Russian shoegazers Blankenberge have another stunner out today following the September release of comeback single “New Rules.” Today’s track
“Together,” cuts a path between M83 and Yumi Zouma
bringing the intimacy of indie-pop into the noise-bombed beauty
Yana Guselnikova’s vocal performance here is mesmerizing
and every little instrumental flourish is doing it for me
and guitars take turns in the spotlight during the verses
Together (Single) by Blankenberge
The most important stories and least important memes
Russia’s Blankenberge are back with their first new music since their 2021 album Everything
The shoegaze crew have a knack for celestial
and that’s exactly what’s showcased on “New Rules,” which they unveiled on Friday
caustic guitars clash with Yana Guselnikova’s breathy vocals
and a cinematic synth magnifies the dreamy feeling
New Rules by Blankenberge
The most important stories and least important memes, every Friday.
DANIIL LEVSHIN: We used to finish the songs together at rehearsals, but this time all the tracks were written entirely at home.
JB: Can you give us some background on the band? How and when you met and who is in the band?
YG: I met Daniil long ago in Barnaul, a Siberian city where we lived then. He played guitar in several bands, I played guitar too and just started to sing. We moved to St. Petersburg together when we already had some ideas for the future band. We met Daian (ex-guitar), Dmitriy (bass) and Sergey (drums) here in St. Petersburg.
DL: We met the guys in 2015 in Saint-Petersburg at the concert of The Fall of Troy. Dmitriy moved from Yaroslavl. Only Sergey is originally from St. Petersburg.
JB: What does Mikhail bring to the Blackenberge sound that produces such wonderful results? And Vladimir Nosyrev? Does St. Petersburg have plenty of resources for bands to record as far as studios, producers, engineers, pressing plants, etc?
JB: Can you talk a bit about the music scene in St. Petersburg? I am familiar with Pinkshinyultrablast (named after the Astrobrite record of same name) but outside of that band, can you recommend other Russian bands (shoegaze or not)?
YG: Now we are really into our own music. I personally don’t listen to much music, especially new. We have some bands here in Russia, for example Life on Venus, Shark’s Tears, Aerofall and Motorama. They are all from different cities, not only from St. Petersburg and Moscow.
JB: What are some common misconceptions you have seen/heard that the west may have about the music/scene in St. Petersburg? Or even Russia in general?
JB Did the band find it easier or more difficult recording Everything remotely in terms of creative input from each band member? In other words, once recording started, was the band afforded more time to be able to absorb song ideas and come back with input or is that better achieved in a live rehearsal setting?
YG: The most difficult part was not the composing itself but the recording. The recording process was more difficult and took much more time than we used to spend on this.
JB: With full-time jobs do you find it difficult to find balance between your professional lives and being in Blankenberge? I imagine the band is quite a release from “normal” life? A lot of artists over here have done exactly the same thing you did – use this period of isolation to keep creating. There has been so many great releases over 2020 and 2021 … Blankenberge included!!!
YG: I find it hard to find balance between my job and the band because I am a perfectionist and try to be good in everything I do. The most perfect time for creating music is a vacation or the time between an old and a new job that we have sometimes. Anyways we spend almost all our free time discussing or making something for our band and it is very fulfilling to create something like we do!
In several seaside resorts, the construction of beach bars has already started. Officially today is the first day work can commence. In popular Blankenberge and up-market Knokke-Heist the builders are already hard at work. There they hope the beach bars will be ready to open within 2 weeks.
During the warm, sunny days of the recent half-term break, they would have come in handy, but operators had to wait for the official start of the beach bar building season.
Even though it was bitterly cold with a nasty northerly rolling in from a grey North Sea, in Blankenberge they immediately rolled up their sleeves and put grease to their elbows. ‘People are always happy when they see us again,’ explains Jarne De Fauw, manager of the Lilo Beach. ‘They wave from the promenade and wish us good luck.’
‘Winter has lasted long enough. And this is ideal weather to build our beach bars. Last year, we had to do this in the rain. Dry weather makes a big difference for us!’
Most hope to open in as little as two weeks. ‘Today we are mainly busy putting up the fences and marking everything out properly,’ says Dean Dekempe of Sun Beach. ‘And of course, we’re shovelling a lot of sand.’
