Founded by the Romans, Tongeren is the oldest city in Belgium. Its long, remarkable and often violent history has been displayed extremely well in the newly re-opened museum. It had been closed for three years, a beautiful, brand new building by architects De Gregorio & Partners in subdued grey has been erected, and more of the items they had hidden in their vaults can now be shown. The architecture of the new building works surprisingly well with the medieval cathedral right nearby.

I found the exhibitions truly amazing. The many tableaus seem almost lifelike. The mosaic floor, the vases, the tombs, the models of the city... all of it is shown in a very good way against the either black or white background. I got a glimpse of what life might have been like 2000 years ago — and it was intriguing.

One thing that puzzles me is the inscription I found on the wall, however. There might have been a translation somewhere, but I didn't find it and now I'm really aching to know what it says. Does anybody know?