My Travelogue - Indian Travel Blogger, Heritage enthusiast & UNESCO hunter!

The Terminal Movie (kinda) happened to me!

2025-07-16T13:14:00.009+05:30

This article first appeared in My Travelogue by Bhushavali

Like my, once-in-a-while, unusual articles, about absolute personal experiences (like giving birth in Belgium or losing a passport in train in Europe), this is my story of how the movie Terminal happened to me!

TL DR: Always check the 'number of days' on your visa and if you go on multiple trips, keep a track of it!

Schengen Visa for Indians residing in India

Story time! So, I had planned 2 trips to the Schengen Area in Jan 2025 and Feb 2025. Now that I have moved back to India and submitted the Belgian Residence Permit, that means, I have to apply for a visa for every trip I plan to Europe (unless one gets a 3-5yr visa)!

Visa application to many countries that happen in India, happens via VFS and every time, to process a visa, it takes about ₹2000+ as VFS fee and then another ₹8000+ as Visa fee. This ₹10,000+ has to be spent with absolutely no guarantee that a visa will be issued. ₹10,000 is approximately $110 or €100.

Plus the visa application requires a confirmed, return-flight ticket without any guarantee that a visa will be issued. Which means, again, a fully-refundable flight ticket needs to be purchased, which costs easily about ₹10,000 (approximately $110 or €100) extra than a non-refundable ticket, for a Europe trip.

So, these, by itself, makes the whole process quite an expensive affair!

Overlapping travel dates on Visa with limited number of days:

For my trip in Jan 2025, I had the visa from Jan 08 to Feb 08. For my trip in Feb, I had a visa from Feb 08 to Feb 28. Now comes, the tricky thing... More important than these dates is the spot which says the 'Total Number of Days'. While my first visa said 17, my 2nd visa said just 6 days! This means, with the first visa, which has 30 days in the validity period, I am actually allowed to stay for only 17 days. Likewise, I'm allowed to stay for just 6 days in the 20 days validity of the 2nd visa!

While I understand this for long-term visas, like limiting per stay to 45-90 days in a 3-5 year visa, limiting the number of days to such short period in a super short validity visa is quite amusing! I understand that they've given this to allow slight flexibility in case of any flight delay or so, but still, 6 days in 20 days in just annoying!

This is also important, because in the last several years, with a Belgian Resident Permit, traveling between the 2 countries had been super easy as long as the expiry date in my passport and RP were valid.

My 2nd trip was planned from 6th Jan to 11th Jan and my point of entry was Frankfurt airport.....

What happened when I showed up at the immigration?

I reached the Schengen area on Jan 6th around 6:45PM. When I came to the immigration, it was pretty clear - I enter with my first visa (which was valid till 8th) and I continue my stay & exit with my 2nd visa (which was valid from 8th) - it was crystal clear. But...... I had unfortunately spent all the 17 days that I was granted with my first visa, during my first trip. So now, even though the visa is valid till 8th Feb, I didn't have any days left! So....... without knowing........ I had tried to illegally immigrate into the Schengen area!!! It is a criminal offence!

What I had in my hand were - either get deported back or stay in the Terminal till my next visa is valid, i.e, the midnight between Feb 7th & 8th, that's in another 30 hours! Obviously, I chose the 2nd option and that's how I became another Tom Hanks of Terminal Movie!!!

Legal series of steps - What to do when you're taken to the Border Police room?

Now, that I had tried to enter the country illegally, I was taken into the Border Police room. There I was told that they will have to write-up all the documents and since the official language of the country is only German, I was offered a legal translator, even though all the police official could speak English. He arrived in a couple of hours. They were all kind and soft spoken and truly understood that it was an honest mistake. The police told me that it's not a big deal since I have all the documents and my visa stamps were real and there's no malice intent.

Then the police came back with a bunch of documents which were also translated by the official translator. In a nutshell, this was basically 2 cases!!! - 1. I criminal case that tried to cross the border without legal documents and 2. 1 administrative case that I was staying in a German airport without legal documents (instead of going back)! This has a fine of €200. This was the fine for me to stay at the airport for the temporary time period. (This administrative case was closed and this €200 was refunded at the end of this fiasco!).

It was at this point that I broke down. Well, I've not gotten a traffic ticket in India. My most favourite route in Chennai was the ECR and I've ridden by bike several times between Thiruvanmiyur and Mahabalipuram or Pondicherry just to make my mood better. I was stopped by the traffic police many times for a regular check, but always had my papers & helmet on and everything on-point, legally. 'That' me, is now, sitting in the border police room in Frankfurt with a criminal cases on my head! The gravity of the issue slowly dawned on me and so yeah, I broke down. The policewoman there, was concerned and asked me why I suddenly broke down and I said that I reached my breaking point. They asked me if I needed water and gave me some. I had to sign all these documents accepting all these!!! They questioned me all the basic set of questionnaire and asked if I needed to say anything. I pleaded that it was a honest mistake.

I was allowed to call anyone I needed and be on phone for my emotional support and I was on call with my family through & through. I didn't ask them if I could film there, but I'm kind-of sure that would not have been allowed. I was given a copy of the documents that I had signed.

Finally, I was let out of the border police room, but be inside the airport premises for the next 24 hours after which my 2nd visa would become valid! They had collected my luggage and brought those here. I asked them if I could just let it be there while I was in the airport premises and they agreed. In general, they were kind & friendly.

Frankfurt Terminal at midnight

Midnight at a Frankfurt Airport!

To remind you, I had reached the airport at around 7:00 PM and the ordeal came to an end at 1:00AM! They asked if I had any food on me and I said I'll pick something up at the airport food-court or lounge. They said that the shops would be closed and offered to get me something from outside. They got me a McD veggie burger and fries that I had asked them and paid for.

I found myself a nice little corner of the airport with a lounge chair to lay down & rest. I laid down my bags and walked around a bit. Everything was closed!

Here's the thing - I've travelled a bit and I've spent midnights at Chennai airport, Delhi airport, Abu Dhabi airport, Dubai Airport which operate 24x7! Of course, I've also spent nights at tiny airports like Milan Bergamo & London Stanstead which almost close-off at nights, since they operate purely for 1 or 2 low-cost airlines like Ryan or Wizz and the airports operate only when those airlines work. Spending nights in such small airports was when I was much younger. Except for a back-packers like me then, there wouldn't be anyone else there, no lounges, no check-ins, no staff, nothing & no-one except security.

But the larger airports in India or UAE never close and there are flights throughout the night! Even at 11:00PM, 2:00AM, 4:00AM and people are there always and there are stores & lounges open all night, if not all, quite a few, to cater to the needs of people. I've eaten great food both in Chennai & Abu Dhabi lounges from 12:00 midnight to 2:00AM! I kind-of assumed all large airports operate 24x7, but boy was I wrong! Frankfurt Airport was shut down for all practical purposes by 10:00PM! Apart from border police & cleaners, the airport was desolate! Now I know, that most European Airports do not have any night flights as a part of noise management & reduction of noise pollution!!! Apart from coffee from an automatic vending machine, there was nothing to eat since all the shops close, because there are no passengers to cater to! Well, apart from border police & cleaners, there was I, at the airport, curled up on a lounge chair, in a nice corner!!!!!

Entering & exiting Frankfurt:

I spent the entire 2nd day at the airport just chilling! There was wi-fi at the airport and there were power-sockets for my laptop. I worked, and of course, I had to reschedule some meetings since I was held up here!

At the end of the 2nd day, at 11:45 PM I went back to the border police office for paper work and by 12:00 midnight I entered Frankfurt. I was given a copy of those papers as well and I was told to contact the 2 lawyers with whom I had to follow-up regarding the status of the criminal case which was still open. I called them almost immediately and they informed that the case would automatically be closed in 3 months since this was very straight forward.

They gave me the papers indicating that the administrative case was closed and they refunded the €200.

My friend had come to pick me up and drop me at my hotel. He also got me some good food, which I much needed after eating in-flight food & airport sandwiches for 2 days straight... After 3 days, I went back to the same airport for my return flight and it was easy with no issues.

What could I have done better?

Ofcourse, if I had known that I had exhausted the number of days on my first visa, I wouldn't have travelled. That said, if at all, I had figured this out enroute and if I had known that the 2nd visa wasn't valid yet, I could have gone directly to the border police, instead of immigration and if I had explained the situation, then, I wouldn't have "tried to cross the border without a valid visa"! In such a case, there wouldn't have been a criminal case, but just an administrative case to let me stay in the airport till the visa became valid! If you're doubtful if you have exhausted the number of days, this is probably the better way to go.

Here's the thing, a few years ago, pre-covid, I knew the importance of the 'number of days', when I processed the visa for my parents & in-laws when they visited Belgium. Post-covid, now, years after the last time I processed a Schengen Visa (thanks to the residence permit, I never needed a Schengen Visa), I honestly forgot about it!

Frankfurt Terminal at midnight

Will this affect the future visa applications to the Schengen area?

When I was there at the Terminal, I chatted with quite a few police personnel and ofcourse, I spoke with the lawyer too. Generally, yes, there could be implication in the future visa application approvals. However, one positive thing they all said was that, I wasn't deported back, and there's an entry stamp and exit stamp on my visa which were stamped with a date after the date I had done the 'offence', which is a sure sign that I didn't have malice intent and the border police did allow me to enter the Schengen area and I definitely left the Schengen area as well.

In March 2025 I applied for Schengen visa again via the Netherlands and my flight was till Brussels and then I had booked a train from Brussels to Netherlands. This time, it was a Visit Visa. I had submitted the whole bunch of documents given by the border police including a copy of the 2 older visas and the details of the purpose of the first 2 trips. I had asked for a visa for a month till May-end. I had also included a cover letter, literally asking for 'forgiveness' for the honest mistake I had done unknowingly!

I got the next visa!

Thankfully, I got this visa! This time it was valid from mid-Apr to July-end! I looked into the number of days and it said '90'!!!!! I think, probably, maybe, the visa officer had actually read through my ordeal with the meagre number of days in the earlier visas and perhaps that's why, went generous this time, or maybe it was just because it was the Netherlands!!!

Entering the Schengen area again:

As mentioned, my flight was till Brussels and I landed there. Obviously, the case would have shown up on the screen of the immigration officer at Brussels. He paused a moment, but then continued to ask when my return flight was. I showed him my return ticket and that was it. I was allowed to enter Brussels and after the stay I exited as well...