Blankenberge boasts 13 beach bars or similar establishments, which puts it in 2nd place in terms of the number of beach bars. Without a doubt, the front runner is Knokke-Heist. There, there are no fewer than 24 beach bars.
‘The sun put in an appearance at the start to the construction of our beach bars, children's parks and the first beach cabins in Knokke-Heist,’ says alderman Bert De Brabandere. ‘We can already start to dream of a wonderful summer.’
In the other coastal resorts too, beach bars will gradually appear on the beach. Nine are planned in Ostend, eight in Middelkerke. Zeebrugge, De Haan, Bredene and Nieuwpoort each have 3, Koksijde 2 and De Panne only 1 beach bar.
202210:30 PM UTCStorm Eunice slams northern Europe with wind and wavesThe Atlantic storm battered northwestern European on Friday with record winds of up to 122 miles per hour
[1/19]The white-domed roof of the O2 arena is seen damaged by the wind
as a red weather warning was issued due to Storm Eunice
[2/19]Rain clouds are seen over Poolbeg chimney stacks during Storm Eunice
[3/19]Waves crash against the breakwater during Storm Eunice in Wimereux
[5/19]People take pictures as waves break on the beach in the wake of Storm Eunice in Blankenberge
[6/19]A woman walks past a fallen tree on a side street in Fulham during Storm Eunice
[8/19]Women spread their arms on the wind as waves break on the beach in the wake of Storm Eunice in Blankenberge
[10/19]People watch as waves break on during Storm Eunice
[11/19]A fallen tree blocks a road in Tenby
[12/19]A person walks as waves break on the beach in the wake of Storm Eunice in Blankenberge
[13/19]The roof of Brighton Palace Pier is seen damaged by the wind during Storm Eunice
[14/19]People watch as waves break on during Storm Eunice
[15/19]The white-domed roof of the O2 arena is seen damaged by the wind
[16/19]Waves crash against the breakwater during Storm Eunice in Wimereux
[17/19]The white-domed roof of the O2 arena is seen damaged by the wind
[18/19]A person walks as waves break on the beach in the wake of Storm Eunice in Blankenberge
[19/19]Waves crash against wind turbines during Storm Eunice at Boulogne-sur-Mer
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Police in Blankenberge are patrolling the town and beach on horseback during the busy tourist season
The horseback officers from the federal police can be deployed during busy periods by the local police zone
A few years ago it was decided not to deploy them after complaints about the mess left behind
“It is true that a number of people experienced inconvenience from that,” says chief of police Dimitry Vandamme
There is a collaboration with the city’s technical department
The local police zone considers the horses an added value during the summer because they increase the sense of security and make the police more approachable
“Animals always make people more likely to say something to an officer,” Vandamme says
The horses are deployed on the beach and in residential areas
Vandamme: “We won’t patrol the beach if there are too many people at high tide
especially on the stretch between the pier and the jetty
we can usually get through smoothly with the horses.”
The fine spring weather during this half-term break means seaside resorts are bustling
It’s a real windfall for the tourism sector on the coast
In the popular resort of Blankenberge on average hotels are 70 per cent full
The tourism office is also unusually busy for the time of year: ‘This looks like August’ says an enthusiastic official
The beautiful weather in the half-term break - termed ‘crocus holiday’ in Flanders - is a boon for coastal tourism as sunshine is encouraging a lot of people to make the trip to the seaside for the day or even longer
A family from Zottegem (East Flanders - pictured) arrives at Blankenberge station
‘We are going to the beach and will be riding a go-cart too,’ says the family
Alain Croes rents out go-carts and bicycles and is delighted
We stay at work a bit longer every day because the weather keeps getting better
It's always nice when the tourist season gets off to a good start
this is much more fun than sitting here pouting because nobody turns up because of the rain.’
The Tourism Information Point has also been particularly busy for several days now
head of the Blankenberge Tourism Department: ‘The past five days
Our hotels have an average occupancy rate of 70 per cent in the current holiday.’
Seppe Kamoens of Alfa Inn Hotel: ‘The carnival and the crocus holidays bring a lot of people to Blankenberge
we can expect extra bookings in the coming days
Too bad the beach bars aren't in place yet
Because otherwise we would already have seen bikinis on the beach!’
