The thought about writing about my time in Liège came to me when I was entombed in an icy Scotland during lockdown in January 2021. The temperature reached minus 12 degrees and the snow and ice kept me inside for a lot of time. (One of my excursions led to a slip on the ice and a gash on my nose which has given me a scar for life!) So my mind has been flashing back to the warmest place I visited on my year of travels before the virus hit, and that was, perhaps surprisingly, Liège.
And that was the start of this blog post – and then I went on to write about how hot it was and what the good points are and so on. Then it occurred to me that all I was really saying was “Liège was hot!” And it was – but perhaps was more interesting was why I was there in the first place.
Liège is not seen as one of the prettiest of cities in Belgium. Indeed, when I told an English speaking Belgian in Brussels that Liège was one of my next destinations he called the place a shithole. But for some strange reason I seem attracted to cities which are NOT seen as beautiful and I felt that Liège was down to earth and a place to be. I know that when people talk about going to Belgium outside of Brussels then the places to be are Ghent and Bruges – and although I did one day visits to both of these cities, I decided to spend more time in Liège to see a more “real” Belgium. I guess that comes from having lived in Sheffield for so many years and loving the place. It is not in any tourist guides. It is however one of the friendliest places in the UK and full of life and energy because of the big student population.
This has helped to shape my philosophy of where to go to in my travels. I am not a tourist. I am not the guy who will go to every attraction in town, (I was within 30 minutes of Disneyland Paris and never went.) I am travelling because I want to see and try to make sense of as much of the world as I can – so I will be going to places that attract me for a variety of reasons. When I was in Paris I made a point of travelling out to the “poorest” place in France. I put poorest in inverted commas because the description is difficult to define – but I wanted to see how it compared to some of the poorest parts of England – and I have to say that (although I was only there for a few hours) it compared very well. I think I went to Liège because it is a city I have heard of (because of the football team) but never seems to be mentioned in any guide books to the country. I guess it is my version of unexplored territory.
What helped with being in the city, was having a lovely flat to come back to and in terms of what I would want from somewhere – Liège ticked all the boxes – for a flat in a city centre that is. A view across the river … a balcony at the back (quieter I didn’t notice any noise whilst I was there) and of course warm (would I have been complaining about it in the winter?) In fact that was the main talking point of my visit. It was hot. Towards the end of my stay it got so hot even I was put off. The temperature reached over 40 degrees – the highest ever recorded in Belgium since records began in 1844.
I think I have written elsewhere about how much accommodation makes a difference to my perception of a place. I well remember reading of the experience of a young man in Sheffield who was depressed and anxious and realised that his symptoms were relieved by his infrequent walks in the countryside. Recognising that led to him looking for a flat to rent with better access to the countryside and when he secured this (with a view) his symptoms abated. Now I know this is not the answer for everyone and that someone has to live in the basement flat in Würzburg, next door to the guy practising the electric guitar, (my home for, thankfully, only two days,) but it may be an answer for some It also shows that one of the advantages of the nomadic lifestyle is that if things become difficult at a particular location you can always up sticks and move on. At least you can when there is not a pandemic to contend with.
Another factor about living somewhere like Liège is how affordable it is. I had a flat with a view across the river in the city centre. It cost me about £55 per night (I splashed out as a treat to myself!) To stay in a similar Airbnb in France overlooking the Seine would be over £100 per night and I guess around the same for other cities.
So were there any downsides to living in Liège? Not really. It is easy to get out of the city via the magnificent railway station. I am not normally a fan of modern architecture – but the station at Liège is quite something. It is light and airy and has connections to cities in both Belgium and the rest of Europe. I took the train out to the city of Spa – which was another of my disasters. It seemed the city was closed – with the high street being dug up for repairs and most of the shops and cafes shut as a result. The main attraction is of course the casino which is a no-no for me anyway … but I was thoroughly disappointed with the place. At one closed restaurant there was a homage to a former employee who had died on the Titanic. The lengths some people went to in order to get away from the place! Liège was a place to explore and to get to grips with a new language and a new way of doing things. It is a large multicultural city with a great public transport system, lots of pubs and bars and, of course, the famous football team.
The people were for the most part friendly and I would certainly go back there … But whenever I do go back I know it will be colder than on this visit. Who would have thought that the hottest weather that I have known would not be in Brazil but in Belgium.
