WEDNESDAY:

What is happening to Belgium? Brussels, the biggest city in the north, is in a state of deterioration. Liège, the biggest city in the south, is as well; this goes for the whole of Wallonia. How did this happen?

Belgium introduced continental Europe to the industrial age. Wallonia struck steel. The region prospered; wealth concentrated in Liége, and with it, grandeur and a population boom.The steel industry eventually collapsed under the weight of outdated technology. Wallonia has yet to recover, seeing increasing social problems and poverty in the face of Flemish prosperity. The lion roars; the rooster cock-a-doodles. Is this why Wallonians prefer to identify with Belgium?

“The city, nowadays, is rather poor,” explained our guide, Guy Janssens. Its people, however, have not lost their honor. Citizens of Liège bear a unique pride, perhaps similar to that of those in Friesland. Liège is indeed a beautiful city. On our tour we saw a gothic courtyard, panoramic views by the hilltop bunker/Nazi gallows/mass grave, much of the city, its alleys, steppes, river and monuments to war victims and freedom. A café and St. Paul’s Cathedral occupied the lunch hour. A visit to the Maison de la Métallurgie finished the day.