And what could be nicer than being able to enjoy a pavement café as early as the beginning of March
On Tuesday the mayors of Blankenberge and Ostend (both West Flanders) expressed their displeasure at the large amount of rubbish left behind on beaches by tourists on Monday
Footage of beaches strewn with litter has been doing the rounds on social media
The mayors say that local authorities do all they can to keep the beaches clean
but some people simply have no respect for the environment
Monday was the hottest day of the year and in addition to tourists that were already holidaying at the coast many thousands of day trippers made their way to the coastal resorts of West Flanders
many of the tourists that visited the beaches left their rubbish behind
The situation was particular bad in the busiest seaside resorts such as Ostend and Blankenberge
The mayors of Ostend and Blankenberge say that their respective local authorities had installed additional rubbish bins and deployed extra staff to keep their beaches clean
The acting mayor of Ostend Kurt Claeys (liberal) told VRT News that the state of parts of his city’s beaches on Monday evening “Makes me angry”
4,000 litres of rubbish collected by volunteers
Volunteers from the not-for-profit organisation Proper Strandlopers collected 4,000 litres of rubbish from beaches in Ostend on Monday evening
The organisation’s Tim Corbusier says that this is "An absolute record
We've never collected so much rubbish before”
Mayor Björn Prasse (liberal) told VRT News "They simply don't learn
but there are enough bins on the front to dispose of your rubbish
The only thing we can do is carry out more checks on litter louts
they will stop leaving rubbish next to the bins or on the beach."
The IKF is happy to announce that the Royal Belgian Korfball Federation (KBKB) will host the IKF Beach Korfball World Cup (Europe) 2018
The event will take place on the weekend of the 11th and 12th August 2018 and will be held in Blankenberge
The best ranked European team will become European Beach Korfball Champion 2018
the IKF invests in the global development of beach korfball
Every continental organisation has the opportunity to organise a World Cup in 2018 and every country from all over the world is able to participate in each of the events
The bid of Belgium to organise the IKF Beach Korfball World Cup (Europe) 2018 surpassed the competitive bid of the Turkish Korfball Federation (TDSF)
Decisive in this process was the overall picture by the KBKB
presenting the event in a wider “Korfball Experience” approach to promote (beach) korfball in Flanders
This includes a side event for youth teams and recreational teams during the Championship weekend and a tournament for schools at the end of June
there is two kilometres of beach available
so having enough playing space for all beach korfball activities is not an issue
Next summer it will be 15 years since two small clubs outside Antwerp started playing beach korfball
Since then beach korfball has grown significantly
the Belgian Federation started a taskforce to organise a beach korfball tour across Flanders
which has been converted into an official committee within the Federation
the highlight is the year of 2015 with more than 1200 participants in the korfball tour
This has left no doubt that the 2018 event will create a special 15th anniversary
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the organizers had invited the real ‘Beth Harmon’
Since the World Chess Federation has chosen “Women and Chess” as its theme this year
this was an excellent opportunity for the organizers to invite Judit Polgar to the Belgian Youth Championship
For Polgar’s master class on Friday 15/04
the allowed number of 60 chess players was immediately reached and the simultaneous game held later
half of the girls competed against the Hungarian champion
but 15-year-old Diana Musabayeva who plays in East Flanders at LSV-Chesspirant chess club
With one female participant out of six in the youth championship
the girls do not seem to have found their way to the chessboard yet
but this is already a big improvement over the field of participants thirty years ago
when only a handful of girls were counted in the championship
Yet this tournament teaches us that girls in chess should increase
If the number of participants respected the proportions in our society
you would probably not distinguish between boys and girls in the world of chess
All results can be found on the site of the organizer: www.bycco.be
Text by Philippe Vukojevic youth director of Belgian Chess Federation.
The acquisition will solidify Kindred's long-term operations and commitments in Belgium and will allow Kindred to continue to offer an attractive broad offering to Belgian customers.
The acquisition price is GBP 25 million on a cash free and debt free basis and will be settled in cash upon completion.
Kindred has had a long-term commercial partnership with Blancas NV, which dates back to 2012, concerning their "A+ license" that allows Kindred to offer online casino, live casino and poker to Belgian customers under the Unibet brand. In accordance with the Belgian legal framework, an "A+ license" is required for online casino operations and the license can only be awarded to licensed land-based casino operators.
