Belgium

Visited: July 1991, May 2012

Duration of visit: 4 days

Capital city: Brussels

Population: 11 million (2012)

Estimated reading time: 2 minutes

• Unimpressive capital Brussels, where I ended in the red area and turbulent wild camping.
• Attending the largest label event in the world – Label Expo – as part of my job.

Belgium has never ranked highly on my list of travel priorities. Moreover, it seems that this country is not intended to be an important part of my travel itinerary.

In the summer of 1991, my first real backpacking experience, with schoolmate Andrey, was travelling around Western Europe. He wanted to see Eiffel Tower, I was eager on hitchhiking and meeting new people.

In the middle of the war for Slovenian independence, my dad drove us in an old Yugo car through barricades to Ljubljana, where we boarded a train to the Italian border and from there we started to hitchhike along the highway.

We made a stop in Brussels, primarily because it was situated on the road between Paris and Amsterdam. Without a defined plan, we ventured into the city center and opted to camp in a somewhat neglected area due to the exaggerated accommodation costs.

The littered vicinity, inhabited by strange individuals and loud disputes from adjacent apartment buildings contributed to our lack of tranquility at night. Although no significant incidents occurred, I developed a sort of resistance for Belgium’s capital.

In 2012, while working for a printing company, we participated in Expo Label exhibition. This event is the largest of its kind worldwide, attracting exhibitors from across the globe to present the latest technological innovations, printing equipment, security components, and various other solutions. During the evenings, I took the opportunity to stroll through the city center with my colleagues, which seemed much more attractive and orderly than during the previous encounter as a backpacker.

In 2024, while undertaking a family trip to France, we planned to extend our travels from Paris to Brussels, with additional stops in Bruges and Ghent. Unfortunately, the conditions were not favorable and this leg of the trip was cancelled. I am optimistic that in the near future I will have the chance to visit the country renowned as the capital of European Union and famous for its chocolate pralines in greater depth.

PS: Unfortunately, I don’t possess photos from any of the trips.