Travel does the heart good
Technically, or administratively, the city belongs to the state of Bavaria but truly there is nothing about Lederhosen, Weißwurst, Bier and Biergartens. Würzburg, the wine capital of Franconia in the northwestern tip of Bavaria, will show you that there’s more to life than beer and sausage. The dialect is different, the choice of sausage is…
Never in my life did I think I would have an honour of traveling to Kosovo 🙂 Booking this trip was a bit of a bullet in my throat but it ended up being totally thrilled with the state/non-state. Depends on which side you are. Travelling from Skopje to Prishtina, our local guide welcomed us…
When you dive into the story of this city, you go medieval. Let me show you where I ended up. This city is the cultural centre of the Westphalia region. It has been founded in the 8th century by Charlemagne by building the Cathedral dedicated to Saint Paul. The cathedral stands by the Münstersche Aa river. Upon arrival to the…
Koki the rooster, Lupo the dog, Burlón the cat and Tonto the donkey. And me. Starring in Brother Grimm’s story in Bremen. 🙂 The story tells they formed a band playing guitar, drums, trumpet and saxophone with the aim of winning a contest in the city of Bremen. Let’s start at the beginning. In medias…
My summer Scandinavian road trip finished. From the Trelleborg port, we took the ferry to Rostock. It took 6 hours to float on a Huckleberry Finn passing down the Danish islands like Bornholm. Rostock is a city in northern Germany, located on the coast of the Baltic Sea. It is the largest city in the…
Sweden’s second city gets much less attention than its fancier east-coast alternative (Stockholm), but for me, that’s all the more reason to visit Gothenburg. Yes Patrick, this is how you write it in English. The city was named Göteborg in the city’s charter in 1621. The name was given after the Göta älv, the nearby…
Living in Belgium, I have been saying I need to visit this city for so long. The most I got of this city for all these years was flying from the Charleroi Airport. I knew there was no beauty in this city as it was built in 16th century, as an industrial hub, exploiting people…
My little jubilee, the 50th country visited was Liechtenstein. And boy what a ceremony happened. The Principality of Liechtenstein and the Swiss Confederation were celebrating the 100 years of their common Dounae contract. We were about to cross the bridge that was built over the river Rhine, but we were stopped as the celebration was just…
Krapina is my hometown. Zagorje runs through veins. Kajkavian dialect is spoken out loud by my core. So please, allow me to show you a portion of heaven given to us people from Zagorje to enjoy, nourish, and remain proud. Krapina Krapina was first mentioned in 1193. It has always been a favorite site for…
This is a post of a lovely, walkable city that will charm all wine, gastronomy and history lovers. From Markets to Mustard! This capital of Burgundie is calling you to get all its tastes. And you will not know all of these existed! The province was home to the Dukes of Burgundy from the early 11th until…
Avignon is a city on the Rhône river in the south of France. It is surrounded by walls of Avignon (French: Les Remparts d’Avignon) – a series of defensive stone walls that were originally built in the 14th century during the Avignon papacy and have been continually rebuilt and repaired throughout their subsequent history. We entered through Porte Saint-Michel. The…
This historical province of southeastern France, extends from the left bank of the lower Rhône to the west to the Italian border to the east; it is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the south. It largely corresponds with the modern administrative region of Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur . The largest city of the region and its modern-day capital is Marseille. Known for its diverse landscapes, miles of…
A day trip to the south of Brussels, to be more precise – Brabant region in Wallonie which is the site of the Battle of Waterloo, where the resurgent Napoleon was defeated for the […]
A day trip to the south of Brussels, to be more precise – Brabant region in Wallonie which is the site of the Battle of Waterloo, where the resurgent Napoleon was defeated for the final time in 1815.
