Postcards from Belgium
Hello! If you’re new here, welcome in! If you’re one of the handful of Chateau Lumiere regulars, welcome back. No, you do not need to have your eyes adjusted. You are, in fact, reading the second Chateau Lumiere blog post this month. I don’t promise this level of consistency every month, but it’s been a busy summer! There’s a lot to talk about.
Back in July, I took a solo trip to Belgium to attend the Formula 1 Moët & Chandon Belgian Grand Prix. The grand prix experience was absolutely fantastic, but that’s not why we’re here. While in Belgium, I spent the quiet moments of downtime roaming around the town of Spa and the seaside city of Oostende with my camera.
While it doesn’t necessarily fit the usual content of this blog, I thought these photos were worth revisiting and discussing. I only had room for one camera and one lens on this trip, so I packed my trusty Canon R and a tiny 28 mm lens. It was a fun challenge to document this journey within those limitations. I hope you enjoy this short Belgian photo walk while I ramble on about things that caught my eye.
So, let’s get into it. Chateau Lumiere is proud to present: Postcards from Belgium
Part One — Eastward to the Ardennes
This is literally the first photo I took in Belgium. I survived a four-hour line at passport control in Brussels Airport, and I finally boarded the train toward Spa. This photo was taken after the first switch in Leuven. In hindsight, I’m almost certain I accidentally rode in first class because I didn’t understand the markings. No one checked my ticket, so all was well.
I was in a hurry at the Brussels-Zaventem station, and I didn’t have the time or patience to navigate the train app on my phone. I grabbed a paper ticket from the only terminal configured in English. In true Belgian fashion…the ticket printed entirely in Dutch. Welcome to the real world, buddy! I grabbed this quick photo of my ticket as we sped through the Belgian countryside. It was a quick two-hour journey from Brussels Airport to my hotel in Spa.
Time for another train switch. I got a real education on the Belgian train system during my short visit. This time I hopped off the intercity train (IC line) and joined a local train (L line) in Pepinster. Just a few more minutes to my final destination.
Welcome to Gare de Spa! The old train station building is now vacant, but the outdoor platforms are still very active for departures and arrivals into Spa.
This cluster of buildings is just across the street from the train station. This is a perfect example of the typical architecture in Spa. I love the Stella Artois sign on the building. Nothing says ‘Belgium’ like a huge advertisement for Belgian beer.
This is the view down Rue Adolphe Bastin on the walk from the train station to my hotel, which is just off to the right of this photo. Spa is very quiet, safe, and walkable.
I stayed at Hotel La Reine for my extended Belgian weekend. The hotel is a small, family-owned operation. Hotel La Reine is conveniently located next to several pubs, restaurants, bakeries, ice cream shops, and so much more. My room was not air conditioned — which was definitely an adjustment for this American boy.
This is the front entrance to the hotel’s restaurant, La Cour de la Reine, viewed from Avenue Reine Astrid. The restaurant’s menu changes monthly, keeping up with local produce and in-season ingredients. The restaurant has received Michelin Plate recognition in 2024 and 2025. Not pictured, the best steak and grilled vegetables I’ve ever eaten. Compliments to Chef Jeremy!
This is one of my favorite photos from the trip. This picture was taken from the hotel’s rooftop area. This shows the hotel’s private entrance to the restaurant. The enclosed glass seating area of the restaurant is beautiful. Everything they serve is freshly made with much attention and love. The chefs would come out of the kitchen and cut fresh herbs from the small herb garden under the patio umbrella. This was a lovely place to unwind.
This was the hotel’s lounge area. I love the retro styling, and those vending machines were life savers when I needed a quick snack and a sparkling water. The vending machines also stocked Belgian beer and French wine. I was in Belgium during the World Cup final, and the hotel hosted a fun watch party in this space.
I’m in love with these tiny street signs! This being my first time in Europe, everything was fun and new.
Chemin Prive - Private Way! How can you go to Europe and not get a picture of a Skoda? I loved seeing all the European car brands we don’t have in America. In some alternate universe, I’m living in Europe and driving around in my Renault Clio or VW Polo.
Another angle of the same street (and white Skoda). Again, this is a perfect example of the classic Belgian architecture in the Walloon Region. Beautiful.
I’m never going to pass an old gate and not take a picture. I found this one just around the corner from my hotel. I love its shape and wonderful patina. It looks as if it has stories to tell.
Pictured is the former royal villa of Queen Marie Henriette. This villa has been used as a royal dwelling, a hotel, and a hospital. It is now home to the Spa Museum.
These gates are part of the elegant entryway for the Villa des Fleurs, a hotel built from a mansion credited to the 1880s.
