Belgium – it does exactly what it says on the Tintin...
YOU could say that the people of Belgium are a little defensive when it comes to their image in the wider world.
The tourist board was so fed up of reading that there are only a few famous Belgians that it put together a list of them, now running at 259 (check it out online at www.famousbelgians.net).
One of the most iconic Belgians of them all is Herge's comic strip reporter Tintin, whose adventures with his little dog Snowy and Captain Haddock are loved all round the world.
Belgium is celebrating the Year of the Comic Strip in 2009 and there is certainly plenty to do; the country seems full of cartoon museums and exhibitions at the moment. We even saw one at a visitors' centre for a canal boat lift at Hainaut and another at Stavelot Abbey, which is linked to its motoring museum.
One spectacular celebration of the comic strip took place in the Grand Place in Brussels, when for three days a huge reproduction of one of the drawings in Destination Moon took up most of the floor space, drawing big crowds.
It's now gone on show in the Herge Museum that's just opened at Louvain-la-Neuve and the point of my visit was that I was lucky enough to be invited for a preview before it opened but more of that later.
To get to our destination, the group of journalists had also been invited to join the Tintin Rally that was taking place to celebrate the museum opening. Many of the classic cars involved featured in Herge's cartoons.
If you're into motor sport, the spa town of Spa is a must with its Formula One racing circuit. It was pretty cool arriving there in a classic sports car!
We began our trip in the pretty little town of Huy in the province of Liege, which deserves a mention because it turns out that this is the place that invented French fries. Poor families living at the confluence of three rivers in the town lived mainly on small fried fish. At some point they were so poor that they were forced to replace the fish with potatoes used to feed their cattle. Et voila!
Then apparently the grateful Belgians greeted hungry American soldiers in the First World War with chips and, because the soldiers heard them speaking French, they called them French fries.
Belting around the countryside in an Austin Healey or an open-top Mercedes certainly beats many other forms of transport and it gave me the chance to appreciate how beautiful the Ardennes area is, with wood-clad hills and lovely little villages just crying out for you to stop in them and potter around.
Nothing like how you think of Belgium as being mostly flat.
The regional capital of French-speaking Wallonia is the lovely city of Namur, a great base for touring the area. The city centre winds its way along the Meuse river and dominating the skyline is the citadel. This huge building dates back to the Middle Ages but was rebuilt for Louis XIV in the 1690s.
We went to a Tintin themed ball – the 80-year-old mayor turned up dressed as our hero – in the citadel, where you can also stay. If not, just visit to take in the view.
One great place for a stop is Durbuy, which lays claim to being the smallest town in the world.
It’s certainly very lovely with beautiful buildings and a topiary park with lots of amazing and amusing shaped hedges.
Of course this peaceful countryside is also full of history, some of it tragic. At La Roche-en-Ardenne, the village butcher has put together the fascinating Battle of the Bulge Museum, based on a collection of World War Two memorabilia his father started putting together.
One of its many treasures is an Enigma machine, used by the Nazis to encode communications.
On another day we visited Waterloo, which is amazingly evocative of the famous battle. A visit to a circular panoramic painting of the scene is a must, as is the Lion Mound, at the top of which is a splendid view of the battlefield.
If that works up a thirst, drop into Le Bivouac de L’Empereur, an inn full of interesting relics where a portrait of Napoleon can even be seen in the fireplace.
Every year thousands of enthusiasts flock to re-enact the battle and the 2009 event takes place June 18-21.
Book a seat in the grandstand for the best view (go to www.waterloo1815.be for details).
And finally, we arrived at the Herge Museum.
The building looked spectacular from the outside but it was still a building site, 10 days off opening, which it has now.
A must for Tintin fans, it looks at Herge’s work and life and what inspired him in eight themed rooms.
You start at the top and work your way down, acompanied by a hand-held computer guide with different levels that cater for children, ordinary visitors and specialist enthusiasts.
And you could travel all the way there by train, picking up the Eurostar at St Pancras and changing to a local service in Belgium that would take you practically to the door.
An adventure worthy of the boy reporter himself!Factfile
Julia travelled to Brussels by Eurostar.You can buy a through-ticket from Sheffield or Chesterfield from 79 return. The journey takes around five hours and all Eurostar tickets to Brussels are valid to/from any Belgian station at no extra cost. Go to www.eurostar.com, phone 08705 186186 or visit their display at Meadowhall between June 20 and 29.
Julia stayed at The Dominican on Rue Leopold in Brussels (www.thedominican.be). Prices start at 150 euros per room but they do special offers.
In Namur, she stayed at the Leonardo Hotel (www.leonardo-hotels.com), prices from 75 euros.
For further information contact the Belgian Tourist Office on 020 7531 0390 or www.belgiumtheplaceto.be
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Saturday 26 May 2012
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