picturesque villages of Wallonia (by kerouac2)

[Deleted]

I was in northeastern France a couple of days ago, which gave me a chance to see a few places that were on my list in Belgium. I had plotted a route on the map, but the GPS had totally different ideas, so I ended up in Luxembourg and Germany on the way to my first stop. With a bit more time, I would have visited Aachen and Maastricht since they were just a few kilometres away, but I remained focused on my original plan, and entered the small German speaking region of Belgium through Germany.

The German speaking region is attached to French speaking Wallonia, so most of the signs are in both German and French. However, I saw that some of the locals apparently do not approve, because the French names had been painted out on a lot of the road signs. But the German zone (in blue) is extremely small, so I was through it quite quickly.

My first goal was to visit the villages of Limbourg, Soiron and Olne, which are all around the town of Verviers.



Since a lot of people don't even know where Verviers is, you can see that it is close to Liège but just as close to Aachen, Germany and Maastricht, Netherlands.



My first stop was Limbourg, which oddly enough is not in the province of Limbourg but in the province of Liège. Perhaps any Belgians reading this can explain why.





It is a very tidy place. I was impressed that most of the houses have chairs or benches in front for the residents to sit when the weather is warmer.











Even though it is a small place, there are a number of little passages to explore.

to be continued

[bixaorellana]

Great start and wonderful pictures. I love the one looking down the hill in front of the houses on to the rising hills beyond.

How did you happen to pick those particular towns to visit?

[Deleted]

Bixa, I am a news junkie and devour the news of websites around the world whenever I can decipher the language. I like to see the different points of view about events taking place in other places, and it is never boring. However, obviously I also encounter various local cultural news which sometimes catches my eye, and this is what happened about six months ago on the RTBF site (French language Belgian public television). It was about 4 new villages being added to the association of the "most beautiful villages in Wallonia" with a map of all the villages. There are about 25 of them, mostly in southern Belgium and particularly around the Ardennes, where they were spared from war damage. There are only two not far from Brussels, because I assume that those areas were totally destroyed in the various wars. I imagine that there must be a corresponding association of beautiful villages in Flanders (since the things of Wallonia and Flanders never mix), but I have not looked for the list yet. I doubt that there would be as many villages, because Flanders was a total battlefield both in the Great War and in little World War II.

Oddly enough, even though there is obviously a French association of "most beautiful villages" with a shitload of places, I have never sought them out per se, even though I have seen a number of them (such as Les Baux, Rodemack (I made a report about it here, but absolutely nobody ever read it), Gordes, Venasque, etc.) Probably one of the reasons is that they just look "French" to me and not exotic enough.

[bjd]

Nice pictures of a lovely place. I like the fact that there are those chairs and tables outside. Of course, in France they would probably be stolen unless they were cemented down.

[Deleted]

I kind of liked seeing all of the flowers as the end of "blooming season" approached. I think the flowers might be overwhelming in mid summer.









In all of the villages that I visited, cats had free rein. There were almost no vehicles to disturb their patrolling.

       

[fumobici]

Very pretty. Doesn't look German, or French, or generically Belgian, or quite anything else in particular. Which is cool!

[mossie]

I have to agree with fumobici, the stone buildings and setts and cobbles in the roads give a real old fashioned appearance. The chairs outside are a very nice touch which again seems from another era.

[Deleted]

Oct 8, 2016 19:20:19 GMT bjd said:

I like the fact that there are those chairs and tables outside. Of course, in France they would probably be stolen unless they were cemented down.

Actually, this is quite common in northeastern France, Alsace excluded. The only difference is that the French are a bit more private and usually have their benches and chairs behind a hedge or a little fence. My grandparents had a bench and a few chairs next to the front door, and it was the usual place for apéritif in the summer, as well as for shucking peas or plucking pigeons or chickens.

[Deleted]

I have to admit that the churches are not very pretty, but they fit the architecture of the village.



These steps went down to some unknown place. It was known to me as a convenient place to pee.









This was the château of the lord of Limbourg.







My last photo of Limbourg was of the school, just because I was parked right in front of it. On to Soiron...

[Deleted]

Welcome to Soiron.

I parked next to the old wash house, which was also the source of a small stream in the village.







It took just a moment for me to realise that I had the right to move the plastic bucket out of the way so that it would not spoil my photo.





















another less than charming church



There was a monument to the war dead.

[Deleted]

It just took a few steps to the edge of the village to admire the surrounding countryside.









The school had been given the name of a local martyr.













These villages had a delicious smell of wood smoke in the autumn air.



The church was surrounded on all sides by the cemetery, which is rare on the continent.

And on to Olne...

[lagatta]

I think the plain squarish churches fit the village perfectly.

Merci pour la gent féline.

[Deleted]

Olne was a bit larger with a very official looking town hall.











Some of the window boxes definitely showed that it is autumn now.









There was not a whole lot of traffic in town.



Once again, the countryside was just a few steps away.



It was interesting to see what the local butcher/deli was promoting.

[Deleted]

This little lane gave access to the kitchen gardens behind the houses.



























My vehicle for the day is the white one in the middle.





Then I was off to a different region for my last stop.

[Deleted]

The last village I had time to see was Sohier in the province of Luxembourg. The nearest "major" cities are Charleroi and Namur, Belgium and Charleville-Mézières, France.