I’m fairly certain this is a combined veterinary clinic and human medical office. Interesting combo if I’m correct…
A 10pm view over the village. The sunsets in Spa were spectacular.
‘The City of Spa Glorifies its Heroes’ — a beautiful monument honoring Spa’s citizen victims and military heroes of World Wars I and II. The monument also serves as a crypt containing cremated remains extracted from the Flossenburg concentration camp.
This fellow is known as ‘Spa Pierrot.’ These statues were scattered throughout Spa as a reference to the water bottling factory located in the village. This figure is featured on the water bottles, and he has been a Spa staple since the 1920s.
My early morning rooftop breakfast from a local bakery. I picked out an apple pastry and a cream-filled waffle. You can see the Spa Pierrot figure prominently displayed on my bottle of water.
This waffle was really good. It was filled with a fresh pastry cream and a bit of dark chocolate. While Belgium was mostly English-friendly, this bakery was not. After a poor pronunciation of gaufre (waffle) and pomme (apple), I was handed my breakfast. Very friendly lady…and very patient with my total ignorance of the French language.
A sunrise view down the train line. The Spa train station is located on the right, and the Spa Monopole water bottling plant is located on the left.
It’s time to pick up my ticket out of Spa. When you travel somewhere new, even the mundane things are fun. I enjoyed interacting with these little machines and using the train to navigate my way around Belgium. By the end of this weekend trip, I traveled the entire length of Belgium by train and saw most of the major cities.
And here is my ride! When I planned this trip, one of my goals was to visit the North Sea. After a lengthy discussion with ChatGPT, I decided to visit Oostende, a seaside city in the Flemish region of Belgium. All aboard! The planned journey from one corner of Belgium to the other was roughly three hours by train.
Part Two — Westward to the Sea
The trip from Spa to Oostende was very easy by train. I made one connection at Verviers-Central, shown here. This station was opened in 1930, and it serves a major line reaching famous Belgian cities like Liege, Brussels, Bruges, and Gent.
A view down platform 2 at Verviers-Central. I was on an early train leaving Verviers at 07:38am. I underestimated how busy this train would be, but it was packed all the way to Oostende. I chose a ticket in second class, but I should have paid the extra few euros for first class on this long journey.
Whew, we made it! Welcome to Station Oostende. This was, by far, the largest platform structure I saw in Belgium.
Food Lion, is that you?!? Well, sort of. This is an advertisement for a grocery store called Delhaize. Food Lion, as we know it in the southeastern United States, is owned by Dutch retailer, Ahold Delhaize.
Station Oostende was very impressive. The current building was opened in 1913, and it contains many modern amenities. I rented a locker here for a couple euros and left my backpack behind while I explored the city by foot.
Commercial shipping and fishing keep Port Oostende very busy. According to the port’s website, approximately 65 commercial fishing vessels operate here.
Another one of my favorite photos from this set. This photo shows a couple having lunch on their boat docked at the Royal North Sea Yacht Club.
This picture is a lesson in patience. I scoped out the framing here and waited for something interesting to happen in the lower corner. This young boy entered the frame on his motorbike and completed the composition.
This picture was taken from the VERY wide beach of Oostende. Everyone wave to the Belgian Coast Guard!
Oostende is known for its street art and giant murals. I was immediately drawn to the colors and depth in this one.
It’s almost as if this seagull was posing for the camera. I think, instead, it was taking time to digest a chicken nugget someone just tossed in its direction.
La Mouliniere was my stop for a seaside lunch. This restaurant specializes in mussels (or moules in French), offering over 40 different preparations.
Street food is a big deal in Oostende. These carts were offering freshly prepared seafood right off the docks.
A view of the enormous towers of the Church of Saint Peter and Saint Paul. This church was completed in 1908, and the spires reach approximately 240ft high.
Another impressive mural. This one adorns the Ostend Hotel.
This wide walkway extended all the way from the train station to the sea. This area of the city was very easy to navigate and was full of street vendors. I stopped at the ice cream cart just to the left and enjoyed a cone of banana.
This is a view of Mercator Marina, situated just across the street from Station Oostende. If you’re traveling by train, this view is the first or last thing you see in Oostende. Today, it will be our last stop before beginning the journey back to the US. From here, I took the train back to Brussels Airport before departing the following morning.
Of course, everyone wants to spend more time in a new place. I could have easily used another two or three days traveling around Belgium, but I think I made the most of the time I had. If you made it this far, thank you for sticking this one out. Belgium and its people are beautiful. I hope you enjoyed seeing it through my eyes, and I look forward to sharing more adventures soon.