The case:

As I was informed, I called the lawyers 3 months after the issue but I couldn't get through to them. Then I mailed the border police and I got a confirmation that the case had been closed - 'discontinuation of proceedings due to triviality'.

I still wanted a confirmation document mentioning that the case has been closed which I asked the border police who directed me to the Frankfurt court and provided me with an email id. The mailed the court and got a copy of the case closure document!

P.S: Movie posters of The Terminal movie has been edited & used under Fair Use of Copyrights.

BOOKMARK NOW / PIN IT & READ LATER

A travel guide to the UNESCO Sites in Modena - Cathedral, Torre Civica and Piazza Grande

2025-06-15T15:21:00.005+05:30

This article first appeared in My Travelogue by Bhushavali

My this particular trip was one of the very last Italian trips I took before moving out of Europe. Thanks to Emilia Romagna Tourism's planning, the trip to cover as many UNESCO World Heritage Sites as possible in the Emilia Romagna region was possible; plus one special site - the country of San Marino, which also has 1 UNESCO Site!

Cathedral from Piazza Grande

Modena in One Day - Authentic Balsamic Vinegar Acetaia, Vegetarian Food, Historic City Center & more.

2025-03-31T06:46:00.014+05:30

This article first appeared on My Travelogue by Bhushavali

MODENA TRAVEL GUIDE

THINGS TO DO IN MODENA IN ONE DAY

My this particular trip was one of the very last Italian trips I took before moving out of Europe. Thanks to Emilia Romagna Tourism, the trip was to cover as many UNESCO World Heritage Sites as possible in the Emilia Romagna region; plus one special site - the country of San Marino. The trip began with a Ryan Air flight from Brussels to Bologna. As soon as I got off the flight at Bologna, my first stop was Villa San Donnino in the outskirts of Modena. So here's my travel guide to Modena of the things to do in Modena in 1 day.

Authentic Balsamic Vinegar aging in barrels at Acetaia Villa San Donnino

Unusual Places to Visit in Singapore with kids in a budget

2025-03-04T20:46:00.017+05:30

This article first appeared on My Travelogue by Bhushavali

BUDGET-FRIENDLY 4 DAYS ITINERARY IN SINGAPORE

Unusual & Non-Touristy things to do in Singapore

(which may also be cheap & free things to do in Singapore!)

One of the things that everyone who has been to Singapore has always told me was that it is expensive, even just to purchase tickets of attractions, as a tourist. I thought, 'Challenge Accepted' (in the voice of Barney Stinson!). But here's the thing, it was 'after' I made the plan that I realized that none of the places I was visiting actually costed anything!!! That said, I didn't visit Merlion, Gardens by the Bay, Sentosa, Universal Studios, Singapore Zoo, or any of the usual touristy places which are essentially the ones that cost a lot of dollars! So, here's My Travelogue on the unusual places to visit in Singapore which is also the Ultimate Guide to a Budget Trip to Singapore!

If you're an Indian, here's the reference to how big, the country of Singapore is - Singapore is almost the same size as Bangalore, it is half the size of Delhi, and one fifth the size of Goa!!!

Sisters' Island - Best Beaches of Singapore

Dolce la Hulpe - A forest retreat so close to Brussels!

2025-02-04T20:56:00.012+05:30

This article first appeared on My Travelogue by Bhushavali

Last year, on my birthday, I wanted to go all out. I mean, I knew it was my last year in Brussels and I had to go out with a bang! So, I started to hunt for the perfect spot to celebrate my birthday. It wasn't going to be a party, but just me and Atyudarini, in a resort, chilling & relaxing for 3 days. I looked into various hotels & B&Bs. I did come across some excellent B&Bs but none that suited my dates. Finally, I decided upon Dolce la Hulpe.

Ninglinspo & Grottes de Remouchamps (Wallonia - Belgium)

2025-01-04T08:44:00.004+05:30

This article first appeared on My Travelogue by Bhushavali

Ninglinspo was on my wishlist since quite some time. I referred to it as 'Belgium's Tada'. If you're from Chennai you'll understand what I'm referring to and I told everyone that it's what it is. It's almost like Tada, the trek is neither too easy nor too hard, and you'll hike upstream just beside the stream, and you'll come across several little waterfalls, a (kinda(!)) bigger waterfall, and finally, all the way up, you'll see a fantastic view of the valley underneath you!!! It is exceptional...

Planning my Ninglinspo trip depending on public transport was what delayed the trip all the while. While it is actually well connected by public transport (buses run once every hour), like most Belgian buses to villages, they become very sparce during weekends & public holidays! While it is possible to do a trip completely on public transport, it would get too hectic or you'll probably have to do 2 day trips to the 2 places, which is also very much possible (more details below). What did we do? A 2-day trip and used a taxi for the very last bit.

Steam Railways in Belgium - Mariembourg & Treignes (Wallonia - Belgium)

2024-11-07T06:28:00.010+05:30

This article first appeared on My Travelogue by Bhushavali

TAKING THE STEAM TRAIN TO GO TO TREIGNES, THE VILLAGE OF MUSEUMS

All by Public Transport

I had known of this place for several years now. But then, I felt, going there by public transport was a bit tedious when Atyudarini was even younger, so I kept skipping it, till recently when I knew I was going to say ‘Goodbye’ to Belgium. I couldn’t go without visiting this place - The Steam Railways of Mariambourg, plus Atyudarini is now a bit older to deal with a longer journey.

The whole journey takes a about 2:30 hours to get to Mariembourg. It is possible to do this as a daytrip, but I really felt there was no point doing that, esp. since there are several more things to do in the region, especially with Treignes being called the Village of Museums! So, I chose to stay there, at Mazée, the village next to Treignes.

Trying to walk wearing the wooden clogs at Eco-Museum of Viroin

THREE VALLEYS STEAM RAILWAYS AT MARIEMBOURG:
As you know the first ever train line to carry passengers in Mainland Europe was laid between Brussels & Mechelen in 1835. As the railway lines rapidly grew across Belgium, in 1845, Chemin de fer de l'Entre Sambre et Meuse was set up to connect Sambre river with Meuse river with Railways! In 1854, this particular line, Mariembourg (BE) – Vireux (FR) line was laid. Later on, Belgian State took over the railways and in 1902, a border station was built here in Treignes and this line connecting Mariembourg & Treignes came to be known as Line 132. The was functional till 1963 for passengers after which it fell to disuse. However, by 1973, locals & railway enthusiasts came together to not let this portion of the historical railways die and set-up CFV3V - Chemin de Fer à Vapeur des 3 Vallées (Three Valleys Steam Railway). Mr. Michel Pâques, then a driver/mechanic at SNCB, decided to talk to various Coal mines to donate their steam engines instead of sending them for scrap metal as the transportation moved to diesel. Many were happy to do that, since Steam Locomotives represented the Industrial Era for them and very soon CFV3V was born!
As soon as I reached Mariembourg, a short walk took me to the Steam Railway station. We were right on time, the electric train had a few more minutes to depart (& the next steam train was a couple hours later). My idea was this - take the electric train and reach Treignes, so we could watch the Steam Train as it rolls into the station a couple hours later, all huffing & puffing! When you’re inside a train, obviously you can’t see its smoke atop!!!
There is a museum dedicated to the Steam Railways, but we didn’t have time during our onward journey, so we looked into it, later on.
As soon as we boarded the train, we chose a window seat & settled down. It was quite something to travel by this train. First of all, it was relatively quite slow (if you fall outside, you’ll still get hurt, but much slower when comparing to regular trains), the windows & doors were open. We could stand just behind the train operator and watch him navigate. The train went through quite a few tunnels and the track wasn’t ‘safeguarded’, meaning, people could cross the track anywhere. I spotted a man, moving away from the track as the train approached; then, 2 dogs, that literally stopped the train!!! The dogs wouldn’t budge from the track and the dogs’ owner had to put quite some effort to move them. So yeah, it reminded Atyudarini of ‘Usborne Farmyard Tales - The Goat that stopped the Train’!!! The train went through a very pleasing, happy, pastural passage, surrounded by greenery. There are a couple of stops in between. It was quite something to see the road crossings - the train would stop and the conductor would get off the train and hold the ‘stop’ sign for any vehicles that may be coming; there was one spot where the 2 road crossings were so close to one another, that she didn’t even board the vehicle, but walked between them! It was funny & awesome!!!
Ofcourse, through the windows, the views of the greenery & cattle was just so serene, but one view caught the eye - the Castle of Vierves-sur-Viroin. This is currently a private property and cannot be entered.
Soon we were in Treignes, and after spending some time at the Treignes Railway Museum, we headed out again to watch the Steam Train rolling in, as planned.

Where is Steam Train of Mariembourg (on Google Maps): Chemin de Fer à Vapeur des 3 Vallées - CFV3V
How to reach Steam Train of Mariembourg by public transport: SNCB-NMBS trains run from Brussels to Mariembourg via Charleroi. You'll have to take a train to Charleroi and change to another train to Couvin and get off at Mariembourg. The Charleroi <-> Couvin train is not too frequent, so check the timings & then start. Click here for my article on the ways to find cheap train tickets in Belgium.
Steam Train of Mariembourg ticket prices: Adults: €16 for roundtrip & €10 for 1-way (if you're staying in Treignes overnight); Kids under 6 go free and other go at €10 for a roundtrip & €7 for 1 way. Tickets can only be bough

Steam Train of Mariembourg timings: Changes annually. Usually 3 trains run per day. Check the official site of CFV3V

Tips for visiting Steam Train of Mariembourg: Check the Mariembourg-Treignes Itinerary below to plan you trip. The SNCB-NMBS Belgian Railway station of Mariembourg is about 10 mins walk from the Steam Train station.

Just 2 dogs crossing the railway track!

