National Day - Belgium 1830-2008

From Wikipedia: "The Belgian Revolution was a conflict in the United Kingdom of the Netherlands that began with a riot in Brussels in August 1830 and eventually led to the establishment of an independent, Roman Catholic and neutral Belgium (William I, king of the Netherlands, would refuse to recognize a Belgian state until 1839, when he had to yield under pressure by the Treaty of London)." Just wanted to give a bit of background history to this important day in Belgium, 21 July. If you would like to learn more about the Belgian Revolution and consequent Independence from the Kingdom of the Nederlands, click here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belgian_Revolution There are very interesting facts in this report.

Now for a look at a present day celebration. This is the second time that we can participate in Belgium's National Day commemorating this great country's independence. We witness so many wonderful events in the area but the parade was one of the best things that day. Here are some pictures.

I must say that we enjoyed watching the Belgian different branches of the military march by. We also enjoyed the Air Force display and although I missed taking several pictures (nice white skies were showing in my camera at one point - LOL), I did manage to take these two pictures.

As it is normal at all ocassions, a little bit of weirdness, we must also have...

Don't know the purpose of the orangey looking hair but if you wanted to learn how to scuba-dive, this was the time to do it. In the park, no matter the rain, you will get wet anyway, and there would be lots of people to witness your accomplishment (not only your changing your clothes!). Although we were too late to see the royals start the parade, here are a couple of pictures, I found on the internet. The royal family celebrated the day by going to Church (before the parade) and of course by observing the military march in front of them. Here are a couple of pictures of them doing just that. King Albert II and Queen Paola.