Still More Pictures From the Belgium Trip, August 1985

 

Okay, so one of the surprises from my recent trip to Europe was running into old family photographs. Many I had seen and even been sent by family members. Some, however, I remembered from many years ago, but had not seen in quite a long time. And some I had not known or suspected existed, or at least still existed, and that I would ever get the opportunity to see them again.

Among the ones which I do not remember ever having seen, and which I frankly would not have expected to see ever again, were pictures from the trip to Belgium and Hulst, a little town in the province of Zeeland, Netherlands (the only town which I ever visited in Netherlands to this point in my life). 

Until a few years ago, I was quite certain that no pictures even existed of this trip or, at the very least, that there was no way that I would really ever see them again. Then, I ran into a small group of pictures from that particular trip. And now, while visiting family in France, I saw some similar pictures.

That said, I decided to take pictures of those pictures. Obviously, the quality is not going to be top notch. However, it still feels like these were a real prize to even see again. And I did not want to miss the opportunity to make copies of them, even if they are not great quality. The memories, to me, are of a great quality.

So without further ado, here they are. More pictures from the trip which my brother and I, and our French cousin, took to Belgium and Hulst from way back in the summer of 1985 (40 years ago now!).

Enjoy.

Pictures From the Belgium Trip, August 1985 published on Wednesday, August 5, 2020:

https://charbor74.blogspot.com/2020/08/pictures-from-holland-and-belgium-trip.html

I mentioned yesterday about finding a small treasure of old family photographs that I unearthed recently, while cleaning my parent's old house. 

Well, there were some pleasant surprises among my finds with pictures. But perhaps among the best surprises were a couple of pictures from the trip to Belgium, with a short side trip to some border town in Holland, that my Aunt Nicole took my brother and I on back in August of 1985. 

The top picture was apparently taken in that border town in Netherlands. It was marked as "Holst Hollande Août 85" by whoever marked the picture. I did a little bit of research online, and believe that the name of the town is actually Hulst, in the province of Zeeland, Netherlands. We visited the town a little bit, and then visited some friends of my aunt's. If memory serves correctly, we also had lunch or dinner there, although my own memory of it is a bit fuzzy. I was very young at the time. 

The second picture is of Ghent, in Belgium. I am almost sure of it, although again, whoever marked the back of the picture wrote in a way that is difficult to read, and may have misspelled the name of the town. But the end of the name, -ent, comes out clearly, and the town that immediately springs to mind is, of course, Ghent. When I looked up pictures of public squares in Ghent, I was able to spot some pictures that looked very much like this square, with the statues and the churches pretty clearly visible. I believe that is me seated on the bench, although I am small and difficult to see. But the blue and gray jacket I was wearing was one of the jackets I remember from my childhood, and I was obviously there with my aunt and my brother. So it makes sense that I would have been in this picture, unless it was some other young kid with a jacket that looked exactly like mine at the time.

This particular picture was taken at Vrijdagmarkt (Dutch: vrɛi̯dɑɣmɑrkt), which translates roughly to Friday Market Square. It is in historic district of Ghent, Belgium. According to Wikipedia:

It is named after the weekly tradition to stage a market every Friday morning. As one of the oldest squares in Ghent, it played an important role in the city's history.

Additionally, here is what Wikipedia says about the statue, which kind of dominates this square:

The centerpiece of the plaza is the statue of Jacob van Artevelde, Ghent's wise man who sided with England during the Hundred Years' War and was murdered on the site in 1345.

There were other cities and places in Belgium that we visited, which were memorable for me (and presumably my brother) during that memorable trip, which I believe was over the course of three or four days, possibly an extended weekend (although I do not believe there is any way to be sure about that anymore). I was particularly impressed with Bruges, but also enjoyed Antwerp and Brussels, where I specifically remember visiting the Manneken Pis (literally translates to "Manneken Piss" in English), which is a famous local statue of, as the name implies, a boy pissing. My brother and I thought that was an absolute riot at the time. Also, I clearly remember visiting the Atomium, also in Brussels. Wish we had pictures of some of those places from back then! It is not entirely impossible that some may yet be found. Who knows?

In any case, both of these pictures are scratched up. Still, they are clearly visible, and were a pleasant reminder of that nice trip through Belgium, and into one Dutch town, back in August of 1985. I did not even know that these pictures existed, so they came as a real pleasant surprise. 

New Batch of Recently Discovered Pictures From Our 1985 Trip to Belgium & Hulst, Netherlands

Not sure where this particular picture was taken, or even what the sign reads. But it seems like it was taken during that trip, given the clothes that we are wearing (the same exact clothes as in other pictures from this trip), and the batch of photos which this was among. 

A picture of my cousin (closer in age to being my aunt), seated next to me in what I am almost positive is Bruges, Belgium. Bruges stands out particularly in my memory, because I remember being impressed by the medieval feel of the town (even at that young age) and especially the canals (I was told by someone at the time that Bruges is sometimes referred to as the "Venice of the North"). Below is a link to an article I found about the statue, when I was trying to identify what city this was in. This is the reason that I feel fairly certain that this was, indeed, in Bruges, because we definitely visited it.

The horse fountain in Bruges

https://www.amazingbelgium.be/2017/08/the-horse-fountain-in-bruges.html

My brother and I sitting somewhere during that 1985 trip, most likely in Belgium. Believe that I am wearing Velcro sneakers, which seemed to me so cool and modern at that time. I can recall loving that blue and gray jacket which I was wearing, too.

My brother and I standing near what appears to be a square in some city (likely somewhere in Belgium) during that same '85 trip.

Here I am either petting a horse, quite possibly in Bruges (I read that horse carriages are fairly popular there). 

My brother and I riding on a horse carriage, possibly in Bruges (it is apparently known for horse carriage rides).

Holland and Belgium trip,  August 1985

The quotes used in the above blog entry were taken from the Vrijdagmarkt, Ghent Wikipedia page:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vrijdagmarkt,_Ghent