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Belgium
My sweet home country.
During the years, I have visited a lot of beautiful things in my
country, ranging from the coast to the Ardennes, e.g. the caves of
Hannes, the Coo falls, inclined plane of Ronquieres,...
Favorite hotel: Hotel Val de
l'Our (Burg-Reuland)
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The Netherlands
- Went there a few times to do some shopping, mostly in the
southern area ("Sluis").
- 23 June 1998: A one day business trip to Middelburg.
- 22-24 September 2000: Spent a weekend in Amsterdam, the
capital city, with 6 good friends. We stayed in a youth hostel
and had a lot of fun!
- 15 - 16 November 2014: Visiting the Christmas market in the caves of Valkenburg with some friends (hotel De Uitkijk).
- 27 February - 1 March 2015: Visiting Groningen for a birthday party of a friend. We stayed in hotel In den Stallen (Winschoten) and had delicious pancakes in the Pannenkoekenschip.
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Luxembourg
- Also went shopping there during some small trips in my
childhood.
- 5-9, 19-25 June Two small business trips to Windhof, including
one touristic daytrip in search of castles... finally arriving in
Arlon (Belgium).
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France
- 17-19 May 1993: Schooltravel to Paris, the capital city.
- 17-19 July 1995: Went to Paris again, and this time I also
visited the very beautiful castle of Versailles, together with
my mom.
- 26-28 July 1996: A trip to the holy Lourdes with my mom.
- 5-8 May 2005: Birthday gift travel to the Alsace wine route.
Visits to Molsheim, Mutzig (one night in L'Ours de Mutzig),
Dambach-la-Ville to stay two nights at a wine farmer,
Haut-Koenigsbourg (castle), Montagne des Singes,
Ramstein-Ortenbourg (castle ruins).
- 16-23 May 2010: Boarded together with my mom the huge ship MSC Splendida for a very nice cruise on the Mediterranean Sea with every day a stop and an excursion on land, in order: Marseille (France)(departure), Barcelona (Spain), Tunis (Tunisia), Valletta (Malta), Messina (Italy, Sicily), Rome (Italy) and Genoa (Italy).
- 16-20 September 2010: Visit to the small but beautiful Aix-en-Provence with a small group of eight friends by TGV. We stayed in a nice hostel La Maison de Carla. We also went to Marseille for a walk in the city and a little boat trip through the Calanques de Marseille to Cassis.
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Germany
- Some daytrips in my childhood.
- 13-16 September 1999: 3 days in Aachen to attend my first
business conference.
Because of a railway strike in Belgium, I was allowed to return
with the high-speed Thalys train without paying an extra fee.
However, this train could only take me to Brussels South
station, from which I took a cab -shared with some others who
were also stranded in this station- to my home in Ghent.
- 22-24 June 2001: A weekend trip (including friday) to the
Moselle valley famous for its delicious white wine. Me and three
friends stayed in a youth hostel in the little village
Traben-Trarbach. While being in the area, we also visited the
very nice town Bernkastel-Kues. And yes... the wines are very
delicious! While returning home, we walked through the city of
Trier.
- 16-18 November 2001: Another weekend trip (including friday)
to the same Moselle valley... This time we stayed in holiday
park Himmelberg in Thalfang.
- 22 December 2002: A one day trip to Aachen to visit the
Christmas market with some friends.
- 30 October 2004 - 2 November 2004: Another great trip to the
Moselle (and Rhine) valley, this time visiting the city of Koblenz
(the point where the two rivers join) and a number of small but
very beautiful villages along the Rhine valley, e.g. Bacharach
where we spent one night in hotel
zur Post
(again with delicious white wines).
- 29 October - 1 November 2005: City trip to Berlin with three
friends. We stayed in a very comfortable
appartment in the
center of Berlin ("Mitte").