The acquisition demonstrates Kindred's long-term commitment towards the Belgian market and gives Kindred direct access to one of the nine casino licenses, which allows Kindred to continue to offer a broad offering to its Belgian customers. Blancas NV will be operated as a separate entity within the Kindred Group under the leadership of the current management team led by Dominique De Wilde.
The acquisition is subject to customary regulatory approvals and is expected to be completed in the fourth quarter 2020.
CategoriesCategoriesEnglishGENERALSea Life Blankenberge releases two seal pups back into the sea14 November 2023
Sea Life Blankenberge has released two seal pups into the North Sea from the beach in Blankenberge. The two animals were cared for at the seal rehabilitation centre and are now strong enough to be released into the sea.
The first seal, Brada, was found on the beach at Knokke-Heist in July. She had several cuts and a fever and was underweight. After being cared for at Sea Life's rehabilitation centre, she has gained strength and now weighs 30.5 kg. All of her wounds have also healed.
The second pup washed ashore in De Panne on 1 August, clearly needing care and weighing only about 9 kg. The seal, named Pippa, was released back into the sea on Tuesday at a healthy weight of over 34 kg.
"This is our ninth and 10th successful rehabilitation since the beginning of the year," said vet nurse Jonathan Meul. "We currently have another cub in our care that we took in at the beginning of September. She has not yet reached the recommended weight of 30 kgs, so she needs to gain some weight before being released."
Meanwhile, the North Sea seal population is improving. Seals were hunted for centuries, leading to a drastic decline in numbers, but a ban on hunting in the 1960s led to an dramatic turnaround.
Number of common (blue line) and grey (orange line) seals spotted between 2004 and 2020 (Source: Natuurpunt)Seals are also threatened by other factors
harmful substances found in certain oils and plastics
can affect seals' reproduction and immune systems
As seals become more abundant in the North Sea
and Belgium has obligations under the European Habitats Directive
so bycatch mortality must be avoided as much as possible
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Print BRUSSELS — It started as a Saturday trip to Belgium’s coast
a chance to escape a heat wave and coronavirus restrictions for a while
Someone complained about the music being too loud
dozens of people were battling it out on the sands
Some beachgoers threw bottles and umbrellas at police officers who intervened
and two coastal communities had banned day trippers from the city
Officers stood ready at railway stations and blocked traffic
turning away people who can’t afford to live
Belgium’s interior minister was trying to explain how it all happened
summoned to a tetchy hearing by the main populist party and a far-right nationalist faction
urging people from poorer neighborhoods — among the hardest-hit by the virus — to find lawyers if they felt harassed by police “racial profiling,” or by zealous officials protecting wealthy holiday-makers at well-to-do beach communities
This is Belgium: a country that still has no full-time government 18 months after the last Cabinet resigned; a country with one of the highest COVID-19 mortality rates in the world per population and where restrictions are testing peoples’ patience; a country that just doesn’t get much really hot weather
It’s a simmering political soup on the verge of boiling over
Massive Beach Brawl 🏖 #08.08.20 🗓 📍Blankenberge, Belgium 🇧🇪 pic.twitter.com/Fi2fiCtEYz
where golf carts with license plates ply well-kept streets
there was ample room to stretch out on the beach early this week
Local authorities have banished day-trippers
from Belgian cities or France from its 10-mile stretch of sands until the heat wave — which saw temperatures of up to 97 degrees — is over
at a home that he says dates from Napoleonic times
the mayor — Count Leopold Lippens — told the Associated Press that Knokke-Heist is an exclusive area prized for its many shops
and that only law-abiding people should bother to come
we will use our police force to have them followed
“they will be eradicated from this place.”
Asked whether he worried that banning ordinary people from spending the day might tarnish the image of his town
the mayor said: “People come because they like it
information officer with Belgium’s League of Families
a social organization aimed at helping families in need
He says the beach bans deprive people of “a safety valve that helps them unwind.”
Almost 10,000 people have died from the coronavirus in Belgium — a country of just 11.5 million — and Dupiereux said the travel restrictions were “a social injustice” aimed at a part of society that had been hardest hit by the disease and the job losses that followed; people “who have little money, who can’t afford a week’s vacation at the beach or holidays abroad.”
The coast is just a 90-minute train ride from the capital of Brussels. Other places where people without cars could get away and cool off are poorly served by public transport. Many youths boarded trains in Brussels on Tuesday, but the Knokke-Heist station was almost empty.