The Castle of Vierves-sur-Viroin

STEAM RAILWAY MUSEUM OF THE THREE VALLEYS

The Steam Railway Museum of the Three Valleys is located right there at the spot where the Steam/Electric train drops you. It did remind me quite a bit of our own Train Museum in Brussels. All the information about how the Line 132 was revived and CFV3V was set up, history, heritage, was there in the museum. Various Steam Locomotives were on display.
There were very many huge trains & engines and quite a few of them, you could climb & walk inside. One of the trains is a functional bar and has disco lights installed in it that you could absolutely have fun party at, if you’re hiring the space to organize an event. Since someone’s birthday party had just gotten over when we went, the music & disco lights were still on and Atyudarini had fun dancing & ‘catching’ the lights.
There were also many gadgets, machinery and items used by this railway line and Atyudarini role-played being a station master which those.
Since we had visited there only a few days after Easter, the Easter activity for kids was still on and Atyudarini had super fun. It was a treasure hunt (of course!) to complete a puzzle (wowzee!) to find a code (awesome!) which is the unlock code for a numlock that locked an iron trunk luggage of the yesteryears, but was filled with easter eggs & candy canes! It could not have gotten better than this!!!

Where is the Steam Railway museum of the 3 Valleys (on Google Maps): Musée du chemin de fer à vapeur - Steam Railways Museum
How to reach the Steam Railway museum of the 3 Valleys: It's just there at the Treignes Railway Station that you can reach by taking the Steam Railway from Mariembourg.
The Steam Railway museum of the 3 Valleys ticket prices: Adults: €7; Kids: €5

The Steam Railway museum of the 3 Valleys timings: 10:00 to 6:00PM (till 5:00PM in winters)

Tips for visiting the Steam Railway museum of the 3 Valleys: Ask at the ticket office for the kids activities.

MALGRE TOUT MUSEUM (MUSEE DU MALGRE TOUT)

Musee du Malgre Tout immediately became one of our favourite museums as soon as we entered in. The museum is dedicated to the history of the region including Natural History. The museum is in 2 floors and we started from the ground floor with the first exhibit dedicated to the Middle Paleolithic Era.
Did you know that this region was a Neanderthal settlement in the Middle Paleolithic Era (300,000 BCE to 40,000 BCE)?! The most important site is Trou de l’Abime where the archaeologists had discovered a milk-tooth of an infant, fossilized and stuck to a piece of rock! This was way too perfect for Atyudarini because her classmates at school had started losing their milk-tooth and she was eagerly awaiting for that to happen to her!
There were quite a few other fossils in display including pieces & bones of Mammoth, pre-historic Horse, pre-historic Great Deer etc. Then the display moved over to the Celtics, Roman Era, etc with their clothing, tools, pottery, coins etc. The display on the 1st floor was super cute with several miniatures! The best part were the miniatures of the various dwellings throughout history in this region from prehistoric to Roman. One of the fascinating miniatures was that of the circle of bones with skulls of various animals with the tusks of mammoth making the entrance! It was quite something.
The museum is really visitor friendly with lift along the staircase for the differently-abled, little stools for kids to stand on, etc. Half of the upper floor is dedicated to activities for kids including drawing, some games etc.
The even more special part of the museum is the outdoor area. Remember the miniature prehistoric dwelling with various animal skulls & tusks of mammoth for an entrance? A replica of that in life-size was here in the outdoors! There were a few more dwellings including a tipi. Then there was something that made my daughter super emotional - a replica fossil of a baby mammoth from Siberia that died drowning in the icy cold muddy river some 42,000 years ago.
Then there’s the outdoor activity area where activities happen during weekends & public holidays. When we went, Atyudarini learnt about mineral colors that was used by the prehistoric human to color & decorate their dwellings. The animator/guide also showed pictures of Lascaux etc. Finally, it was our turn to make some drawing with mineral colors! She showed us how to draw a mammoth and we did!

Where is Musée du Malgré-Tout (on Google Maps): Malgre Tout Museum
How to reach Musée du Malgré-Tout: 3 minutes walk (270 m) from Steam Railway Museum of Treignes

Musée du Malgré-Tout ticket prices: Adults: €5; Kids: €2.50; Included in museumPASSmusées

Musée du Malgré-Tout timings: Weekdays: 9:30AM to 5:30PM; Weekends & holidays: 10:30AM to 6:00PM

Musée du Malgré-Tout Phone number: +32(0) 60 39 02 43

Musée du Malgré-Tout tips: Call them in advance to book activities like the ones we did with drawing using natural mineral colors. They also have a ton other activities like javelin throw, leather bracelet making, terracotta pottery, learning Hieroglyphics, etc.

Drawing & coloring a Mammoth with natural, mineral colors

ECO-MUSEUM OF VIROIN
On Day 2 morning, the first place we headed to was the Eco-Museum of Viroin. Located in the site of a Farm-Castle, it was the place where Atyudarini had the most fun. As soon as we entered, we decided to try all the hands-on activities in the museum. There were quite a few traditional games incl. the old version of bowling with a puck & sticks(!), ring toss, sling puck, walking with wooden clogs, group walking with wooden clogs attached to a log(!!!) and finally wrapping it all up with a relaxing painting of a miniature wooden clog… It was entirely super duper fun morning for Atyudarini and the mild drizzling made it all even better!!!
After the activities, we walked around the museum, to see their permanent exhibition. The first room was the Wooden Clog making machinery. We only got to see the machinery and the unfinished clog which gave idea on how a log becomes a clog. On certain days, they also have a demo which unfortunately didn’t happen when we visited. Then there was a room on agriculture which explaining everything from types of grains to sowing to harvesting to winnowing etc. Then there was a semi-outdoor room/shed dedicated to iron forging. Again, here too, we only got to see the machinery and not a demo. Outside this, was the entire outdoor display of various historic agriculture machinery through the history from hand-held ploughs to cattle-driver ploughs to current tractors. The view from here was so serene with the cattle grazing and greenery everywhere.
We came back here in the afternoon for the best memory that Atyudarini has of this trip - Etats d'Ânes, literally, ‘State of the donkeys’! The activity began with brushing & petting the donkeys, followed by walking on the road, over the bridge and into the hiking area dirt track, letting it graze along the way, crossing the railway tracks(!), forage some wild garlic, and head back to the museum… It was just awesome! All that said, here’s what that makes this incredibly awesome - this is actually a café where you are surrounded by these donkeys! You don’t have to go for the walk/hike, you can just relax with a cup of coffee/juice/beer/wine while the donkeys will just be around you or in the meadows behind. After the walk, I just sat here at the café while Atyudarini proceeded to pet & brush the donkeys as they were grazing in the meadows. Just incredible!!!

Where is Eco-Museum of Viroin (on Google Maps): Écomusée du Viroin
How to reach Eco-Museum of Viroin: 1km (14 mins walk) from Treignes Steam Railway station

Eco-Museum of Viroin phone number: +32(0) 60 39.96.24
Eco-Museum of Viroin ticket prices: Adults: €5; Kids: €3; Included in museumPASSmusées

Eco-Museum of Viroin timings: Spring-Autumn: 10:00AM to 6:00PM; Winter: 1:00PM to 5:00PM

Eco-Museum of Viroin tips: Call them in advance to book activities like the wooden games or painting on miniature wooden clogs. When we visited the wooden games costed €2 each and painting the miniature clogs costed €3. Games may not be available everyday.

ESPACE ARTHUR MASSON
First of all, who was Arthur Masson? Well, he was an artist/novelist/teacher, whose father was a customs officer here in Viroin at the French Border. He was working as a teacher in Nivelles, when he created a comic character ‘Toine Culot’ an obese man from the Ardennes region. This imaginary character developed into a comic series where he becomes the mayor of the imaginary town of Trignolles; several other side characters were introduced including his wife & children, his cousin, a local pharmacist, a physician, and many more.
Today this museum is located in 3 buildings around the central square of the village. These 3 buildings once served as the nursery, boys school, and the girls school. The nursery houses the ticket office & cafeteria; the girls’ school houses the ‘School of the Yesteryears’; the boys’ school houses the ‘Trignolles Show’.
My first stop was the ‘School of the Yesteryears’- 'École d’autrefois'. This was literally a school from the yesteryears - complete with blackboard, wooden benches, hanging charts with pictures of human biological systems or types of birds or anything, quills and inkwells, slates and keys, dunce's cap etc. The students (meaning us, the museum visitors!) have to wear an apron-like uniform and sit down on our wooden benches in two-s! Then the teacher comes in!!! She’s very strict and has a cane/wooden scale in the hand. She asks questions and if we don’t answer properly or if we’re giggling, she shouts at us and we might even have to wear a dunce’s cap and stand in the corner!!!
Here’s the thing - I’m a millennial from India and Atyudarini is a Gen Z going to school in Belgium. While everything is funny & amusing & very weird to her, atleast half of those things were literally there in my school when I was a kid!!! We studied without internet and we had those charts hanging in the class, we wore uniform and sat in wooden benches in twos or threes. We studied before white boards & markers came into being and we had black boards & chalks. It was not too different from what I had except certain things like quills, inkwells etc. It was way too amusing for me to see Atyudarini’s amused, funny reactions as a GenZ kid in a classroom which was very close to my own childhood!!!
After spending a while in the classroom we went over to the other part of the museum where the ‘Trignolles Show’ - 'Parcours-spectacle' is showcased in a series of rooms. This is an overview of the life of the comic character ‘Toine Culot’ and his village ‘Trignolles’ in 1930-60! It was quite an unusual way of presentation - you go in with an audio guide; but as soon as you enter, the door closes and its pitch dark; and then Scene 1 unfolds. You’re sitting in the middle of the town square and a carnival had just finished; there’s a stage and a things are being put-away… Everything is made a life-sized sculptures and the people are made of, I think, paper-mâché, and looks much like puppets! Once done, again, all lights go off and it’s pitch dark, and lights come up on Scene 2 and you walk there. While this was fun, it was a bit scary for Atyudarini when it got pitch dark. There are a total of 11 Scenes incl. the Pharmacist at the pharmacy, a classroom in the boys’ school, Toine Culot watching TV & reading the newspaper about WWII with his wife, etc wrapping up with Toine Culot & his family filling the boot of a car with suitcases to leave on a vacation.
The museum has an excellent cafeteria called ‘Chez Toine’ and he had some quick sandwiches & fries for lunch before heading back to Eco-Museum of Viroin for Etats d'ânes.

Where is Espace Arthur Masson (on Google Maps): Espace Arthur Masson
How to reach Espace Arthur Masson: 1.1km from Treignes Steam Railway station; 400m from Écomusée du Viroin

Espace Arthur Masson ticket prices: €7.50 each for the School of Yesteryear & for the Show Path of Trignolles.