- 10-12 November 2005: Once again to the Moselle valley. This
time two friends and I stayed in Trittenheim in "Spieleshof
Bollig". We drove along the Moselle from the border between
Luxembourg and Germany to just before Koblenz. The wines were once
again delicious!
- 17 December 2005: Visit to the Christmas market in Aachen with
some friends.
- 9 December 2006: Visit to the Christmas market in Aachen with
some friends. We stayed in the nice hotel
Am Marschiertor.
- 29 November 2008: Visit to the Christmas market in Aachen with
some friends. We stayed in the nice hotel
Reichshof.
- 15 December 2012: Visit to the Christmas market in Koln with
some friends.
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Austria
- April 1993: Visited Salzburg, Vienna and Melk during a
schooltravel.
We had a hell of a time with our class!
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Hungary
- April 1993: Visited Budapest during the schooltravel to
Austria.
- 24 July - 3 August 2004: Trip to Budapest to attend a business
conference, and a few days of vacation together with my
mom.
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Czech
- April 1993: Visited the very romantic Prague during the
schooltravel to Austria.
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Slovakia
- April 1993: Passed through by bus with an intermediate stop during the schooltravel to Austria.
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Denmark
- 13-19 May 2015: Drove through Denmark on the way to Sweden, and back. We took the ferry from Puttgarden (Germany) to Rødby (Denmark) and from Helsingør (Denmark) to Helsingborg (Sweden).
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Sweden
- 13-19 May 2015: Attended a Viking-wedding of family of Belgian friends, staying in a nice bungalow and enjoying the Viking culture, nature oriented wedding ceremony and wedding party. The last day we visited Stockholm with its beautiful buildings.
- 10-20 June 2018: Nice vacation in beautiful Sweden, visiting my Viking friends again and using their cosy cabin as our base camp to explore Mariefred, Strängnäs, Stockholm (Skansen, old city, royal palace, new but interesting Vikingaliv museum and the old Viking ruins on Birka island), the lake Siljan (with stops in Leksands, Tällsberg, Rattvik, Mora and Gesunda, unfortunately with only short walks due to the rain), Örebro and the nice little port city Trosa.
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United Kingdom
- March 1998: A weekend to London, the capital city, with 3
friends.
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Ireland
- June 2017: A few days in Dublin, visited Dublin City, Powerscourt House and Gardens, Bray, Howth and made a beautiful walk around the lake in Roundwood, with 5 friends.
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Spain
- 6-9 June 2008: 4 days visit to Barcelona with a group
of 7 friends in total. Barcelona is a very beautiful and cosy city
with very nice buildings and parks. We stayed in the nice hotel
Condestable.
- 16-23 May 2010: Boarded together with my mom the huge ship MSC Splendida for a very nice cruise on the Mediterranean Sea with every day a stop and an excursion on land, in order: Marseille (France)(departure), Barcelona (Spain), Tunis (Tunisia), Valletta (Malta), Messina (Italy, Sicily), Rome (Italy) and Genoa (Italy). In Barcelona, we did a small city tour by bus also visiting the Sagrada Familia and made a walk on the Ramblas, including the market place La Boqueria.
- 24 February - 3 Mars 2011: Relaxed vacation on the small but nevertheless beautiful and varied isle Lanzarote with four girls! Without saying, I had a very good time!
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Portugal
- 2-9 April 2011: Vacation with one of my best friends. First we visited the nice and cosy town Porto (with delicious... Port!) with a day excursion to Braga. Then we went by train to Coimbra (the oldest university in Europe) where we did an excursion to the Roman ruines of the city Conimbriga (with beautiful mosaic floors). Afterwards we continued our train travel to the beautiful and impressive Lisbon (Jeronimos monastery) and the city Sintra (Pena Palace Park and Castle of the Moors).
- 15-23 February 2013: Relaxing vacation on the island Madeira, enjoying the spectacular mountain views, delicious fishes, excellent Madeira wines and good company of some friends. We stayed at the very beautiful Madeira Casa.