We started with the visit to the museum which takes you to the times of enlightenment and ideas of the 18th century philosophers like Rene Descartes or Diderot, Immanuel Kant (my ever time favorite), Montesquieu, Rousseau, Adam Smith, Voltaire … whose main ideology based on the idea that a human is allowed to advice for itself without being oppressed by the government nor church: in opposition to an absolute monarchy and the fixed dogmas of the Roman Catholic Church
Soon evolved the Declaration of the Rights of the Man and of the Citizen of 1789 (Déclaration des droits de l’homme et du citoyen de 1789, fra) – a human civil rights document from the French Revolution.
However, Napoleon – even though sharing these principles (he established the civil code etc), soon started to rule in authoritarian way and battling the Europe in Napoleonic wars. So, the european leaders allied against him in The Gret Coalition.
The Europe that time after so many battles looked liked this:
The most south battle was Battle of Santa Cruz de Tenerife which I mentioned in my previous post when visiting the Canary Islands. The battle between French Empire and British Royal was famous for admiral Nelson loosing his arm.
However, the wars through Europe continued and The Great Coalition decided to invite Napoleon for the battle at Waterloo.
The Battle of Waterloo took place near Waterloo on 18 June 1815 between the First French Empire of Napoleon Bonaparte and the Seventh Coalition (troops from Prussia, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Hanover, Brunswick and Nassau), under the main allied commanders, the Duke of Wellington and General von Blücher.
Napoleon lost and the allies decided to make a tribute by building the butte with the victorious lion facing the France. We climbed up with 226 stairs, in order to see the battle and the strategy drawn.
Time for the beer: of course, in the country of beers, the Waterloo commemorative beer 🙂
The day was still bright and there was so many things to see around the field: the barracks of both enemies where the soldiers were sleeping, or the Hougoumont – the small house with the yard where finally the enemies met again to finish the battle, it was kinds the battle within the battle.
In his novel Les Misérables, Victor Hugo describes how 300 bodies were thrown down a well at Hougoumont. Most of them were still alive.
Fun fact: a celebrated 400 years old wooden crucifix which survived an inferno during the Battle of Waterloo was only to be looted from a battlefield chapel has been rediscovered in a Belgian flea market after a four year hunt by Interpol. The crucifix is now there, at the Hougoumont farm and it well respected.
The visit to the battlefield was very touching and sensitive. We decided to walk the land field which is nowadays full of agricultural goods but once the place of terrible battlefield.
The day finished in the city of Waterloo with the dinner. In the city center there is a small museum dedicated to the winner of the battle: the commander Wellington.
Funny, isn’t it? Even though he is the actual winner of the battle who stopped Napoleon for long time, his name is not even close mentioned and celebrated as Napoleons’.
Life is strange sometimes.
RED RIDING HOOD 
I was just thinking about traveling to Belgium on a trip with my mom. This looks very fun and interesting. Thank you for sharing.
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Make sure you visit my other blog posts about Belgium I live here for already 5 years and discovered some interesting places. 🙂 I hope you will enjoy staying in Belgium! ❤
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Your travel posts come up with the history as well.. so nice to read your blog
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Amazing
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I am enjoying reading your blog because you include a glimpse of their history, for someone like me who is from Asia it is very interesting. I heard Belgium is beautiful, I believe it more now by seeing your photos hope to visit this country also! 🙂
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The history of Waterloo is embedded in minds of all. Your blog refreshes it all.
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Ah this is how the place looks like where Napoleon lost his final war!
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I’ve been looking up places to go in Belgium! This is a great post to learn about travel as well as history. Thanks!
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Belgium is beautiful and I loved how you have captured it so beautifully in the photographs. I never knew about its rich history. Thank you for sharing.
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Seems like the climb up 226 stairs was totally worth the views! Waterloo commemorative beer sounds like the one to try. I remember reading during school days about Waterloo, the place where Napoleon lost the war. Interesting to read about your experience!
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We have a Waterloo here in Ontario though Belgium seems to be more quaint .
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Napoleon vs rest of Europe leaders placed as chess board or is it just the architectural shape.!
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Interesting article.
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Nice post, thanks
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i really love Belgium
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I love Belgium and want to see it. Nice job.
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