Espace Arthur Masson ticket purchase online: Official site of Espace Arthur Masson

Espace Arthur Masson timings: 10:00AM to 5:00PM (closes at 6:00PM in Summers only)

Espace Arthur Masson tips: École d’autrefois show happens at set timings, twice or thrice a day only. You'll see those timings when you book the ticket. Don't miss the timings.

WALKING AROUND MAZÉE:

Staying in the tiny village of Mazée, we walked around the 4 streets of the village!! Yes, the village has a major roads passing through it and 2 semi-major roads in 2 other directions, that connect it to 4 neighbouring villages. In the heart of this village are just 2 streets and 2 other tiny streetlets. There was 1 bakery in the village that was closed for vacation and that’s it! There were no other shops! The nearest supermarket was Delhaize in Treignes, the next village!
One of these 2 street is Rue de Moulin which branches to a tiny dirt track going into the wooded areas, hiking which, you’ll reach France! That’s about a 1.2km hike from the heart of Mazée. However, Atyudarini was in absolutely no mood to hike, so we walked a little bit but I gave up on touching the French border. That said the Mazée village was so charming with sheep everywhere, charming little houses with Wisteria around their doors & one even had an old milk can repurposed as a letter-box.
Btw, traveling with a kiddo just means… you’ve gotta find a playground wherever you go! In the heart of Mazee is a cute playground and it was made even more adorable with the local family was just having a good time there with the adults having a drink & unwinding for the weekend while the kiddos (a bit younger than Atyudarini) running around. Atyudarini had a play-partner now! The playground even had a foosball table and playing it those kiddos was super-fun for her.

Hiking paths in Mazée: via Sity Trails

Mazée to the French Border hike: via Sity Trails

Playground in Mazée: on Google Maps

The only eatery in Mazée: Boulangerie MAZ'PAIN

BEST HOTEL IN TREIGNES - REVIEW OF LE POINT DU JOUR
We stayed a night at this adorable B&B in Mazée called Le Point du Jour. It just has 2 rooms in the first floor while the owners live in the ground floor. Here’s what was awesome - the bed wasn’t made when we reached and she asked Atyudarini if she wanted the Disney Princess bedsheets and when Atyu said yes, she did the bed with it!!! I had to bit of tough time to pull Atyudarini out of the room to go explore Mazée after she saw those Disney beds!!!
The whole building is in 3 levels, but like a staircase/terrace (very much like ‘terrace farming’ since we are actually in a mountainous area). The ground floor is projected out the most and Level 1 was where we were and atop us was the swimming pool & garden.
We had packed our dinner for the day, but if you need dinner, you’ll have to inform the owner prior, so she can arrange for it. Otherwise, you’re stuck in small village, with no restaurants & no Uber Eats! We climbed over to the garden and had our dinner with a view of the sprawling green pastures in front of us and 3 horses grazing away. Atyudarini noticed that 2 of those resembled Spirit & Boomerang (you’ll know the reference if you’ve watched Spirit Riding Free)!
I had alarm set in the middle of the night, so we could head out to see the stars & milkyway and it was mind blowing! It was so incredible & pristine! Just awesome view of the billions of stars over our heads… The outside of the ground-floor even had a outdoor pizza oven, if you could bring some firewood & get it going.
The next morning, we were woken up with a yummy spread of warm breads, jams, butter, chocolate spreads & fruit yogurt and soon we headed out to Eco-Museum of Viroin which was our 1st place to visit in Viroin on Day 2.

Where is Le Point du Jour B&B (on Google Maps): Le Point du Jour
How to reach Le Point du Jour B&B : 2.2km (30 mins) walk from Treignes Steam Railway station. The path is also a slight upward slope...

Le Point du Jour B&B prices: €45 for a standard double room incl. breakfast

Le Point du Jour contact details: +32 (0) 6039 0143 (Ms. Marie-Françoise Lareppe)

MARIEMBOURG-TREIGNES ITINERARY

DAY TRIP TO MARIEMBOURG STEAM-RAILWAYS FROM BRUSSELS:
9:00 - Train from Brussels Central to Mariembourg (via Charleroi)
11:11 - Reach Mariembourg
11:11 - 11:30 - 10 mins walk from Mariembourg SNCB Railway station to Chemin de Fer du 3 Valleys.
11:30 - Auto Rail (Electric) to Treignes
12:00 - Reach Treignes
12:00 - 16:20 - Visit Steam Railway Museum & Malgre Tout Museum.
16:20 - Vapour Rail to Mariembourg
17:00 - Reach Mariembourg
18:49 - Train from Mariembourg to Brussels (via Charleroi)
21:00 - Reach Brussels

TWO-DAYS TRIP TO MARIEMBOURG & TREIGNES FROM BRUSSELS (My Itinerary)
Day 1:
9:00 - Train from Brussels Central to Mariembourg (via Charleroi)
11:11 - Reach Mariembourg
11:25 - 10 mins
11:30 - Auto Rail (Electric) to Treignes
12:00 - Reach Treignes
12:00 - 16:00 - Visit Steam Railway Museum & Malgre Tout Museum. If you want, you could come back to the Treignes Railway Station at 3:00PM to watch the steam engine roll in.
17:00 - 18:00 - Hike/Bike to French Border
Stay overnight in one of the charming little B&Bs in Treignes or Mazée. Otherwise, here’s a cool idea, hike/bike 5km to Vireux-Molhain, across the border, and stay overnight in France!!!
Day 2:
Walk/Bike from your accommodation to reach Eco-Museum of Viroin. From Le Point du Jour, the B&B where I stayed, Eco-Museum of Viroin was about 2.5km, but it was one downwards slope!
09:00 - Visit Eco-Museum of Viroin
11:00 - Visit Espace Arthur Masson
13:00 - Visit Villa Gallo Romain (I missed visiting this)
14:00 - Walk to Donkey activity with Etats d'Ânes at Eco-Museum of Viroin
16:00 - Reach Treignes railway station
16:20 - Vapour Rail to Mariembourg
17:00 - Reach Mariembourg
18:49 - Train from Mariembourg to Brussels (via Charleroi)
21:00 - Reach Brussels

Donkey cafe Etats d'Ânes inside Eco-museum of Viroinval

Walking with the donkey experience with Etats d'Ânes at Eco-museum of Viroinval

BEST TIME TO VISIT MARIEMBOURG - TREIGNES

The steam railways do not operate in the winter between November and March. The first train usually runs on April 1st every year and runs only during weekends & long weekends. The frequency is much more during the summer holidays in July and August. That said, the hotels get filled up quickly for the summer season, so pre-planning for hotel booking is necessary. I'd say the best time to visit is during Spring holidays or any other weekend before July or after August.

Camping near Brussels - A Beginners' Guide

2024-09-13T09:34:00.008+05:30

This article first appeared on My Travelogue by Bhushavali

I'm a naive beginner camper! As an Indian millennial, the concept of camping was unusual to me. For me, camping meant wild camping with tarpaulin sheets and not cozy tents with inflatable beds (though it is common in India today, it wasn't so when I was young).

UNESCO Zollverein Coal Mine Industrial Complex & Other Things to do in Essen, Germany

2024-04-18T10:14:00.010+05:30

This article first appeared on My Travelogue by Bhushavali

WHAT TO DO IN ESSEN, GERMANY IN 24 HOURS?

FREE THINGS TO DO IN ESSEN ON A BUDGET TRIP TO GERMANY

ZOLLEVEREIN COAL MINE INDUSTRIAL COMPLEX

The main reason I went to Essen was to visit the Zolleverein Coal Mine Industrial Complex, one of the UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Germany. After visiting the Major Mining Sites of Wallonia (Bois du Luc, Bois du Cazier, Grand Hornu, and Blegny Mine) in Belgium, and Nord-Pas de Calais Mining Basin in France, it was time for me to visit Germany to visit Zollerverein Coal Mine Industrial Complex.

How to visit Nord-Pas de Calais Mining Basin? - UNESCO World Heritage Sites in France

2024-01-02T13:34:00.006+05:30

This article first appeared in My Travelogue by Bhushavali

A ROAD TRIP IN NORTHERN FRANCE TO VISIT ITS UNESCO WORLD HERITAGE SITES

AN ULTIMATE TRAVEL GUIDE TO VISIT THE NORD-PAS-DE-CALAIS MINING BASIN

Terrils du Pays a Part Twin Slag heaps in Haillicourt. Photo by: Benoît Diéval.

Indian War Graves in Pas-de-Calais, France - Forgotten Indians of WWI

2023-10-26T19:08:00.005+05:30

This article first appeared in My Travelogue by Bhushavali

INDIAN SOLDIERS IN WORLD WAR 1

MEMORIAL TOURISM IN PAS-DE-CALAIS, FRANCE FOR INDIANS

Visiting the graves of the forgotten soldiers of Indian Army in the First World War near Neuve-Chapelle, France

Following the Indian War Graves in Belgium and Indian War Graves in Somme in France, it was time to visit the Indian War Graves in the Nord-Pas-de-Calais region. In France, there are 3 regions with the majority of graves of Indians Soldiers of WWI in France - Somme, Marseille, and Pas-de-Calais.

The region of Nord-Pas-de-Calais touches the southern Belgian border, meaning it is very close to Brussels, however, by public transport, it is not too easy to visit. The best way to visit this region is either by bike or by car. Recently, we headed there, with a friend and his car! The trip was for 3 days including the UNESCO Listed Mining Sites in Nord-Pas-de-Calais for 2 days and 1 day dedicated to the Common Wealth War Graves in the region.

UNESCO WORLD HERITAGE SITES IN FRANCE & BELGIUM - FUNERARY AND MEMORY SITES OF THE FIRST WORLD WAR

In 2023, after I visited these sites, 139 World War I sites in France & Belgium, have been included together, as the Funerary and Memory Sites of the First World War under UNESCO. Many of these cemeteries listed below have been included in the list of 139 sites.

Rue-Petillon Military Cemetery. Photo by Benoit Dieval

Rue-de-Bacquerot No:1 Military Cemetery. Photo by Benoit Dieval

Neuve Chapelle Indian Memorial. Photo by Benoit Dieval

WHY DID THE INDIANS FIGHT IN THE FIRST WORLD WAR?