- 3-11 October 2014: Attending a conference in Cascais, and visiting the little but cosy village (with beach and harbor) with a friend, including some trips to Lisboa.
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Italy
- 25-28 April 1998: Three days to the ancient and very beautiful
Rome, the capital city, with my mom.
I really enjoyed the visit to the spectacular Colosseum.
- 21-26 September 2002: Business travel to attend a conference
in Varenna (nearby the Como lake).
On our way there we stayed one night in France and drove through
Switzerland, enjoying the sightseeing of the Gothard-pass.
- 16-23 May 2010: Boarded together with my mom the huge ship MSC Splendida for a very nice cruise on the Mediterranean Sea with every day a stop and an excursion on land, in order: Marseille (France)(departure), Barcelona (Spain), Tunis (Tunisia), Valletta (Malta), Messina (Italy, Sicily), Rome (Italy) and Genoa (Italy). In Messina we did a city walk (4 hours) visiting the cathedral and its treasury. In Rome we did a 5 hours city tour by bus and a visit (free time) to the Saint Peter's Square. In Genoa, we did a city walk including the Museum Palazzo Rosso.
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Vatican City
- 25-28 April 1998: During my stay in Italy, I also visited Vatican
City.
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Slovenia
- 23-30 May 2016: Very nice vacation in excellent company of five girls, visiting the nice capital city of Ljubljana (but still very compact), walking around the beautiful lake in Bled, walking in the mountains surrounding the lake Bohinj in Ukanc (Triglavski national park) and the lovely little harbor city Piran. We flew there by plane and drove around with a rental car, staying in the following bed-and-breakfasts: B&B Atticus (Ljubljana; very small basic room with shared bathroom), B&B Don Andro (Ukanc; beautiful apartments with very good restaurant and enjoyable bar with outside terrace) and B&B Villa Verde (Piran; Comfortable no-nonse B&B with beautiful garden terrace).
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Malta
- 16-23 May 2010: Boarded together with my mom the huge ship MSC Splendida for a very nice cruise on the Mediterranean Sea with every day a stop and an excursion on land, in order: Marseille (France)(departure), Barcelona (Spain), Tunis (Tunisia), Valletta (Malta), Messina (Italy, Sicily), Rome (Italy) and Genoa (Italy). In Valetta we did a city walk (4 hours) including a visit to the St Johns Co-Cathedral and a walk in the old Mdina.
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Greece
- 13-25 June 2000: 6 days to the ancient Athens, the capital
city, followed with 7 days at the beautiful island of Chios to
attend a business conference.
- 20-28 April 2014: Visit of the island Rhodos with some good friends. We stayed in hotel Smartline Kolymbia Star, and drove around the island with a rental car to visit Stegna Beach, Malona, Masari, the old and very impressive Rhodos city of knights and the Palace of the Grandmasters, Plimmiri, Lachania, Asklipia church, Butterfly garden, Lindos Acropolis, Kalavarda and Ialysos with the ruines of the old Byzantian Monestry.
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United Nations
(countries outside Europe) |
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Canada
- Three weeks in 1986: First trip to visit some relatives in
Leamington and Toronto (both in the province Ontario) together
with my parents.
We travelled with the car through lot of beautiful places in
Ontario, including the Niagara falls, Wasaga beach, Indian
reservation,...
- Three weeks in 1990: Second trip to the relatives in
Leamington and Toronto, and also a one week trip to some other
relatives in Vancouver (British Columbia).
There, I had the opportunity to fly with a small airplane,
sitting next to the pilot and holding the controls a few seconds
myself!
- 21-29 July 2001: Attending the IFSA/NAFIPS conference on fuzzy
logic in beautiful Vancouver (British Columbia).
