Belgium
<map lat='50.81461241998999' lng='4.41650390625' zoom='7' view='0' float='right' /> Belgium is a small country between France, the Netherlands, Germany and Luxembourg. The country is divided into a Dutch speaking part in the North (Flanders), and a French speaking part in the South (Wallonia) and a tiny German speaking part in the East . Brussels, the country and european Capital, has a bilingual status.
Hitch-hiking is usually easy within the country and to reach abroad. The country has one of the most dense road and motorway networks in Europe which can makes it slightly complex when trying to find a direct route to a destination. Still, hitching out of a city or moving from on-ramp to on-ramp is usually fairly simple.
The best places to start are the roundabouts near the entrance of the main highways (such spots can be found very easily in Liège, Louvain-la-Neuve and Namur).
Belgium has a very high density of gas stations and service areas on the motorways. This makes it easier to find one, but also leads to less traffic on a single service area. Because of its bilingual status, it could be helpful to aboard a driver in its native language. Although there is no specific way to be sure of it beforehand, the solutions are:
- To quickly say 'Hi' in both Dutch or French,
- To check up the sticker of the car retailler to notice in what part of the country it has been bought,
- To introduce yourself as a foreigner,
Useful tip: Free use of Internet PC's in every city library.
It is common practice to use the E-numbers for motorways, instead of A-numbers like in most countries. Even on road signs you will only find E-numbers.
Cities
European Carsharing (eurostop)
Taxi Stop is an agency that offers carsharing possibilities to drivers in destination or from european countries as well as passengers looking for a destination. The website is available in English (on the contrary of its german equivalent) but requires a free subscription account to contact a driver or a passenger. Although the availability listing does not require to log in. This service is called eurostop and has a set rule regarding the fees which is pretty simply: registration to the service is free of charge, a passenger is simply asked to pay 3€/100km to the driver once at destination.
Useful links
- The Dutch Wikipedia contains much more useful information than the English Wikipedia (even you don't read Dutch), with specific information about locations of gas stations, e.g. about the A13.
