Traveling

Contents

Maps

Descriptions

Extremes

Future

Maps

This map shows the countries I have visited.

These maps show the countries I have visited.

Create your own visited countries map by amCharts.

Countries I have visited in Europe: 19 (including Belgium, exclusive Vatican City)
Countries I have visited in the World: 32 (including Belgium, exclusive Vatican City)

Descriptions

Europe

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,... In Gavere, I also had the opportunity to enjoy a helicopter flight

Favorite hotel: Hotel Val de l'Our (Burg-Reuland)

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.

Luxembourg

• Also went shopping there during some small trips in my childhood.
• 5-9, 19-25 June 2005: Two small business trips to Windhof, including one touristic daytrip in search of castles... finally arriving in Arlon (Belgium).

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).
• November 2007: One week trip to the Reims (Champagne) region with a group of -all male- friends organized by bus. We visited the city Reims and three champagne houses, Piper-Heidsieck, Castellane and Henri Maillart (20 Rue de l'Église, 51500 Chamery).
• 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.

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.
• 2006: Another trip to the Moselle with two friends.
• 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.
• Many other visits to the Christmas market in Aachen (almost every two years) with different groups of friends.

Poland

• 19-26 June 2021: Visiting beautiful Krakow with one of my best friends. Krakow has many different things to offer: it is very active, living city with lots of beautiful terraces, pubs and good food (especially the pierogi), great nature (especially the Morskie Oko lake in the Tatra national park around Zakopane), historical cultural (horrible Auschwitz-Birkenau extermination camp and Oskar Schindler's Factory museum), and industrial heritage (salt mines). We stayed in the beautiful Penthouse Orzeszkowa apartment.

Austria

• April 1993: Visited Salzburg, Vienna and Melk during a schooltravel. We had a hell of a time with our class! 

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.

Czechia

• April 1993: Visited the very romantic Prague during the schooltravel to Austria.

Slovakia

• April 1993: Passed through by bus with an intermediate stop during the schooltravel to Austria.

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).

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.

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.

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!
• 13-21 February 2020: Relaxed vacation on beautiful and varied isle Tenerife with five girls! Without saying, I had a very good time! We visited La Orotova (historical city), Masca, Icod, La Laguna, Anaga mountains, and El Teide till the Montaña Blanco. We could also enjoy an extra night in the Sol Tenerife (Playa de las Americas) hotel because the plane needed to be repaired.

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.

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.
• 20-26 August 2020: Six days in beautiful Venice, the city in the water, with one of my best friends. We visited not only Venice itself (San Marco place, magnificient Doge's palace, San Marco Cathedral, San Marco museum) but also some other islands, e.g. Murano and the very scenic Burano. We stayed in Hotel San Gallo and B&B La Rosa dei Venti.

Vatican City

• During my stays in Italy in 25-28 April 1998 and 16-23 May 2010, I also visited Vatican City.

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 stayed 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).

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.

Greece

• 13-25 June 2000: 6 days to the ancient Athens, the capital city, including a visit to the Oracle of Delphi, and 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.

United Nations
(countries outside Europe)

Switzerland

• 21-26 September 2002: On our way to Italy to attend a conference, I (myself) drove through Switzerland enjoying the sightseeing of the Gothard-pass.
• 13-15 September 2023: Short business trip to Zürich. Although there wasn't much time to do sightseeing, I made a small walk into the city center along the river Limmat.

United Kingdom

• March 1998: A weekend to London, the capital city, with 3 friends.
• 10-13 February 2023: Four days to London, with 2 friends, guided by some residents. First day we visited the city London itself, Sint-James park, Buckingham castle, parliament with Big Ben, Trafalgar square, Covent garden and dinner is China Town. Second day we walked along Sint-Pauls Cathedral, and the bridges, i.e. Tower Bridge. Third day we went to Windsor where the big castle of the former Queen is in the middle of the small and cosy town that grew around it. On the last day we took the boat on the Thames to Greenwich, famous for the prime meridian (since 1884).
• 8-12 March 2024: On business trip to London but with the addition of the weekend for pleasure, staying at the Marble Arch Inn. Visiting Westminster Abbey (also with a tour guide), walking through St. James Park to Buckingham Palace, Kensington Palace and beautiful Gardens, taking a tour on the London Eye, walking along Hyde Park to the Speakers Corner, Regent's Park, beautiful houses in Notting Hill with a delicious Carrot Cake, Soho and Madame Tussaud museum (inside).

Turkey

• 28 June - 7 July 2003: Business trip and short vacation in Istanbul.

Morocco

• 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.
• 24-31 March 2023: Trip to the Atlas mountain region with three good friends. We visited Marrakech city (Riad Djemanna), Ouarzazate (Dar Bladi) with Kasbahs, Ait Bou Oualal (Belle Vue Dades) with Dades Valley and Ait Ben Haddou (Kasbah Tifaoute) with magnificient Kasbahs.

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.

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.

United Arab Emirates

• 23-28 March: Visit of Dubai with a good friend to see the "ancient" city with the souqs and new city Deira with the souks (e.g. spices and gold), the Burj Khalifa (highest tower in the world, 828m, 163 floors), the Dubai Fountain (largest choreographed fountain system in the world), the Dubai Mall (second largest shopping center in the world with more than 1200 shops), the Jumeirah Palm Island and the Jumeirah mosque. One day we also went to the World Expo 2020 to visit some pavilions (e.g. Belgium). We stayed in the beautiful Media Rotana hotel.

Cape Verde

• 6-13 June 2019: Visit of the white beaches on the island Sal in Cape Verde together with 5 friends, including excursions to Palmeira, Espargos and Pedra di Lume.

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).

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. We visited Juneau (current capital city), Skagway, excursion to the White Pass summit (border with Canada, Yukon Territories) and Liarsville, and Sitka (former capital city).
• 10-25 May 2002: Vacation in the paradise of Honolulu (Hawaii) at Waikiki beach after attending a business conference. I explored the city, walked on Diamond Head, visited Pearl Harbor (Punch Bowl cemetery, USS Arizona Memorial, USS Missouri) and went to party in Paradise Cove. It was also possible to make a commercial tour in a submarine (Atlantis).

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).

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.

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 .

Animated flags thanks to Animated Images.

Extremes

Most Northern Point: Mora, Sweden (Latitude: 61° 1' 0" N)

Most Southern Point: Bangkok, Thailand (Latitude: 13° 45' 0" N)

Most Western Point: Pearl City (Pearl Harbor), Oahu, Hawaii, U.S.A. (Longitude: 157° 58' 1" W) (UTC-10)

Most Eastern Point: Bangkok, Thailand (Longitude: 100° 28' 0" E) (UTC+7)

Highest Point: Doi Inthanon, Chiang Mai, Thailand (2565 meters above mean sea level, highest point of Thailand)

Future

Countries I would like to visit in the (near) future: Scotland, Cyprus, Peru

J'ai pour nationalité
L'amour et le monde entier.
Linda De Suza (1948, Portuguese Singer, Actress and Author)
Une Fille de Tous les Pays (1982)