2012
Even for non-experts like me, signs such as ‘Menin’, ‘Passendale’ and ‘Ieper’ made it clear that, as we drove towards the last of these three destinations, we were heading for an area now intrinsically linked with the Great War and the battles which took place here nearly a hundred years ago. I had never been to this part of Flanders before and I think I was expecting more obvious signs of what had happened here. But apart from the odd quiet graveyard with its ubiquitous lines of white markers and one or two concrete structures in the fields which may or may not have been bunkers, the agricultural landscape was fairly similar to anywhere else in Belgium. More than the cemeteries, the odd poppy dancing amongst the straw on passing verges moved me. And I wanted to be moved. Ypres in particular is a place of pilgrimage for many thousands of people from Britain and the Commonwealth who want to pay their respects to the soldiers who died here and also want to understand more about what happened to their ancestors.
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A step back in time in Bruges
Monday, April 2nd, 2012
It all started when I boarded a Eurostar service at St Pancras station with my colleague Katerina last Thursday. We were travelling from London to Bruges and were excited by the prospect of exploring a medieval city steeped in history and drenched in old-world charm. The Eurostar reached Brussels Midi station on time, which allowed us plenty of time to transfer onto the SNCB train heading for the Belgian city of Bruges. Our first class carriage was very quiet with only the ticket inspector briefly interrupting our peace.
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London to Berlin via Cologne
Wednesday, January 25th, 2012
For nearly a year I have been selling the virtues of the German railway system based on my colleagues first hand experience, but finally it was my chance to try it out.
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Adoration Of The Mystic Ghent
Friday, August 12th, 2011
Belgium. It is officially time to rethink your preconceptions about the unofficial Capital of Europe. Brussels, especially at weekends, is proving it has a lot more to offer than suits and European politics with architectural wonders from the Medieval to Art Deco, some fine museums, and some exceptional recreational drinking in either traditional beer houses or contemporary bars. But it’s the less renowned alternative city of Ghent that is charging ahead in the reshuffle.
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Christmas in Bruges
Friday, January 28th, 2011
Our little 3 day bags were packed, Railbookers documentation (complete with maps and timetables) were safe in our hand luggage and the Eurostar was on time-who says the snow and ice always causes delays! My mum and I were on a mini Christmas Market adventure to Bruges.
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Hotel of the Week – Hotel Amigo Brussels
Wednesday, March 31st, 2010
Located within arm’s reach of one of the most beautiful squares in Europe, the Grand Place, the newly refurbished Hotel Amigo provides a stylish and central base to explore Brussels. Definitely one of my favourites of the city with its flawless “Art of Simple” décor throughout, you know as soon as you walk into the lobby that you have arrived at a 5 star establishment!
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Frozen Flanders Fields
Thursday, February 4th, 2010
After checking in for a 3pm Eurostar we settled down for the short journey to Lille, and onward train to Ypres to view the Flanders Fields that were once so notoriously brutal but today are peaceful farmland albeit snow covered and bitterly cold as January can be in this part of Europe.
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