Belgium

Belgium (Belgique in French, België in Dutch, Belgien in German) is 11.5 million people country in the western part of Europe. It belongs to the European Union (EU) and it's surrounded by the Netherlands, Germany, Luxembourg and France. The population come from a mostly Catholic Christian tradition; the official languages are French, Dutch and Germany (many people can speak English) and the official currency is the euro (€). Belgium is an important touristic destination and it has 13 sites placed on UNESCO World Heritage list. The main city, and the capital city, of Belgium is Brussels, with other important cities like Antwerp, Ghent or Charleroi.

What can I visit in Belgium?

Here you have a list of places in Belgium that are worth to be seen. Check them out and find out the ones you want to visit:

• Aukštaitija National Park
• Biržai
• Curonian Spit National Park
• Druskininkai
• Dzūkija National Park
• Kaunas
• Kernavė
• Klaipėda
• Labanoras Regional Park 
• Nemunas Delta Regional Park
• Palanga
• Panevėžys
• Šiauliai 
• Trakai
• Vilnius
• Žemaitija National Park

History

The first inhabitants .

Lithuania isn't a big country, but it has its different ethnografic regions, each one which special features and characteristics (based on cultural differences of ordinary people living there and not on political history or administrative divisions). In the following map you can see them:

•    Lithuania Minor (Mažoji Lietuva)
•    Samogitia (Žemaitija)
•    Highland (Aukštaitija)
•    Dainava (Dzūkija)
•    Sudovia (Suvalkija)
•    unofficial capitals of each region
•    Vilnius - capital of Lithuania

Unforgettable experiences 

This places and experiences are a must if you want to discover and understand Lithuania

Planning your holidays

These are some possible journeys you may do in Lithuania so visit parts of it or discover it all.

What can I eat and drink in Belgium?

Lithuanian food has Polish and Ashkenazi influences and their meals are usually based in barley, potatoes, mushrooms, rye and beets. Cepelinai (potato dumpling stuffed with meat, cheese or mushrooms) is the national dish and is usually used as starter. There are other varieties like kukuliai (similar to gnocchi), koldūnai, virtiniai or auselės. One of the most common dishes in Lithuanian cuisine are soups, with many kinds like cabbage soup, cucumber soup, sauerkraut soup, lapienė (greens in a cramy broth), barščiai (hot beet soup), šaltibarščiai (cold beet soup) and the popular vištienos sultinys (chicken broth). Lithuania is also rich in blynai (mixture between pancakes and crêpes), with some examples like kėdainių blynai, žemaičių blynai and lietiniai. Talking about regional food in Lithuania, the regions with more food personality are Dzūkija and Samogitia. In the former some traditional dishes are juka (blood soup), kugel (potato pudding with an Ashkenazi origin) and buckwheat pancakes. In Samogitia region it's typical the kastinys (sour cream forming a soft spread). Another ethnic minory like the Karaites have their own dishes like kibinai (pastry with mutton and onion). The most common bread is ruginė duona (rye bread).


Some other typical dishes are the Lithuanian šaltnosiukai (dumplings filled with lingonberries), įdaryti kiaušiniai (similar to deviled eggs), įdaryti pomidorai (tomatoes filled with savory stuffing) and Lithuanian curd cheese. Some of the dishes with meat are lašiniai (pork underskin fat with little or no meat), vėdarai (pig large intestine with potato), šiupinys (stew made from variety of ingredients), balandėliai (cabbage leaves stuffed with meat), dešra (typical Lithuanian sausages), skilandis or kindziukas (pig stomach stuffed with meat and garlic and cold-smoked), suktiniai (beef or pork very thin, filled, rolled up and braised), kotletai or frikadėlės (minced meat and/or onion patties) and šaltiena or košeliena (aspic or meat jelly)
In desserts the most popular one are Lithuanian-style cakes (pyragas) but others are žagarėliai (deep-fried pastries with sugar), kūčiukai or šližikai (tradicional Christmas dinner roll), ledai (ice cream), spurgos (Lithuanian donut), šakotis (Lithuanian baumkuchen), tinginys (Kaunas typical dessert), manų putra/košė (semolina wheat pudding) and skruzdėlynas (pastries stacked on top of one another).


Talking about drinking, the most famous Lithuanian drink is the beer (alus) throughout all the country, usually drank with piršteliai prie alaus (puff pastries served with beer), yet not the oldest one, having midus (mead) that honour. As in many other northern countries, there are many other kind of stronger spirits like trauktinė (strong herbal vodka), degtinė (rye, wheat or potato vodka) or krupnikas (honey liqueur). There are other non alcoholic drinks like gira (similar to kvass), arbata (tea) or kava (coffee). 

Learn some French



Learn some Flemish

Learn some German