{"id":14,"date":"2017-11-26T08:42:47","date_gmt":"2017-11-26T08:42:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/zeweekendtraveller.com\/?p=14"},"modified":"2019-01-22T05:47:28","modified_gmt":"2019-01-22T05:47:28","slug":"underrated-belgium","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/zeweekendtraveller.com\/index.php\/europe\/belgium\/underrated-belgium\/","title":{"rendered":"Underrated Belgium"},"content":{"rendered":"

Belgium is often surprisingly overlooked when travelling in Europe , in favour of its famous neighbours, Netherlands in the north, Germany to its East, France to its West. On the contrary I saw many beautiful breathtaking sights and marvelled at the cleanliness of the cities over a weekend trip. Here is an account of the trip together with information I found to be useful.<\/p>\n

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General Information:<\/strong><\/p>\n

Belgium uses the Euro as its currency. Things are not the cheapest in this country – they are not by any means as shocking as prices in the Greek tourist islands but nevertheless a little bit higher than the other European countries. You would expect to pay around 15 Euros for a sit down meal. Luckily there are cheaper alternatives such as the crunchy fries with mayonnaise dip, Belgian waffles, kebab shops , or simply go for free tasting of chocolates. Belgium does not have the world’s most healthy food, so some amount of self-discipline is required.<\/p>\n

\"DSC01398\"
Stall selling fast food and naming it the Health Pharmacy..<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Tipping<\/strong><\/em> is not common here, as most establishments and even with taxis and hotels already include service charges. Rounding up the total or showing particular appreciation of a service well done is always appreciated of course.<\/p>\n

Public Transportation\u00a0<\/strong><\/em>is efficient here with a good network of bus, trains and metros serving inter-cities as well as for getting around within a city. Look out for weekend travel tickets which has a 50% off or even sometimes for free, like what I have experienced in Ghent on the first Sunday of the month. I have read that driving can be hazardous,\u00a0 because the Belgians can be aggresive on the roads and have among the worst accident rates in Europe.<\/p>\n

English Language\u00a0<\/strong><\/em>seems to be generally well understood here – so there was no need to be learning key phrases before arriving here. Belgium is anyway a multi-lingual country like so many in Europe with the north which borders the Netherlands to be Dutch Speaking and towards the south, French is common.<\/p>\n

Drinking Water\u00a0<\/strong><\/em>from the tap here is considered safe. I have drank from it, and am writing this post after the fact. I don’t carry around bottled water when I am here – although some common sense is also important here , for example a rusty tap or if the water comes out brown – you should avoid drinking from it , definitely!<\/p>\n

You might like<\/em>:<\/p>\n

\"Brussels_Pinterest\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\"Ghent_Pinterest\"<\/a>
Grand Ghent<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Bruges_Pinterest\"<\/a>
In Bruges<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

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– The End-<\/p>\n

<\/span><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Belgium is often surprisingly overlooked when travelling in Europe , in favour of its famous neighbours, Netherlands in the north, Germany to its East, France to its West….<\/p>\n

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