2020 Travel the World - Week 48

I started a Travel the World Series last year. (It should be noted that I did a similar thing in 2018, only it was the 50 states.) For 50 weeks in 2019, I visited a different country (virtually) and shared facts about that country. I then selected one tidbit of information about that week's country as inspiration for a card. Fifty weeks; fifty countries... BUT there are 195 countries in the world so that was just a little over 25% of them. Of course I couldn't stop, so this year I'm continuing with fifty more countries, one per week.

This week's country is...

Belgium

France, Germany, Luxembourg and the Netherland border Belgium. 

Its official name is Kingdom of Belgium.

Belgium is a densely populated country. It has an area of 30,528 square kilometers and a population in excess of 11 million. Belgium occupies the same area as the state of Maryland.

Belgium is a low-lying country which is mostly flat. The highest point in the country is lower than the tallest building in the world.

Brussels, its capital city, was founded in the 13th century.

Belgium has three official languages: Dutch, French, and German. Contrary to what many people think, Flemish is not a language. It's a dialect cluster.

The largest urbanized population in the world is in Belgium. Almost 98% of the country’s population lives in cities and urban areas. 

Durbuy dubs itself the smallest city in the world. Although it now has less than 500 inhabitants, it was granted the rank of city in medieval times, which it hasn't lost since then.

Education in the country is compulsory until the age of 18. 

The very first international football game was played in Brussels in 1904. Football is still very popular in Belgium.

The country is the world’s leading exporter of billiard balls.

Belgians are known to make carpets from flowers and hold an annual flower carpet festival in Brussels.

Fast food is not much liked by the Belgians. No doubt, they have the least number of fast food restaurants in Belgium as compared to other European countries.

Brussels sprouts have been grown in Belgium for over 400 years.

Chocolate production in the country dates back to 1635. Today, the country has more than 2,000 chocolate shops, and it produces over 173,000 tons of chocolate every year.

Belgium produces over 220,000 tonnes of chocolate each year.

Brussels International Airport is the world's largest chocolate selling point.

Pralines were invented by Jean Neuhaus in Brussels in 1912. 

New York City was founded by a Belgian.

There are wild wolves roaming the Belgian forests along with Wild boars, deer, beavers and lots of birds.

There are more castles per kilometer here than any other country in the world, and the Belgian castles are very impressive too!

The Belgian coastal tram is the longest tram line in the world, being 68 km long. It opened in 1885.

Belgium has the highest density of art collectors of any country.

Belgium hosts the world's largest sand sculpture festival in the world.

Belgium was the first country in the world to issue electronic passports complying with the recommendations of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) and, along with Italy, was the first to issue electronic ID cards in March 2003.

The world’s first printed newspaper was produced in Belgium in 1605 in Antwerp. The newspaper was called Relation.

Belgium is one of the few countries in the world with compulsory voting.

Belgium's road network is the only road network visible from the moon because of the number of lights, with 99.9% of all Belgium roads and highways being lit at night.

Belgium is home to some of the world’s best music festivals. Tomorrowland is by far the biggest one. In fact, it’s the largest in the world. Nowadays, it takes place not only in Belgium but also in other countries like the U.S., Australia, Brazil, and France… More than 200,000 people attend the event every year. Getting hold of tickets is next to impossible as they sell out in minutes. 

Belgian households have the highest percentage of cable TV in the world, at 97%.

After the Dutchmen, men from Belgium are the second tallest in the world.

The word “spa” originated from the town of spa in Belgium.

Belgians love cycling and they make use of cycles for most short-distance trips.

Belgians love pets, which is why the majority of the families in Belgium have pets. Half of the homes in Belgium have a household pet. It is estimated that there are about 2 million dogs and cats in a country, with a population of 10 million.

Sugar beets, chicory, flax, cereal grains, and potatoes are the major crops of Belgium.

I decided to let this Belgium fact be the inspiration for this week's card... Belgians invented fries; why they are called french fries is baffling. French fries are called Belgian fries in the country.

Here's the inside:

Thanks for stopping by my blog today!

Stamp Sets: Taylored Expressions Perfect Pairs Burgers and Fries and Technique Tuesday Lots of Sentiments (with coordinating die) stamped with Memento Tuxedo Black Ink and colored with Copic Markers

Papers: Accent Opaque 120# White, Recollections Black, and SU Pear Pizzazz CS and DP from my scrap file

Dies: Gina Marie Wonky Stitch Rectangle, Rubbernecker Nested Rectangle Stitch and Spellbinders Circle

Embellishments: Paper Studio Tiny Brads