22 Sept 2011

WATERLOO WHERE I LIVE

Jenny Matlock
more participants at Jenny Matlock's Alphabet Thursday




When we decided to move from Brussels to Waterloo in 1975, it was to escape the city and move to the country side, not far from our work, only about 15 km. Little did I know about the history of this town, about the very bloody battle, Wellington, Napoleon etc, history hadn't been my favorite at school and I had probably slept over the battle.

Of course living here I learned more and more, especially when we took around guests from abroad. In the 70th it was still a sleepy little town without supermarkets and you could climb the 253 steps up to the Lion for free. The Panorama of the battle and the wax museum was already there but the entrance fee was nearly nothing. That changed with a new major ! And Waterloo today has become a tourist attraction over the years. Now we have sightseeing buses, and when you visit the the Lion site, you have to pay 15 € (21 $) for climbing up the steps, a movie about the battle, and the entrance to the Panorama.



The Lion site



Each two years a reconstitution of the battle is performed on the original battle field and it looks as true as possible. During that time you can see Soldiers in their historical costumes, especially the Scottish soldiers in their skirts doing shopping in Waterloo, which looks rather funny.




of course we also have a very old cimetary, which is not used anymore



a very modern Office park for mostly Insurance companies and Banks



The city hall is quiet new, but the station hasn't changed a bit over the years and the church is still the same which was used as hospital to the wounded soldiers from the Waterloo battle in 1815.



The Lion site is outside the city center, but the Wellington museum is in the center. There Wellington lived during the battle. Of course our movie theatre has been modernized and for posh people there is the "Passage Wellington" with its very expensive boutiques.



and on the other side of the main street is the "New Gallery" also with expensive boutiques.



Along the main street are other shops and boutiques and outside there are nice living areas.



In the city center is also a beautiful park which is used for Farmer markets, Halloween or Easter festivities or other festivals.



Fortunately around Waterloo, there are still fields although they have "shrinked" due to massive house building.

Although I live here now for 36 years, I still love my Waterloo, which probably became more famous because of the Abba song than because of its battle !

22 comments:

  1. well you hit the jack pot.I bet if you walked with a metal detector,you would be able to find some historical treasure on the battle field if it still there.
    I know they have buried bodies and treasure at Fort Lennox but I don't think I want to dig just in case I find a bone or something lol
    But it feels weird to walk where battles were fought.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I love the image of Scottish "soldiers" walking around doing a bit of shopping after the battle!

    ReplyDelete
  3. My husband would love to visit. He is really into history so I may put that on my bucket list! Thank you for giving me the idea!

    ReplyDelete
  4. We used to learn about Waterloo at school and the name is still very well known by me but I forgot about the rest in all those years. It looks very interesting and I must tell my husband to go there one day. After all it is not that far away from us.
    GReat W word

    ReplyDelete
  5. Great pictures! We learned all about Napolian and the Battle of Waterloo in school. I always wondered more. I also love the ABBA song!!!!!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Dear Gattina,
    Thanks for this beautiful story,Waterloo is a lovely city.I like the city centre, those modern stores, the charming facades, the beautiful houses and for sure lots of history in this place.
    I want to visit there soon!
    Very interesting costumes the soldiers used in that time, I mean about the battles.
    hugs
    Léia

    ReplyDelete
  7. I loved getting to see where you live. I learned more about your wonderful home in this post.

    ReplyDelete
  8. That was a lovely journey through your town! I can so imagine Scottish soldiers shopping in the streets of Waterloo!! You must share some pictures of them in modern market places, and they in their tradition kilts :)

    ReplyDelete
  9. amazing collections of interesting shots. Thanks for teaching us new stuff.

    ReplyDelete
  10. I love seeing your hometown! I am kind of a history buff, so it's interesting to me to see how it looks now.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Seems so familiar to me! I'll post still about our visit! If only I had more time! But now I decided to go very early to bed! Cause the 31 pupils and as i have my ATSEM only 1/2 with an other class!

    ReplyDelete
  12. We had a family friend living in Waterloo for many years, so I've been there a number of times. But you show me places I haven't seen or don't remember. It's a nice town, Gattina!

    ReplyDelete
  13. thanks for the tour of Waterloo. It's a very interesting place with a lot of history.

    ReplyDelete
  14. Love the tour around your town!

    ReplyDelete
  15. so do you take part in the re-enactment?

    ReplyDelete
  16. You live in such an amazing and interesting town and close to Brussels too !! I think everyday must have something exciting to show you.

    ReplyDelete
  17. Without your lovely posts, I would only have known about Waterloo from history and never realized what a thriving and beautiful place it is today. Thanks for the great tour.

    ReplyDelete
  18. Great photos, Gattina! I'm for living anywhere that has no snakes! Thanks for your nice comment on my post. Little Liz continues to improve!

    ReplyDelete
  19. Oh my goodness what a group of fabulous photos, everyone is just picture perfect clear and so inviting!

    ReplyDelete
  20. Thank you for the tour. I love to see photos of where people live and your home is such an interesting location!

    I laughed at the thought of Scotsmen shopping while wearing skirts! They actually call them kilts and I think they can look extremely noble!

    ReplyDelete
  21. I remember walking through the streets you posted.... very clean and peaceful.... and the rise up "la butte du lion".....!

    ReplyDelete
  22. What a beautiful city. I am intriqued by the Lion site...can't imagine doing all those stairs, though! For some reason it reminded me of Mayan ruins.

    It's amazing how you can feel the history in places like this.

    Thanks for sharing this wondrous place with us.

    A+

    ReplyDelete

Dear Anonymous,
Please do not be shy and leave your name, otherwise you will end up in the bin !