- 24 May - 14 June 2012: Visiting my Canadian relatives again (finally) with one of my best friends. After spending some time with the family, we rented a car to make a little tour on the east coast, Toronto (e.g. CN Tower), Leamington (e.g. Point Pelee), Niagara (e.g. the Falls and Maid of the Mist boat tour), Midland (e.g. Saint Marie among the Hurons), Huntsville (e.g. Algonquin Park), Parry Sound (e.g. 30000 islands boat tour), Sudbury (e.g. Nicle Mines), Manitoulin island (e.g. First Nations reserves) and Tobermory (e.g. Bruce Peninsula Park).
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United States of America
- 1986, 1990: A few daytrips during my first two stays in Canada
(primarily Detroit and Boston).
- 29 July - 5 August 2001: A cruise to beautiful Alaska after my
third vacation in Canada.
- 10-25 May 2002: Vacation in the paradise of Honolulu
(Hawaii) at Waikiki beach after attending a business conference.
There it was possible to make a commercial tour in a submarine.
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Mexico
- 5-29 October 2007: Visit with two good friends to the remains of
the Maya-empire (Cancun, Valladolid, Chichen Itza, Merida, Celestun,
Uxmal, Kabah, Palenque, Bonampak, Yaxchillah, San Cristobal de Las
Casas, Monte Bello, Tulum, Paamul).
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Guatemala
- 5-29 October 2007: During our trip to Mexico, we also went three
days to Guatemala to visit the very impressive Maya ruines of Tikal.
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Switzerland
- 21-26 September 2002: On our way to Italy to attend a
conference, we drove through Switzerland enjoying the
sightseeing of the Gothard-pass.
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Turkey
- 28 June - 7 July 2003: Business trip and short vacation in
Istanbul.
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Egypt
- 17-28 June 2004: Visit of the ancient Egyptian culture
together with a good female friend.
First, we stayed two days in Cairo to visit the impressive
piramides and the large collection of treasures in the Egyptian
museum, then we have flown to Luxor to embark on a cruise to
Aswan with excursions to Edfu, Kom Ombo and Abu Simbel.
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Marocco
- 24 October 2009 - 1 November 2009: Visit of three out of the
four "king's cities": Fez, Meknes (with the ruines of the ancient
Roman city Volubilis) and Marrakech, and also the port city Essaouira,
with some good friends.
Friendly people, good company, nice cities with cousy markets and
beautiful decorations inside the buildings, delicious couscous and
tajines,... a perfect vacation!
- 7-14 October 2011: One week vacation in Marrakech with one of my best friends. Besides visiting Marrakech, we also did day excursions to the beautiful Ourika valley and spectacular Ouzoud waterfalls.
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Tunisia
- 16-23 May 2010: Boarded together with my mom the huge ship MSC Splendida for a very nice cruise on the Mediterranean Sea with every day a stop and an excursion on land, in order: Marseille (France)(departure), Barcelona (Spain), Tunis (Tunisia), Valletta (Malta), Messina (Italy, Sicily), Rome (Italy) and Genoa (Italy). In Tunis we visited the beautiful Roman ruines of Carthage and the old Medina of Tunis.
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Thailand
- 7-25 November 2016: Fabulous travel to the land of the temples with my best friend. Starting in Bangkok (National Palace, Wat Pho, Wat Arun and Chinatown) ,
day-trip to Ayutthaya (temple complex and city ruins) and Amphawa (train market, floating market and a small boat trip to the fireflies) ,
then flying further to Chiang Mai (lantern festival)
visiting the Doi Inthanon (national park and nature trail with Sirithan and Wachirathan waterfalls)
and Doi Suthep (with in my opinion the most beautiful temples) . We even went further north to Pai (Pai canyon, memorial bridge)
visiting Tham (cave Lod) .
A taxi brought us back to the ruines and the historical park of Sukhothai to finally go back to Bangkok .
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Cape Verde
- (Planned 2019): Visit of the white beaches on the island Sal in Cape Verde together with 5 friends.
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