World & Nation
Monuments honoring figures from Belgium’s colonial era are coming under scrutiny in that country and elsewhere.
At first, the national rail service, SNCB, resisted calls to cut the number of beach-bound trains but caved in as political pressure mounted. It will now provide fewer for the upcoming weekend. A number of lawmakers urged Interior Minister Pieter De Crem to rein in the SNCB, notably Bjorn Answeeuw, from the populist N-VA party.
Belgium’s last government collapsed when the N-VA pulled out. The party is too big to ignore and has been central in talks to form a new administration over the 14 months since the last election. During that time, the N-VA has routinely criticized the interim government installed to manage the COVID-19 crisis. Fears over migration have proved a vote winner for the party.
“Going freely to the coast is a right that we all have. Being beach day-trippers does not make us terrorists for a day,” De Crem said. For people like those involved in Saturday’s beach riot in Blankenberge, De Crem suggested setting up a register — similar to ones used for soccer hooligans — and banning those on it from going to the coast.
Other parliamentarians expressed concern about the way police had acknowledged stopping people who merely looked like the youths involved in the riot. “It wasn’t a nightclub bouncer who said this; it was a police officer,” Socialist lawmaker Herve Rigot said.
At the League of Families, Thierry Dupiereux said it was difficult to work out whom to believe these days, when the coronavirus, the lack of a full-time government and even a heat wave weigh on everyone’s minds and make for strange times.
“We’re in a political situation in Belgium today where a lot is at stake,” he said. “We don’t always know who is acting on behalf of whom. There are lots of political games being played.”
In a surprising about-face a few hours after speaking to the Associated Press, and after the parliamentary hearing — which might underline the pressures involved — Mayor Lippens announced that day-trippers could return to Knokke-Heist as of Wednesday.
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The IKF is happy to announce the Royal Belgian Korfball Federation (KBKB) will host the IKF Beach Korfball World Cup (Europe) 2018
The event will take place on the weekend of the 11th and 12th August 2018 and will be held at the O’Neill Beachclub Blankenberge
This event will consist both of a Senior and U19 category
The event is open for all countries all over the world
More info: www.beachkorfball.com
OFFICIAL TOURNAMENT PROFILES (#BKWCE2018 – #BeachKorfball):
Medievalists.net
the coastal town of Blankenberge would send to the nearby city of Bruges a porpoise
A new study examines this tradition and why it happened
In an article published in the journal Urban History
Kristiaan Dillen looks into Bruges’ records that reveal the annual event
was transported each spring from Blankenberge to Bruges
the animal would be given to a local fishmonger and cut up into pieces
and then delivered to the alderman and officials of Bruges for a feast
While the sources from Bruges date only to 1400
it seems this event took place for generations before
with the records explaining it “has been the custom for a long time.” Dillen
believes it may have started as early as 1270
Porpoises would be a somewhat unusual creature in medieval Flanders – they would be caught in fishermen’s nets as byproducts of their regular catches
but little evidence exists to show they were intentionally hunted
While previous historians have seen this annual handover as a kind of punishment or tribute levied by Bruges to their smaller neighbor
the presentation of the porpoise demonstrates how communities not only maintained ties of solidarity with each other but also relied on relations with the larger inland cities
Similarly to the outports in the Zwin estuary
the newcomer Blankenberge was integrated into Bruges’ sphere of influence
While the outports became part of a port and staple network
Blankenberge entered a system that had to provide Bruges with food
nautical expertise and protection against the risks associated with the maritime landscape
This system was essentially based on trust
Both cities partially depended on the support of the other to maintain and improve their respective places in the landscape
The article, “Porpoise, punishment and partnership: the meaning of presenting and consuming a marine mammal in late medieval coastal Flanders,” by Kristiaan Dillen, appears in Urban History. Click here to read it
— Urban History (@UrbanHistoryCUP) April 7, 2021
Kristiaan Dillen started his PhD program in 2017, and is working on a thesis entitled, Seaports, port cities and their hinterland: the maritime network in the county of Flanders in the late Middle Ages. Click here to visit his university profile
in ‘Liber de natura rerum’ of Thomas van Cantimpré
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A block of flats on the sea front in the West Flemish coastal resort of Blankenberge has been rendered uninhabitable during demolition work on an adjoining building. The rear wall of the block was damaged and several flats have been rendered uninhabitable.
