You’ve probably tried to Google something about Belgium and ended up with the same three facts: chocolate, beer, and a complicated political system. Maybe you’re planning a trip and want to go beyond Bruges. Maybe your ancestors were of Belgian origin and you are trying to understand your roots. Or maybe you’re moving there for work and want to know what kind of country you’ll be calling home. Whatever brings you here, you’re likely curious about this small, stubborn, and quietly fascinating country. 

This blog exists for you.

Belgium is genuinely hard to explain, and most people don’t bother trying. It’s a country that speaks three languages, has more governments than most people have email accounts, and produces some of the best food, beer, art, and comics in the world while remaining oddly modest about all of it.

There’s so much to know, and so little of it is written in English.

I’m the person writing all of this. I grew up in Belgium—lived in Wallonia, in Brussels, in Flanders—which means I’ve seen the country from a few different angles. I trained as a lawyer, became a journalist, then spent years as a writer and writing coach in the US, where I’ve lived for the past eight years. At some point I realized that after all the traveling and all the years away, the thing I actually wanted to write about was the place I came from.

Part of this is selfish: for my kids, the US is home; they never really lived in Belgium. And I want them to have a window into Belgium when they’re ready for it. But mostly it’s because someone should do this properly—cover the history, the food, the culture, the regional quirks, what it’s actually like to live there—and do it in English, for the many people who are curious but can’t find much to read.

So that’s what this is. Come for the waffles. Stay for everything else.