To give you a gist - Austria's crown prince Archduke Ferdinand was killed by Serbian nationalists. Austria wages war on Serbia. Serbia befriends Germany, here on called Axis. Austria befriends Russia & France, here on called Allies. Britain joined the Allies. India was a British Colony and they deputed Indian soldiers & laborers to Europe!

Not a few but, more than 8,00,000 soldiers and more than 5,00,000 laborers participated in the First World War (which was then called the Great War) of whom more than 73,000 died! Read here to know more about the role of Indians in WWI.

Again, I mention here too, as I mentioned in my earlier posts - we are talking about British India which includes today's India, Pakistan, Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh, Srilanka, and a bit of Afghanistan as well.

INDIAN SOLDIERS OF THE FIRST WORLD WAR IN THE NORD-PAS-DE-CALAIS REGION

As I mentioned in my earlier article on Indian War Graves of the Somme Region, after the Ypres battles, the Indian soldiers, were moved to the Pas-de-Calais in France (very close to Ypres), as well as Somme (further south). Specific battles and defense took place time and again in this region and in some of those, Indian soldiers played a preeminent role. This includes, but is not limited to, the Defence of Festubet, the Battle of Festubert, the Battle of Loos, the Battle of La Bassee, the Battle of Aubers, and of course, the Battle of Neuvechapelle which many many Indians lost their lives.

Read more: Indian War Graves in Belgium; Indian War Graves in Somme, France; Indische Legion at Atlantikwall

BATTLE OF LA BASSÉE

The Battle of La Bassée happened on Oct 1914. The German Army had now occupied Neuve-Chapelle and La Bassée. By 15 October, the British recaptured Givenchy but were defeated at La Bassée. By 21st Oct the Lahore division joined the forces. Later on, by 28th Oct, more and more Indian forces incl. 8th Gurkha, 9th Bhopal, and 47th Sikh regiments joined. On 30th Oct 1914, a German attack pushed the 8th Gurkha battalion back. Several soldiers of our 8th Gurkha regiment perished. 22 of these Indian War Graves of the Gurkha soldiers of the First World War who died in this particular attack are in Y-Farm Cemetery and Laventie Cemetery (more details below).

Laventie Military Cemetery (above & below)

St.Gorre British & Indian Cemetery

DEFENCE OF FESTUBERT

After the First Battle of Ypres, by early Nov 1914, there was a pause to deal with the severe winter weather and exhaustion of the soldiers on either side. However, there were some Winter Operations. These were some smaller attacks that kept happening from Nov 1914 to Feb 1915.

The Defence of Festubert happened on 23rd & 24th Nov 1914 when the 7th Meerut Division of the British Indian Army defended the village of Festubert against German attack. The German army took over some trenches and the Indian Army recaptured all the trenches very quickly. This 7th Meerut Division included regiments of Garhwal Rifles, Gurkha Rifles, Baluchis, and more, which all suffered severe losses during the battle. Darwan Singh Negi of the 39th Garhwal Regiment was awarded the Victoria Cross for his bravery during the Defence of Festubert (more details below).

DEFENCE OF GIVENCHY

The Defence of Givenchy happened at Givenchy-lès-la-Bassée on 20th Dec 1914 when the front line held by Lahore and Meerut divisions was shelled by the Germans. As many as 10 mines exploded here causing a major loss of lives. The trenches of Givenchy and Festurbest were captured by the Germans and were eventually recaptured by British Indian & French troops the very next day.

BATTLE OF NEUVECHAPELLE

The battle of Neuvechapelle happened on 10th - 13th March 1915. By now, the war had taken a deadlier turn with aerial photography! On 10th March, the British Indian Army was tasked with an artillery bombardment of German wire which happened in 30 minutes. This was followed by an infantry attack by the Garhwal Brigade of the Meerut Division. In spite of several casualties, the Lahore Battalions forwarded and took the village, while incapacitating German infantry (trench defense) and taking over their machine guns! The battle of Neuve-Chapelle was the first big battle for the British Indian Army and 4200 Indian soldiers perished here. The Indian Memorial of Neuve Chapelle was built here to commemorate the same (more details below).

Pont-du-Hem Military Cemetery (above & below)

BATTLE OF LOOS

The battle of Loos requires a very special mention when talking about the Indian Soldiers of the First World War in France. Battle of Loos was one of the bloodiest battles for the British Indian Army during the First World War. It is the battle in which most number of Indians died in the Nord-Pas-de-Calais region.

The Battle of Loos took place from 25th Sept - 8th Oct 1915. The British used poison gas for the first time in an effort to recapture Artois & Champagne. However, the German defense was much better and the British were defeated. One of the major sections of the British Army during this battle was the Third Gurkha Rifles regiment from India (today's Nepal). Rifleman Kulbir Thapa was awarded the Victoria Cross for his bravery during the Battle of Loos (more details below).

VICTORIA CROSS AWARDEES IN THE NORD-PAS-DE-CALAIS REGION

Victoria Cross is the highest gallantry medal awarded to the most courageous act and valor 'in the presence of the enemy', meaning 'in the battlefront' in the British Army. This is the British equivalent of the Indian Param Vir Chakra. The first ever Indian to have been awarded this was Khudadad Khan. Read here for more info on the Khudadad Khan memorial in Ypres, Belgium.

A total of 11 Indians (as usual I'm skipping the British Commanders who served in the Indian Army) were awarded the Victoria Cross during WWI. Of the 11, 6 were in the Western Front (France & Belgium) and the rest 5 were in the North African Campaign (Egypt & Mesopotamia). Of the 6 VC awardees in Western Front, 3 were at the Nord-Pas-de-Calais region. - Kulbir Thapa, Darwan Singh Negi, and Gabbar Singh Negi.

KULBIR THAPA - INDIANS WHO WERE AWARDED THE VICTORIA CROSS

The story of Kulbir Thapa is rather very emotional and very touching. Unlike many other soldiers who won the Victoria Cross, he won, not for fighting off the enemy but for saving his friends despite the enemy's fire! Technically he's from what's today Nepal.

During the Battle of Loos, on 25th Sept 1915, Kulbir Thapa of 3rd Gurkha Rifles regiment was wounded in action, when he spotted a comrade (not clear if he was Bill Keightly or Private Evan Jones), behind the first-line German Trench. He risked his life to save him. He didn't stop then, he kept going back into the enemy line to save more of his comrades, one by one, carrying them on his shoulders or dragging them, crossing back to safety. He saved quite a under a heavy enemy fire. Finally, early morning the next day, when he was bringing yet another soldier back to safety, the Germans stopped firing to let him go through and he walked across No Man's Land to safety. For a moment, just like during the Christmas Truce, the soldiers stopped the war and were just human. He lived on and

In 2021, the movie Gurkha - Beneath the Bravery was made based on his life. Here's the movie's trailer on YouTube. The full movie is available to watch on Amazon Prime, but you may have to use the VPN to set your location to the UK.

VC Gabbar Singh Negi & Indian Doctors names at Neuve Chapelle

DARWAN SINGH NEGI - INDIANS WHO WERE AWARDED THE VICTORIA CROSS

Darwan Singh Negi was from Uttarakhand and he was in the 39th Garhwal Rifles Regiment which became a part of the 7th Meerut Division. On 23rd & 24th November, during the Defence of Festubert, he was one of the first to take charge of clearing out the trenches and recapturing those, even though he was shot in two places on his head and his arm. He survived and continued to serve in the army.

His son Balbir Singh also served in the Garhwal rifles and served in the Indian Army post-independence. The regimental museum of Garhwal rifles has been named after him, in his honour. I hope I'll get to visit Lansdowne in Uttarakhand and visit the museum.

GABBAR SINGH NEGI - INDIANS WHO WERE AWARDED THE VICTORIA CROSS POSTHUMOUSLY

Gabbar Singh Negi was the only one of the 3 who died on the battlefield and he was a very young, 19-year-old boy. He has no known grave and his name has been inscribed at the Neuve Chapelle Memorial.

He was already on the frontline during the Battle of Ypres as a part of the 39th Garwal Rifles Regiment! After that, their regiment became a part of the 7th Meerut Division and was moved to the Pas-de-Calais region. On 10th March 1915, during the Battle of Neuve Chapelle, he was a part of the bayonet party with bombs whose task was the clear the German trenches. When his Commandor was killed in action, he took charge, and did the job well, forcing the German soldiers to exit the trenches & surrender. He was also killed in action.

He was also from Uttarakhand. To date, the Gabbar Singh Negi Fair happens annually in Chamba, Uttarakhand, India on Apr 20th or 21st. I hope to visit Chamba sometime on these dates, to be there and hopefully meet his grandson or great-grandchildren.

GRAVES AND MEMORIALS OF INDIAN SOLDIERS OF WWI IN NORD-PAS-DE-CALAIS REGION

Y FARM CEMETERY

The first cemetery I visited on my pilgrimage to the Indian War Graves in the Pas-de-Calais region was the Y Farm Cemetery. As soon as I entered both to my right and left were the plots dedicated to the graves of Indian soldiers. The list on CWGC's website said 20 graves which includes Jamedar, Naik, Riflemen, and more. However, when went there, I counted a total of 57 graves, which means, 37 of the Indian graves here were of unidentified Indian soldiers.

I also observed that 6 of these soldiers were martyred 29th-30th Oct 1914, which was when the Battle of La Bassée happened. All these 6 soldiers were from the 2nd Battalion of 8 Gurkha Rifles regiment. Another 5 soldiers were killed on 25th Sept 1915, which was when the Battle of Loos happened. These soldiers would have been the comrades of VC Kulbir Thapa.

Where is Y Farm Cemetery, Bois-Grenier(On Google Maps): Y Farm Cemetery, Bois-Grenier

How to reach Y Farm Cemetery, Bois-Grenier: 6.5km from Gare de Armentières railway station which is a 10-minute car ride. Ilevia Bus Route 65 and 74 go towards Y Farm Cemetery from Gare de Armentières railway station, but till Mairie and Touquet respectively. There's a 1.5-2km walk after that. If you don't have a car, it is easier to ride a bike to cover this 6.5km.

