Belgium

World Wars, architecture, beer, chocolate, and amazing waffles- this is Belgium in a nutshell.  Being another small country near our location in Germany, we visited no fewer than four times (10/07, 2/08, 6/09, 2/11) in our years overseas.  Below are the highlights.

World War I Sites

The western front in "the Great War" snaked through western Belgium, and the town of Ypres (pronounced "Eep") has poignant reminders of the horrible time.  The town itself has a wonderful museum (in the town hall, shown below), and nearby one can visit a trench (the "trench of death"- Diksmuide) or any number of cemeteries (Tyne Cot being the largest) that dot the surrounding area.  One German mass grave (shown below) had 24000 soldiers, ~8000 of which were unknown.  The numbers are staggering.

Bruges

The "Venice of the North," Bruges is an amazing town.  The waterways complement the Flemish architecture nicely, and the waffles are to die for (make sure you get "Liege-style" waffles- they're the good ones, with pearls of sugar in them).

Mons, Ghent, and Antwerp

Three cities we spent only hours in as we passed through, but each had charm and beauty.

Brussels

The capital and largest city in the country by far, Brussels is a cool place.  Again, the waffles were outstanding- I gorged on them every meal on some days.  The beer is also good, I'm told, though I'm not a fan of the drink in general.  The chocolate stores are ubiquitous and amazing (Leonidas was my favorite).  Site-wise, Brussels has UN buildings, a cathedral, a giant atom ("atomium"), a statue of a boy peeing (which, for some reason, is highly popular), and (when we were there) a Star Wars exhibit.  Yeah!

Bastogne

Sadly, WWII brought more misery to Belgium, due to inconvenient geography.  The Battle of the Bulge, a last German counter-offensive in the west, was fought here, as immortalized in the book/TV series Band of Brothers.  Some holes dug by the 101st remain in the Ardennes.  Unadvertised, you have to ask locals how to get to them- but a visit is sobering and worthwhile.

Conclusion

History, variety, beauty, architecture, food- Belgium has a lot to offer.  It won't attract the masses like a Paris or a London, but it probably should.