I found the bus stop very bucolic.







This house was naked for renovation. I'm sure it will look completely different when it is covered with flowers.



Most cats are wary of strangers, but this one ran right up to me and acted like a little whore.



       

































That's all for now, but I hope to see some more of these picturesque villages in the future.

[tod2]

Charming villages Kerouac - it is so lovely to see little vegetable gardens, flower boxes and the apples waiting to fall.
I really appreciated the map. It makes some difference knowing just where you were.
I especially like the iron signage - The donkey and the rooster, also the eagle attacking the hare and the cat and the mouse. Little things like that make a sleepy village so special.
If you had to move the plastic bucket it means they are still using the water for something but I doubt any washing goes on.
Hope we have more photos coming.

[bjd]

All very nice photos, Kerouac. Except for the occasional brick house, it somehow reminds me of Mayenne. The small villages with lots of flower boxes, the slope of the roofs with a mixture of slate or tiles, the surrounding rolling countryside with cows. It's definitely a picturesque area of Belgium, and indeed, thanks for the map.

[bixaorellana]

What an utterly pleasant excursion! You really captured the feeling of autumn in the air and something of everything -- architecture, cemeteries, gardens, livestock, etc. Even the towns are so tidy, yet they feel loved and lived-in. Beautiful pictures throughout. I especially loved the kitchen gardens and the cemetery cows and the yard with the bike and the stone globe was a real favorite.

[htmb]

Pretty little towns. All the flowers are very nice, but I think they sometimes distract the eye from the more subtle architectural features of buildings. Seemingly little details like tile worked in nice patterns can be so interesting.

[whatagain]

Thank you Kerouac ! Great pics as usual. I confess I've never been there !

To feel even more 'walloon', here are two songs called 'le chant des wallons' (walloons's song).
The first - in french- is song by students mostly, 'une chanson à boire'...
I song it quite often and usually better if drunk.

The second is in Wallloon (from Liège I would say) - I learnt it today - Wallonia's anthem - never heard before. And it is not the Walloon I speak, aleit I can understand most of it.

[amboseli]

Great pictures of some very pretty villages. I also confess I've never been to any of them.

Here's a website with the most scenic villages in Flanders from a photographer's point of view.
fotogeniekbelgie.wordpress.com/category/15-mooiste-dorpen/

[whatagain]

I've been to 4-5 of those.
(En mijn neef trouwde in Onze Lieve Vrouw Lombeek.)

[tod2]

I absolutely love The Wallonia Anthem! It reminds me of Welsh anthems or songs but perhaps that is because it was sung so robustly by men with strong voices.
They could teach a few countries around the world to change their anthems from pissy little soft dreary tunes to something which is not so boring.

[gabriele]

Another great visit K2, I enjoy some places so much more off-season.
In order of appearance: The row of houses with chairs and tables did have one house without but it appeared there was a designated House Cat to sit on the doormat and establish that this was a proper house and worthy of respect, chairs or no.

The houses on the downhill view seem to offer their own story as to what goes on in the neighborhood....and always the promise of which lie just beyond the crown of the road.

I love the soft blue on the door and shutters on the one house. I know in the south of France one sees that; there are those who have taken up the old craft of turning the pastel (woad) leaves into a dye source. Once processed it can be used on fabrics or (as I saw) mixed with oils or waxes and applied to prepared wood. The plant has natural beneficial properties for the wood and one doesn't have to sand and repaint, one just rubs in more of the oil or wax.

You wrote: "I think the flowers might be overwhelming in mid summer."
For myself, I've observed that often the bright sunlight of summer can wash out some colors so we don't see them in the same way we now see the vivid tones in the greyish light of autumn. K2 you had a ramble in Paris that included a wonderful wall covered in a vine with brilliant fall colors (pinately leaves). There, too, the sky was bright but still overcast. The diffuse light seems to illuminate such colors so they have a visual punch to them. I used the screen shot of those plants as my desktop background for a long time...sort of 'my secret Paris'...close to everything but hidden away and nature showing her full colors for those fortunate to see.

Ah! Two photos before Du Coq a l'Ane the wall has some of the vines I was just referring to...don't know them (?)

Glad to see you passed the Friendly Cat Patrol's inspections....one needs to maintain friendly relations with such benevolent despots...

I, too, enjoy the cast iron signs...simple but distinctive and probably a local craftsman who sells smaller items for visitors.

The château of the lord of Limbourg reminds me of similar dwellings in the old Inspector Maigret tv series which were filmed outside of France.

The affectionate cat may have been expressing personally the appreciation of the Cat League for proper human behavior.

I'm sure a lot of the plants in baskets and pots are changed over the season so they're always in flower...so perhaps they display what works best for each season (referring to the bright colors...).

I wonder what the woman sitting on the bench found objectionable about the man in the ancient cycling jersey (perhaps the cost...there's one on ebay for about US$ 60...) or perhaps his behavior. She does seem to be trying to ignore him while gesturing to someone about him.

Is that all one huge squash or several next to each other?

Very nice visit. I wonder if the churches represent not the local people but the church hierarchy (plain, severe and unyielding)? What is the common religion there (for those who do follow one still)?