List of Indian Burials in Y Farm Cemetery, Bois-Grenier via CWGC

Gif (18 images change every 3 secs) - Indian War graves in Y-Farm Military Cemetery

RUE-DAVID MILITARY CEMETERY

Very close to Y Farm Cemetery is the Rue-David cemetery which has 42 identified Indian War Graves plus 2 unidentified, totaling 44. Many of the soldiers were Sepoys from Jalandhar, Ludhiana, Lucknow, Jhansi, Jhelum, Kangra, Hoshiarpur, etc. 4 of these Sepoys died in the Battle of Loos as well (the same as the one VC Kulbir Thapa was in). One of the important graves here is of Diwan Singh, who was awarded the Indian Order of Merit.

Where is Rue David Military Cemetery, Fleurbaix (On Google Maps): Rue-David Military Cemetery, Fleurbaix

How to reach Rue David Military Cemetery, Fleurbaix: 1.3km (15 mins walk / 5 mins bike) from Y-Farm Military Cemetery

List of Indian Burials in Rue-David Military Cemetery, Fleurbaix via CWGC

Gif (7 images change every 3 secs) - Indian War graves in Rue-David Military Cemetery

RUE-PETILLON MILITARY CEMETERY

Our next stop was also very close by, the Rue-Petillon Military Cemetery which has just 2 Indian War Graves of WWI. As soon as I entered, to the right, was the tiny plot for the 2 - Sundar Singh & Ram Singh who were martyred on 5th & 8th July 1915, respectively. Both were from Punjab, but Ram Singh was from Lahore (today's Pakistan) and Sundar Singh was from Ludhiana (today's India).

Where is Rue Petillon Military Cemetery, Fleurbaix (On Google Maps): Rue-David Military Cemetery, Fleurbaix

How to reach Rue Petillon Military Cemetery, Fleurbaix: 2km (30 mins walk / 7 mins bike) from Rue Petillon Military Cemetery

List of Indian Burials in Rue-Petillon Military Cemetery, Fleurbaix via CWGC

LAVENTIE MILITARY CEMETRY, LA GORGUE

A bit further away from this area, is La Gorgue which has 2 cemeteries with graves of Indian Soldiers. Our first stop was the Laventie Military Cemetery. My sheet downloaded from the CWGC website said that there are 19 Indian War Graves of WWI at Laventie Military Cemetery, but I was in for a rude shock! There were a whopping 60 graves of Indian Soldiers of WWI here in Laventie Military Cemetery. An entire section in the back of the cemetery has been dedicated to the Indian Soldiers.

Here are more points to note - Of the 60, 16 were of the 39th Garhwal Rifles Regiment (the one of which both VC Darwan Singh Negi and VC Gabbar Singh Negi were a part of). However, none of these 16 are identified.

Another 16 were from the 8 Gurkha Rifles Regiment. Of these 16, 15 have been identified (14 Riflemen and 1 Subadar) and all of them were martyred on 30th Oct 1914, which was when the Battle of La Bassée happened. 6 of their comrades from the same regimen, who died on the same day, have been buried in Y Farm Cemetery as well.

Where is Laventie Military Cemetery, La Gorgue (On Google Maps): Laventie Military Cemetery, La Gorgue

How to reach Laventie Military Cemetery, La Gorgue: 6km (20 mins bike / 8 mins drive) from Rue Petillion Military Cemetery

List of Indian Burials in Laventie Military Cemetery, La Gorgue via CWGC

Gif (9 images change every 3 secs) - Indian War graves in Laventie Military Cemetery

PONT-DU-HEM MILITARY CEMETERY, LA GORGUE

In the same La Gorgue locality, there's also the Pont-du-Hem Military Cemetery. As soon as I entered, both on the left and right were small plots dedicated to Indian War Graves (5 to the left and 10 to the right). Of these 15 Indian War Graves, only 8 have been identified. Of the 8 identified, 5 soldiers (1 rifleman and 4 sepoys) were martyred on 25th Sept 1915, which means, they too were killed in action during the Battle of Loos, along with their comrades whose graves are in Laventie Military Cemetery and Rue David Military Cemetery. They were all from the 8 Gurkha Regiment and some were saved by VC Kulbir Thapa.

Where is Pont-du-Hem Military Cemetery, La Gorgue (On Google Maps): Pont-du-Hem Military Cemetery, La Gorgue

How to reach Pont-du-Hem Military Cemetery, La Gorgue: 4km (15 mins bike / 4 mins drive) from Laventie Military Cemetery

List of Indian Burials in Pont-du-Hem Military Cemetery, La Gorgue via CWGC

Gif (6 images change every 3 secs) - Indian War graves in Pont-du-Hem Military Cemetery

RUE-DU-BACQUEROT NO.1 MILITARY CEMETERY, LAVENTIE

To begin with, Rue-de-Bacquerot No:1 Military Cemetery was a bit of a challenge to find. There was a point where the boards said Rue-de-Bacquerot Cemetery on either side, however, one was the 13th London Graveyard and the other was No:1 Military Cemetery. After finding the right direction, we ended up in a place, that looked like a farm. Quite amusingly, the cemetery is inside the farm! The farm owners had given away a piece of their land for this cemetery to CWGC!

There's a tiny road as soon as you go in. and on either side of it are 2 sections of the CWGC cemetery. In the part on the left, further is a huge plot filled with more than 100 Indian War Graves of which 88 are identified graves of Indian Soldiers of WWI. Of the 88 identified Indian War Graves of WWI in Rue-de-Bacquerot No:1 Military Cemetery, 17 had died between 17-28th Sept 1915 (Battle of Loos began on 25th Sept 1915). Apart from the 8 Gurkha Rifles (who primarily fought during the Battle of Loos) there were quite a few graves of 39 Garhwal Rifles. There were also some from 9 Gurkha Rifles and 10 Gurkha Rifles regiments.

One of the important graves here is of Guman Singh Negi, who was awarded the Military Cross, the Indian Distinguished Service Medal which is about 4-5 levels below the Victoria Cross.

Where is Rue-de-Bacquerot No:1 Military Cemetery, Laventie (On Google Maps): Rue-de-Bacquerot No:1 Military Cemetery, Laventie

How to reach Rue-de-Bacquerot No:1 Military Cemetery, Laventie: 2.5km (30 mins walk / 8 mins bike / 3 mins drive) from Pont-du-Hem Military Cemetery, La Gorgue

List of Indian Burials in Rue-de-Bacquerot No:1 Military Cemetery, Laventie via CWGC

Gif (12 images change every 3 secs) - Indian War graves in Rue-de-Bacquetor No:1 Military Cemetery

ST. VAAST POST MILITARY CEMETERY, RICHEBOURG-L'AVOUE

After visiting Rue-de-Bacquerot No:1 Military Cemetery, Laventie, we headed to the Neuve Chapelle Memorial and then to St.Vaast Post Military Cemetery, Richebourg-l'Avoue. St.Vaast Post Military Cemetery has a section in the back for 46 Indian War Graves.

There are 2 things that are quite interesting about St.Vaast Post Military Cemetery. One, there were the graves of 3 bearers of the Indian Army Medical Corps regiment, the first of which I saw. Two, the dates on which the soldiers here died - Battle of Loos began on 25th Sept 1915 when three of the soldiers buried here were martyred, then 3 more on 26th Sept; 1 more each on 27th, 28th Sept, 03rd Oct, 04th, 05th, 10th and goes on and on until 3rd November 1915. I assume that while some died in the battlefront during the Battle of Loos, others died due to war wounds later on, in the warfront medical post, which should explain the presence (& deaths) of the Indian Army Medical Corps too here.

Where is St.Vaast Post Military Cemetery, Richebourg-l'Avoue (On Google Maps): St.Vaast Post Military Cemetery, Richebourg-l'Avoue

How to reach St.Vaast Post Military Cemetery, Richebourg-l'Avoue: 3.5km (13 mins bike / 4 mins drive) from Rue-de-Bacquerot No:1 Military Cemetery.

List of Indian Burials in St.Vaast Post Military Cemetery, Richebourg-l'Avoue via CWGC

Gif (7 images change every 3 secs) - Indian War graves in St.Vaast Post Military Cemetery

NEUVECHAPELLE MEMORIAL

My next stop was perhaps the most important stop of them all - the Neuvechapelle Indian Memorial. This is the largest memorial for the Indian Soldiers of the First World War with the names of 4,742 soldiers with no known graves. This includes the graves of the comrades of Dr. Kanwar Inderjit Singh who were killed when their medical post was shelled as well as VC Gabbar Singh Negi who was awarded the Victoria Cross posthumously.

Unlike the Indian Memorial in Ieper/Ypres, this was designed before Indian Independence and was unveiled in 1927, which means this doesn't bear the post-independence elements of India like our emblem or Ashoka Chakra, etc (which are present in Ypres/Ieper). This was designed by Herbert Baker, an English architect who also designed India's old Parliament Building as well as Rashtrapathi Bhavan.

It was quite visible from a distance, thanks to the towering pillar with the 'Star of India' emblem and the Imperial Crown on its top (yes, as I mentioned, this was designed pre-Independence). On either side are 2 lions. On the pillar is written 'God is one. His is the Victory' in English followed by 'Bismillahi Rahmani Raheem' in Arabic which means 'In the name of Allah, the most gracious & the most merciful' followed by 'Om Bhagavathe Namah' in Hindi (Devanagari) which means 'We bow to you God', followed by 'Wahe Guruji ke Fateh' in Punjabi which means 'Victory to God'. The whole place is circular in plan. In front of the pillar, outside, is a commemorative plank that was laid when the Indian Prime Minister Mr.Narendra Modi visited the Neuvechapelle Indian Memorial in 2015 during the Centenary of WWI.

As soon as I entered, there was a small pavilion (in Mughal style, complete with Jaali-style windows). Inside, there were planks and planks and plank after plank filled with hundreds of names of the Indian Soldiers who died during the First World War with no known graves. There was also a separate plank dedicated to the Prisoners of War who died in captivity and were buried near Zehrensdorf near Berlin. On the wall, opposite the pillar, was written 'To the Honour of the Army of India which fought in France & Belgium 1914-18 and in perpetual remembrance of those, of their dead, whose names are here recorded, and who have no known grave'. On the opposite wall (behind & under the pillar) is the list of the battles in which our Indian soldiers lost their lives in World War I in Flanders & France - La Bassee, Messines, Armientiers, Ypres, Cheluvelt, Festubest, Givenchy, Neuve-Chapelle, St.Julien, Aubers, Loos, Somme, Bazentin, Delville, Morval, Cambrai, and Flers-Courcelette.

