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Chapter One BELGIUM’S GEOGRAPHY & LANDSCAPE

I f a country could be compared to a food, Belgium would be best described as a walnut. A tiny nation, no bigger than the state of Maryland, the Kingdom of Belgium consists of two distinct halves. The Dutch-speaking region of Flanders lies in the north, and Wallonia, the French-speaking region, is in the south. Brussels, the capital city, which lies right in the center of the country, joins the two regions linguistically and geographically. Europe’s Great Meeting Place Belgium has always been linked to both commercial and cultural exchange. Much of the country’s character is due to its role as the great meeting place of Western Europe. Located in northwestern Europe, traces of the Austrians, Spanish, French, and Dutch can still be seen in its architecture and in the lifestyle of its people. Belgium mirrors many characteristics of its neighbors as well: the lowlands of the Netherlands in the north and northeast, the daunting Alps of Germany in the east, the rolling hills of Luxembourg in the southeast, and the fertile plain and deep valleys of France in the southwest and west. Its coastline stretches forty-one miles (66 kilometers) along the North Sea in the northwest. England lies just over the English Channel. No wonder Brussels is called the “Capital of Europe!” Flanders Flanders is Belgium’s Dutch-speaking northern region. Combined with the Dutch lowlands, Flanders forms a plain on the southern coast of the North Sea. 11