The building is on the corner of the Zeedijk and the Verstraetehelling. A contractor is currently carrying out demolition work on an adjoining building. A construction error when the block of flats was built means that it is likely that a side wall was omitted and that only the side wall of the house that is currently being demolished separated the two buildings.
At first it was feared that the entire rear wall of the block would collapse. Fortunately, this did not happen, although the building was initially declared uninhabitable.
The damaged rear wall of the building is now full of holes and cracks and the rooms of some of the flats in the building are now completely exposed to the elements. The building contractor will now support and seal the wall so that the elements cannot cause any further damage to the flats.
Most of the damaged flats are holiday or second homes. The municipal authority in Blankenberge will find alternative accommodation or two permanent residents of the building.
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After the long and massive European lockdown, everybody wants to breathe fresh air, maybe even go to the beach and lie in the sun. But if you want to travel in Belgium, bear in mind that some safety rules must be respected.
Belgium is certainly a nice country to visit with many picturesque towns along the coast. The Belgium shoreline is 68 km long, with sandy beaches. If you wish to visit the coast you can use the Coast Tram. This is a public transport service connecting the cities and towns along the entire Belgian coast, between De Panne, near the French border, and Knokke-Heist, near the Dutch border.
If you want to stay more than one day, you can find a lot of resorts with beautiful views. If you are looking to try the local delicacies, Belgian Chocolate, fries, and of course the famous Belgian beer, here are 10 Belgium Beaches you must visit this summer.
Ostend is a famous beach in Belgium. Every year during the summer a lot of visitors come from different parts of Belgium and neighbouring countries. Ostend is also known to host the Sand Sculpture Festival every year. Besides the beach, Ostend has also many things to offer such as museums, shopping, cafés, bars and restaurants with a local menu.
Ver esta publicação no Instagram Uma publicação partilhada por Iwona ツ (@iwka0678)
De Panne is just 20 km away from Ostend. You can explore and enjoy this beautiful beach but there is something more: don’t forget to explore the nature reserve area call “the Westhoek” which is the home of migratory birds and highland cattle. You can also see local flora and fauna.
Ver esta publicação no Instagram Uma publicação partilhada por Aurélie 🌷 | Lille & more (@afadingsummer)
Blankenberge is another favourite beach and city in Belgium. With nice sands and seaside this beach always is always crowded during the summer and sunny days. There’s a structure which is unique along the Belgian coast: a 350-m long art deco pier, the Belgium Pier, constructed in 1933. You can also do some water sports activities such as: banana boats, jet skiing, kiteboarding, and also windsurfing.
Blankenberge is also home to several famous festivals every year with different themes like “Belle époque park”. You can also see a phenomenal view of the port with the 40-meter-high Ferris wheel.
Посмотреть эту публикацию в Instagram Публикация от Gryfny Fliger (@tomasz.kacprzak)
De Haan has a very lovely sandy beach about a 2-minute walk from the tram stop and road. There is parking very nearby just over the road. De Haan’s beach is the longest on the Flemish coast! It is rather quiet, with about twelve kilometres in length. A really nice place to read books. Not far from De Haan, you can find the only official naturist beach of Belgium 😊. It is located at an unspoiled spot without constructions
Did you know that Albert Einstein lived in De Haan for six months in 1933?
Ver esta publicação no Instagram Uma publicação partilhada por Yann (@yann.travel)
Nieuwpoort is known as a fishing village and also for its beautiful beach. Nieuwpoort itself consists of two parts, Nieuwpoort-Stad and Nieuwpoort-Bad. If you like some water sport activities this beach is perfect for you. Exploring the city is also something you must do. Trying fresh seafood in some restaurants is certainly a must.
Ver esta publicação no Instagram Uma publicação partilhada por Visit Nieuwpoort (@visitnieuwpoort)
This beach stretches from 250 to 700 m at ebb-tide and extends over 30 km, via De Panne to the beach of Dunkirk (France). Oostduinkerke is known for its shrimpers on horseback, and this tradition was added to the UNESCO list of “Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity” in 2013.