Where is Neuve-Chapelle Indian Memorial (On Google Maps): Mémorial Indien de Neuve-Chapelle

How to reach Neuve-Chapelle Indian Memorial: 3.3km (11 mins bike / 5 min drive) from St.Vaast Post Military Cemetery, Richebourg-l'Avoue

List of Indian names engraved at Neuve-Chapelle Indian Memorial via CWGC

Photo by Benoit Dieval

VIEILLE-CHAPELLE NEW MILITARY CEMETERY, LACOUTURE

Our next stop was the Vielle-Chapelle New Military Cemetery at LaCouture. Like the Laventie Military Cemetery which has several unidentified graves that brought up the number from the one given on the CWGC Website, here too the same happened. There were more than 70 Indian War Graves at Vielle Chapelle New Military Cemetery in La Couture of which only 27 were identified and listed on the CWGC website.

16 of the 27 identified soldiers here died on 23rd & 24th Nov 1914 which was when the Defence of Festubert happened. It was during the Defence of Festubert, that the shelling of the medical post happened.

Also, another 8 of the identified soldiers in Vielle-Chapelle New Military Cemetery died on 10th Dec 1914 which was when the Defence of Givenchy happened.

Where is Vielle-Chapelle New Military Cemetery, LaCouture (On Google Maps): Vielle Chapelle New Military Cemetery, La Couture

How to reach Vielle-Chapelle New Military Cemetery, LaCouture: 5.5km (18 mins bike / 6 mins drive) from St.Vaast Post Military Cemetery, Richebourg-l'Avoue

List of Indian Burials in Vielle-Chapelle New Military Cemetery, LaCouture via CWGC

Gif (4 images change every 3 secs) - Indian War graves in Vielle Chapelle New Military Cemetery

ZELOBES INDIAN CEMETERY, LACOUTURE

Our next stop was at Zelobes Indian Cemetery. Quite amusingly, like Rue-de-Bacquerot No:1 Military Cemetery, this was also quite hidden from the main street. This cemetery is entirely dedicated to Indian Soldiers of WWI. There are 105 graves of the Indian Soldiers of WWI of whom 73 have been identified.

Of the 73 identified soldiers, 11 were martyred on 20th December 1914 which was when the Defence of Givenchy happened; 9 were killed on 9th & 10th May 1915 which was when the Battles of Artois/Aubers Ridge happened; 7 died in the battlefront during the Battle of Neuve Chapelle on 14th-17th March 1915; 6 were martyred between 16th to 22nd May 1915 which was when the Battle of Festurbert happened.

If you know Hindi, here's a little thing of curiosity - I found a grave of one 'Budiman Gurung' who was Rifleman and a Budhu was a follower! Budiman literally means 'Intelligent' and Budhu literally means 'Stupid'. That really made me wonder if a few (or many) of these people actually enrolled with a name that's, kind of, a pet name/nick name???

Where is Zelobes Indian Cemetery, LaCouture (On Google Maps): Zelobes Indian Cemetery, La Couture

How to reach Zelobes Indian Military Cemetery, LaCouture: 1km (10 mins walk / 3 mins bike / 1 min drive) from Vielle-Chapelle New Military Cemetery, La Couture

List of Indian Burials in Zelobes Indian Cemetery, LaCouture via CWGC

Gif (11 images change every 3 secs) - Indian War graves in Zelobes Indian Cemetery

GORRE BRITISH & INDIAN CEMETARY

My 2nd last stop of the day was at Gorre British and Indian Cemetery. The cemetery has over 100 graves of Indian soldiers of WWI of which 77 are identified graves. This is perhaps the most grove-like place with trees all around and absolute quiet and peace. All the Indian War Graves in Gorre British & Indian Cemetery are together at the back of the cemetery.

24 of these 77 identified graves are of 24 drivers all belonging to the 7th Mountain Battery of Royal Garrison Artillery. The 7th Mountain Battery is from Quetta, the capital city of Balochistan in Pakistan. 22 of the 24 were from Punjab (most from Rawalpindi) and 2 were from Kashmir. This was the first time, I was seeing a grave of a Kashmiri Soldier of WWI. All of them were martyred on 8th January 1915. My best assumption is a series of vehicles, carrying British soldiers, all driven by Indian drivers, could have been ambushed or bombed in which many died including most/all the drivers. I'm trying to find what happened on 8th January 1915 and there are 2 possible answers - Affairs of Cuinchy or First Battle of Artois. The most probable one is the Affairs of Cuinchy. On Jan 1 & 2, a German attack captured several British posts near Cuinchy. The British tried to recapture it but failed. On 10th January, a bigger British attack happened with reinforcements. My assumption is that, during the smaller trials to recapture, before Jan 10, on Jan 8th a series of vehicles could have been blown up killing our drivers.

Apart from these 24, there's a shoulder-to-shoulder burial of 9 soldiers of the First World War. They were all riflemen who died between 19th to 22nd December 1914 which was when the Defence of Givenchy happened.

Where is Gorre British & Indian Cemetery (On Google Maps): Zelobes Indian Cemetery, La Couture

How to reach Gorre British & Indian Cemetery: 1km (10 mins walk / 3 mins bike / 1 min drive) from Vielle-Chapelle New Military Cemetery, La Couture

List of Indian Burials in Gorre British & Indian Cemetery via CWGC

Gif (7 images change every 3 secs) - Indian War graves in St.Gorre British & Indian Cemetery

Shoulder-to-shoulder burial of 9 soldiers at St.Gorre British & Indian Cemetery

Shoulder-to-shoulder burial of 3 soldiers at St.Gorre British & Indian Cemetery

BETHUNE TOWN CEMETERY

The very last cemetery I visited for the day was Bethune Town Cemetery before settling down at Le Vieux Beffroi Hotel for the night.

Bethune Town Cemetery is, as the name suggests, a town cemetery that includes the graves of the general public and not a Military Cemetery. There's a section dedicated to CWGC and it has 6 graves of Indian Soldiers of WWI. Of the 6 soldiers, 5 are in a dedicated plot. The remaining 1 is in another area with the British Commanders. Why so? Well, because Dr. Kanwar Inderjit Singh is one of the very few Indians who could rise to the level of a Captain in the British Indian Army. He was a doctor and was in the Indian Medical Service regiment. He was killed in action on 23rd Nov 1914 during the Defence of Festubert when an enemy shell hit the medical post he was working in. His comrades Major Dr. Pandit Piaraylal Atal and Asst Surgeon Hakim Rai were also killed at the same time; however, their bodies couldn't be recovered and their names have been engraved at Neuve Chapelle Memorial. Quite amusingly this was the first time I came to know of the surname Singh for a Christian.

Where is Bethune Town Cemetery (On Google Maps): Bethune Town Cemetery,

How to reach Bethune Town Cemetery: 2.5km (10 mins bike / 8 min drive) from Gare Bethune Railway Station.

List of Indian Burials in Bethune Town Cemetery via CWGC

Gif (6 images change every 3 secs) - Indian War graves in Bethune Town Cemetery

HOW TO VISIT THE INDIAN WAR GRAVES IN NORD-PAS-DE-CALAIS REGION

Apart from a car, the best option is an e-bike. If you have an e-bike bring it on the train to Lille or hire an e-bike at Lille. Then take it on the train to Armentiers and start seeing the cemeteries one by one, in the same order in which I've mentioned above. The whole route is about 50km from Gare de Armentiers, stopping at each and every place above, and finally reaching Bethune railway station. You can carry the bike again on the train from Bethune to Lille to return the bike (or continue on the train if it's your own bike).

However, for a more efficient trip, the best option would be by car. If you can drive, hire a car, and if you cannot or choose not to, hire a chauffeured car tour. Mr.Sylvestre of Terres de Memoires (operates from Arras, France), who took me around the Indian War Graves of Somme Region also operates in the Battlefields of Nord-Pas-de-Calais region. Ms.Genevera of Flanders Battlefield Tours (operated from Ypres, Belgium) who took me around the Indian War Graves in Belgium also operates in the Battlefields of Nord-Pas-de-Calais region. (P.S: This time, in the Nord-Pas-de-Calais region, a friend accompanied us and brought his car. I did not use the services of any Battlefields Tours operators).

Terre de Memoires official website: Terre de Memoires

Terre de Memoires e-mail: contact@terresdememoire.eu

Terre de Memoires phone number: +33(0) 3 22 84 23 05

Flanders Battlefield Tours official website: Ypres FBT

Flanders Battlefield Tours e-mail: info@ypres-fbt.com

Flanders Battlefield Tours phone number: +32(0) 57 360 460

On a different note, if you're in a far away country and will not be physically able to visit France to visit these cemeteries and memorials, here's a virtual tour for you.

PIN IT/BOOKMARK IT NOW AND READ LATER

Top 5 Outdoor Activities to do with Kids in & around Brussels

2023-10-01T01:19:00.011+05:30

This article first appeared in My Travelogue by Bhushavali

...THAT'S NOT A PLAYGROUND OR ANIMAL FARM

Here are some earlier articles on the associated topic:

Petting zoos/animal farms to visit in and around Brussels
Top 10 Best Playgrounds in Brussels
Top 10 + Unusual Museums in Brussels

Top 5 Indoor activities to do in Brussels in Summer 2023 with kids

2023-08-04T14:47:00.001+05:30

This article first appeared in My Travelogue by Bhushavali

Quite amusingly, after a very short 2-week-long Spring Season, this year's hot summer existed for 2 weeks too, and now it's all rainy! So what to do with the kids. Here are 5 'indoor' expos for your kids this summer 2023. Most of these are temporary exhibitions that would wrap up by September.

Atlantikwall Raversyde (& its Indian connection) - Middelkerke, Belgium

2023-07-19T16:39:00.018+05:30

This article first appeared in My Travelogue by Bhushavali

It all started with museumPASSmusées, adding Atlantikwall Raversyde to its list. As a holder of museumPASSmusées, I was looking at its website to see what they're all about to plan my visit there, and the more I learned about it, the more it shocked me!!!

WHAT IS THE ATLANTIC WALL (ATLANTIKWALL)?

To begin with, why that strange spelling? Well, Atlantikwall is the German spelling of Atlantic Wall. The Atlantikwall was an ambitious project of the Axis parties (led by Germany) during WWII. The idea was to build an extensive wall from the north of Norway to the south of France along the seashore. This wall would be guarded to observe the movement of ships & submarines in the sea! It was an ambitious project and was never fully completed.

