February 17, 2005
If you're from Flanders, you're probably Flemish
Jens Audenaert is a libertarian from Flanders and an all-around nice guy, except that he hasn't yet started a blog on his website. Nor does he list my website on his list of links.
Posted by adrianjo at 01:34 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
October 15, 2004
Final night in Belgium
BRUXELLES, BELGIQUE: This is my last night in Belgium, and it's hard to believe that it will soon end. However, I've kept myself busy preparing for a trip back to Chicago that will start in Rome, from whence I will make my way to Turkey and back to Chicago. The route will be as follows: Rome; Kotor, Montenegro; Dubrovnik, Croatia; Mostar, Hercegovina; Sarajevo, Bosnia; Belgrade, Serbia; and Istanbul, Turkey. I went to Waterstone's today (the English bookstore here) and realized that Hercegovina will be as far off the tourist circuit that I've ever been. There is not a single guidebook dedicated to the area, nor is there a guidebook for Serbia. Bosnia also has a nice travel warning from the Embassy. Bhutan was off the tourist circuit, but the country has been politically stable since the 1800s and has an extensive Lonely Planet guide. Sarajevo is still partolled by the UN, and many buildings in Mostar and Sarajevo still have shell damage. Only this summer did the 1566-vintage Mostar Bridge reopen, having been destroyed by Croat shelling in the 1990s civil war. I remember watching the news in middle school and high school and seeing the daily reports of death in the siege of Sarajevo, genocides, sniper alley, etc., and it will be a learning experience to see how a nation ripped apart by civil war recovers.
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