Ver esta publicação no Instagram Uma publicação partilhada por Sabine De Kok (@sabinedekok)
Knokke-Heist has a beach of about 12 kilometres and an average of 70 meters wide. Knokke and, particularly its neighbourhood “Le Zoute”, is the beach resort for the rich and (semi-) famous. You can also find a casino.
Ver esta publicação no Instagram Uma publicação partilhada por Aris Setya (@aris.setya)
The beach in Middelkerke is the longest in Belgium and has also the most sun hours on the entire Belgian coast. The white sands and blue sky are perfect to visit during the summertime. Visitors can also can swim during July and August under the supervision of safeguards.
Ver esta publicação no Instagram Uma publicação partilhada por Josefien De Bock (@josefien_textfairy)
Koksijde is a beautiful beach with white sands. It is well maintained and you can do a lot of activities. You can visit the “Beach Village”, the museum, swim in the pool, do Resto Bowling, and visit the 3D World Magic and Fun attraction. During the summertime, the beach is always crowded with but you can still enjoy it if you find a place!
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Zeebrugge has a beautifully clean and quiet beach located just south of the seaport. Zeebrugge is also an artificial harbour. During the hot summer day, this beach has plenty of life with young visitors that love to spend their summer day in this place. You can also visit the seaport and do sailing with a guide.
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First drinks: This easygoing establishment has a similar problem to many Kiwi watering holes in that it's confusing as to whether you wait to be seated or seat yourself
It took a little to-ing and fro-ing before we got our robust Aussie shiraz and a refreshing
dry house cider - both exactly as we'd hoped
and smoky ribs and you might catch the smell of the sea a few hundred metres away
The old music videos make for a good trivia game of "guess the year"
otherwise it would be better without the screens
Room for improvement: The plastic (and occasionally sticky) menus aren't classy and confusion over how to best order more drinks could be sorted
The perfect spot for: An easy meal and a drink before a show
or a casual spot to stop by after a sunny day at the beach
The average cost of a wedding has increased over recent years
A block of flats in the popular seaside resort of Blankenberge (West Flanders) has been gutted by fire
The major blaze started around 5PM on Wednesday
A large plume of black smoke could be seen for miles around
Police and fire-fighters deployed in large numbers
Residents speak of one or two explosions in the upper part of the building before the blaze
but all residents and people living in the neighbouring block had to be evacuated
A score of people received help from local social services
Though fire-fighters gained control of the blaze residents were not able to return home yesterday
Foto:Tessy Hansen A day at the seaside is closer than you think thanks to the relaunch of a popular party train transporting revellers to the Belgian coast
The Blankenberge Express summer service returns offering travellers in Luxembourg and Belgium a fun way to enjoy a day out at the quaint Belgian seaside resort
a train will leave Luxembourg every Sunday at 6.57am
Attached to one end is the “Partywon” or party carriage which is exactly that
takes place throughout the journey in both directions with a bar open at all times
After a full day at the seaside residents should be careful not to miss the only return train
which leaves Blankenberge at 6.04pm and returns to Luxembourg at around 10.03pm
passengers will receive a croissant and drink
Passengers wishing to take up the offer must book in advance as tickets will not be sold on the day
Blankenberge Express tickets can be purchased at CFL stations in Luxembourg City
A return trip per adult on the Blankenberge Express is 40 euros
27 euros for children aged 6 to 15 and 12 euros for under 6 if a separate seat is required
as the Blankenberge Express is a party train
For groups from 10 people the cost is 32 euros
All prices include a morning coffee and croissant
For full details go to: www.gar.lu
For booking: www.cfl.lu
More about Bankenberge: www.blankenberge.be
Try your luck at winning 4 tickets for the Blankenberge on Sunday July 27
For full details click here!
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The Luxembourg-Blankenberge Express enabled travellers to take a daytrip to Blankenberge
Luxembourg rail operator CFL confirmed the Luxembourg-Blankenberge Express will not run in the summers of 2017 and 2018 because of a number of projects on the Belgian network
The link has been running on Sunday and holidays in July and August since 1978
CFL further announced that trains will not circulate on line 50 (Luxembourg - Kleinbettingen - Arlon) during the summer of 2018
cutting the rail link between Luxembourg and the Belgian coast
Alternatives are available: rail passengers wishing to explore Blankenberge can take a direct train from Luxembourg to Ostend and change at Bruges station
This connection will be available every Saturday
Sunday and public holiday from 1 July to 3 September
For information, visit www.cfl.lu
The Blankenberge Express summer service returns offering travellers in Luxembourg and Belgium a fun way to enjoy a day out at the quaint Belgian seaside resort.