Top 10 Best Playgrounds in Brussels, Belgium

2023-07-16T19:19:00.018+05:30

This article first appeared in My Travelogue by Bhushavali

FREE THINGS TO DO IN BRUSSELS WITH KIDS!

Being Atyudarini's mother means, that hunting playgrounds is something I do very much! There are several places where there's a space with a slide, a swing set, a see-saw, etc., or an extensive, complex playground set (like a Jungle Gym) with a series of activities. I've been to quite a few, but here are my favorites. All of these are managed by the Bruxelles Environnement and the respective communes. So they all are free of cost and are all open from Sunrise to Sunset.

Scroll down directly to access the map of the Top 10 Playground of Brussels.

Top things to do in Huy & Andenne (Wallonia - Belgium)

2023-06-15T20:26:00.018+05:30

This article first appeared in My Travelogue by Bhushavali

A TRAIN RIDE ALONG THE TERRES-DE-MEUSE

Just like how I traveled from Charleroi to LaBuissiere by train, along to river Sambre, this time I took the train & bus along the river Meuse. A portion of river Meuse, that connects Namur and Liege goes via Andenne, Huy, and other little towns and villages. So here's all about a long weekend trip from Brussels along the river Meuse. This region is called Terres-de-Meuse which literally means, the 'lands of Meuse'!

HOW TO VISIT TERRES-DE-MEUSE BY TRAIN?

Thanks to SNCB-NMBS Trains, it is super easy to explore this location by train. Take a train from Brussels to Namur; then take the train that connects Namur to Liege. This train stops at Marche-les-Dames, Nameche, Sclaigneaux, Andenne, Huy, Leman, Flemalle, etc. There's something to do near each of these railway stations! Go to Huy Itinerary below, for more info!

Yes, this is Belgium!

Airspace Indoor Skydiving Charleroi, Belgium - A Review

2023-05-22T18:06:00.011+05:30

This article first appeared in My Travelogue by Bhushavali

ONE OF THE BEST ADVENTURE ACTIVITIES TO DO IN BELGIUM WITH KIDS

Celebrating my birthday at Airspace Indoor Skydiving Charleroi

Readers of my blog, know about my daughter Atyudarini. She's still too young to do skydiving at SkydiveSpa. However, whenever she sees our video of skydiving, she gets super excited. So I really wanted to get her started on it. So, why not indoor skydiving?!

WHAT IS INDOOR SKYDIVING? HOW DOES INDOOR SKYDIVING WORK?

Indoor Skydiving happens inside a vertical wind tunnel. Basically, you're standing on a mesh. From underneath the mesh, the wind blows at high speed. There's no visible fan but the wind comes in through slots on the sides. The speed of the wind is continuously controlled by the staff seated just beside the tunnel who are continuously supervising the tunnel and reading the cues of the pro-diver (instructor). There is a huge display inside the tunnel that mentions the wind speed in km/h as well as the ambient temperature in °C, and the time left on that particular flight.

Tulips - Fields, Farms & Gardens in Belgium - An ultimate travel guide

2023-04-16T18:24:00.023+05:30

This article first appeared in My Travelogue by Bhushavali

The Ultimate Guide to the Best Places to See Tulips in Belgium

...and also Cherry Blossoms, Magnolias & Daffodils in Brussels...

When I moved to Belgium, 'going to the Netherlands to see some Tulip fields' was right at the top of my wishlist. However, I came to know that Belgium itself has its own Tulip options and now, I could choose to not visit the Netherlands to see tulips! So here's all about Tulips in Belgium.

Before I start, keep in mind that this is very seasonal, going to these places at any other time would give you a very different appearance without the flowers...

Top things to do in Halle, Belgium - Easy Half-day trip from Brussels

2023-04-14T22:38:00.015+05:30

This article first appeared in My Travelogue by Bhushavali

Halle is a city in the south of Brussels in the Flemish Brabant region. With direct trains from Brussels, it is not only one of the best things to do in Flemish Brabant but also one of the best things to do around Brussels and an easy half-day trip from Brussels.

Located just 20 minutes away from Brussels by fast train (or 40 mins by slow train) a trip to Halle doesn't really require pre-planning and it can be an easy, spontaneous trip from Brussels by train! You don't even have to do all of these in a single trip, multiple half-day trips are possible & easy as well! What you see here is perhaps 3-4 of my half-day trips to Halle from Brussels!

Quite amusingly, apart from the major cities like Brussels, Antwerp, etc., and University towns like Leuven, Gent, etc., a few other places like Halle, Mol, etc have a heavy expats population, esp. Indian population thanks to Colruyt, Nike, etc!

TOP THINGS TO DO IN HALLE

...apart from Hallerbos Bluebells festival...

HALLERBOS HYACINTEN - HALLE BLUE FOREST - FREE THINGS TO DO IN HALLE

Halle and Hallerbos go hand in hand. The best thing to do in Halle is, of course, to visit Hallerbos, a blue-bell forest, right on time, in April, when the whole forest looks like there's a purple carpet laid on it. It is such a magical thing! It is unbelievable. Here's all about Hallerbos Bluebells forest in another article.

Click to read my dedicated article on all you need to know about Hallerbos

Ladakh: The Land of High Passes

2023-04-04T08:47:00.003+05:30

Known as the 'Land of High Passes', Ladakh is one of the top destinations in India that I want to visit. Located in the northernmost part of India, Ladakh is known for its mesmerizing landscapes, serene monasteries, and thrilling adventure activities. Read on to know more about the Ladakh tour package and Chadar Trek.

Pic Credit: Eatcha, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Grimbergen Beer & more - Half day trip from Brussels

2023-03-21T11:06:00.039+05:30

This article first appeared in My Travelogue by Bhushavali

HALF-DAY TRIP FROM BRUSSELS BY BUS

Just like Chimay Beer and Leffe Beer, Grimbergen beer is also well known in Belgium and it is also an Abbey beer that was initially brewed by monks in an abbey! Grimbergen is perhaps the closest Abbey beer town to Brussels (Cantillon Brewery within Brussels is not an Abbey beer). Reachable by DeLijn bus from Brussels in about 30 mins, Grimbergen is an easy half-day trip from Brussels though you can easily spend an entire day as well.

Also Read: Half-Day trips from Brussels - Things to do in Flemish Brabant

I visited Grimbergen on 2 different half-day trips from Brussels. Once just to visit MOT and another to visit Prinsenbos, Castle, & Grimbergen Abbey.

Château de Lavaux-Sainte-Anne - Castles in Wallonia, Belgium

2023-03-15T21:51:00.009+05:30

This article first appeared in My Travelogue by Bhushavali

ONE OF THE PICTURESQUE CASTLES IN BELGIUM

Castles in Belgium: Belgium is one of the countries is the highest number of castles density! While there may be more castles in many other countries incl. Germany or France, given the size of Belgium, the number of castles in Belgium is just too many! There are more than 10 castles near Brussels itself! If you go on a simple, 20-25km long node-to-node bike ride anywhere in Belgium, you'll definitely come across more than 2 castles, at least!!!

Chimay - Beer, Cheese, Birds & more! (Wallonia - Belgium)

2023-03-10T15:56:00.019+05:30

ULTIMATE TRAVEL GUIDE TO VISIT CHIMAY

ON A WEEKEND TRIP OR A DAY TRIP FROM BRUSSELS WITHOUT A CAR!

Chimay is a name you see often in all the grocery stores in Belgium - there's Chimay beer and Chimay cheese! I've been wanting to visit Chimay forever and finally, one fine day finally, I managed to visit Chimay.

Chimay is one of the best places to visit on a day trip from Brussels or, more ideally, a weekend trip from Brussels. Read on, for all that you need to know about Chimay before planning your own trip - places to visit in Chimay, all about Chimay Beers, all about Chimay Cheeses, the best time to visit Chimay, the best hotels in Chimay, and more!

Photo by Sophie Dekkers

Indian War Graves in Somme (France) - Forgotten Indians of WWI

2023-02-22T15:10:00.023+05:30

This article first appeared in My Travelogue by Bhushavali

INDIAN SOLDIERS IN WORLD WAR 1

MEMORIAL TOURISM IN FRANCE FOR INDIANS
Visiting the graves of the forgotten Indian Soldiers of the First World War in Somme, France

You may have already read my article on the Indian War Graves in Belgium. After visiting all the Indian War graves & memorials in Belgium, I decided to head to France...

I already had a plan for a weekend trip to Amiens. Then I looked into the CWGC map to check the cemeteries with Indian War Graves in the region and there were so so so many! Finally, I ended up extending my trip by one more day and dedicated a day to visiting as many cemeteries and graves as possible within that 1 day. However, I reached Amiens by 12:30PM, and being winter, by 5:30PM it was dark! In the 5 hours (half-day), I managed to visit 7 cemeteries and 1 memorial.

Corbie Communal Cemetery

Like what you see? SUPPORT ME via Patreon! It costs less than a cup of coffee

UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Amiens, Hauts-de-France

2023-02-09T14:08:00.014+05:30

This article first appeared in My Travelogue by Bhushavali

AMIENS - EASY DAY TRIP FROM PARIS BY TRAIN

The primary reason why I wanted to visit Amiens was to see Amiens Cathedral - Notre Dame Cathedral of Amiens, which is one of the UNESCO World Heritage Sites in France. Located halfway between Lille & Paris, and well connected by train from both cities, I honestly don't know why I took so long to visit Amiens! Not only Notre Dame Cathedral of Amiens, but also Amiens Belfry is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. With 2 UNESCO World Heritage Sites and a bunch of other things to do in Amiens, I planned my 3-day trip to Amiens from Brussels, by train.

Also read: Top 10 things to do in Amiens, UNESCO World Heritage Sites I've visited

AMIENS CATHEDRAL - NOTRE DAME D'AMIENS CATHEDRALE

Amiens Cathedral was one of the largest Gothic churches in the 13th C CE and an excellent example of high Gothic architecture. Amiens Cathedral is still the largest Cathedral in France at 200,000 m³ which is more than twice of Notre Dame Paris! It also has the highest nave at 42.3m!

Like my blog? SUPPORT ME via Patreon! It costs less than a cuppa coffee