From July 17, a train will leave Luxembourg every Sunday at 7.02am, on a four-hour journey, stopping off at Kleinbettingen, Arlon and Bruge before reaching the coast.
Anyone planning a pre-beach nap on the train may be disappointed. The Blankenberge Express is known for its party atmosphere, with loud music, dancing and a non-stop bar.
After a full day at the seaside residents should be careful not to miss the only return train, which leaves Blankenberge at 6.09pm and returns to Luxembourg at around 10.01pm. During the outgoing journey, passengers will receive a croissant and drink, which are included in the ticket price.
Passengers wishing to take up the offer must book in advance as tickets will not be sold on the day.
Blankenberge Express tickets can be purchased at CFL stations in Luxembourg City, Ettelbrück, Esch-sur-Alzette, Belval University and Wasserbillig.
The Blankenberge Express party carriage is hosted by a DNR roadshow, which means that they are giving away tickets throughout the season.
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De Oesterput in Blankenberge Restaurant
is widely recognized as the seafood specialist to beat on the Belgian coast
Seafood lovers come from afar to don their lobster bibs and munch away at royal-sized platters of crustaceans and shellfish on ice
© Brasserie Pakhuis One of the best places for oysters in Belgium besides the seaside is Ghent. An artists’ hub well on its way to becoming Belgium’s premier foodie city as well, oysters are everywhere and the annual oyster market organized since 2008 by Brasserie Pakhuis no doubt has something to do with their soaring popularity
Their airy and beautifully renovated industrial warehouse plays host to rows of booths where you can sample a wide variety of oysters with a glass of champagne on the side
‘Oyster Sunday’ is the ideal stop for lunch with friends or to select the tastiest of the shellfish to try your hand preparing them at home
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© Brasserie Dock's Over a period of 25 years Brasserie Dock’s on the Schelde has steadily made oysters a part of its trademark
Besides serving a whopping six different kinds all year round
they also host a popular oyster and fruits de mer market every year
The maritime mood is enhanced further by its location on the Schelde banks and quirky yet grand interior reminiscent of a cruise ship
designed by Portuguese architect Antonio Pinto
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In fact Sunday’s journey was the 328th round trip the train has made since the service began bringing the seaside closer to Luxembourg residents.
And so the 35th season has begun! Leaving every Sunday now at 7.05am for the four-hour train ride to Blankenberge, returning the same day at 6pm, and continuing until August 26.
But it isn’t any ordinary train. Attached to one end is the “Partywon” or party carriage which is exactly that! Music singing and dancing, mostly my passengers, takes place throughout the journey in both directions with a bar open at all times, making what may seem like a long journey, simply fly by. In fact the train ride is half the fun!
For the first trip of the season, about 150 passengers made the journey to the Belgian coast. After several days of rain in Luxembourg, visitors were lucky enough to enjoy the sun for several hours while walking along the seashore, taking advantage of summer sales, or even enjoying a good “moules frites” (mussels and chips) that Belgium is famous for.
A return trip per adult on the Blankenberge Express is 40 euros, 27 euros for children aged 6 to 15 and 12 euros for under 6 if a separate seat is required.
However, as the Blankenberge Express is a party train, groups are encouraged to take the trip. For groups from 10 people the cost is 32 euros, and from 25 party-goers it’s 27 euros.
All prices include a morning coffee and croissant!
More about Bankenberge: www.blankenberge.be
You can win Blankenberge Express tickets every Monday by listening to DNR Radio or going to their Facebook Page
According to The Brussels Times
the fight started when a group of young people were told by a lifeguard not to sit on the breakwater
police were called and the brawl broke out
Some media write that refusing social distancing may have played a part in the fight
Alweer intrieste taferelen aan onze Vlaamse kust. #Blankenberge pic.twitter.com/7L3w2AbU8t
Police reinforcements arrived on the scene to help calm the situation
Mayor Daphné Dumery had called for a crisis meeting on Saturday evening: "This cannot continue
We must do everything possible to guarantee the safety of our beach and its visitors," she said
the decision was taken that tourists coming to Blankenberge for one day only are no longer welcome.