Monday 24th June
First call this morning was for a supermarket. Supplies are getting low. There was a Lidl near by so headed there. It was closed! But another supermarket opposite was open so we went there. It was very busy which seemed odd but we didn’t give it too much thought until we got back to the van and a street parade passed by. A couple of brass bands and lots of people waving flags. No idea what it was for. They passed and we went to drive off. Around the corner and there are a couple of tables in the road, swerve around them, then around the next corner there are lots of tables and chairs plus a stall being set up. No way passed so it’s a u turn. Big van, small street not the easiest task. I’m trying to navigate our way out of the village and both our sons are messaging about different matters so their texts keep popping up on my screen. Greg’s going ‘What way?’ Arrrh! Priorities! I get us out of the village and then can enjoy conversing with the boys. Counting down the days until we see one of them.
Cross another unnoticeable border. We’re now in Belgium.
We go to Brussels. Generally it’s just like all other big cities. High risers, busy roads. The old town is lovely. Like all the others we’ve seen, cute little lanes, old buildings. This time it’s chocolate and beer in all the shops. Brussels piece d’resistance though is the square, the Grand Place. It is very impressive. All the buildings, old Guild houses have gold leaf decorations. There are two huge gothic buildings opposite each other. One, the town hall, is white. The other a pale grey. Unfortunately it’s baking hot, mid 30’s and I’m sure in the square, with no trees or shade, it’s way hotter. We’re unable to get a site to stay in the city for the night so we head for the trees around Waterloo instead. A bit cooler.
The site we’ve picked is actually the Chateau de la Hulpe. The house itself isn’t overly imposing. A modest 3 stories with 4 turrets, vine covered. The grounds however are vast, large grass terraces, hedged gardens, lakes and miles of forest. Presumably so they could have hunting weekends. Nowadays they’re walking and cycling paths. We go for a genteel stroll around the grounds.
Bit of evening entertainment. A couple arrive in 2 cars and after some heavy kissing get into the back of the station wagon. About 10 minutes later they climb back out and get dressed. A bit more kissing and then they reluctantly depart in their separate cars. Evening entertainment gets better. A Buddhist monk gets out of a Porsche convertible (passenger seat) and he is holding a large bird. I investigate closer. It’s a chicken, a very pretty one with feathers forming a mane around its head. They go down to the lake where his companions feed the geese and ducks. The monk sits on the grass and the chicken climbs off and on his hand. Certainly not something you see every day.
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25th June
The mornings first stop is to the site of the Battle of Waterloo. It’s pretty much unchanged in the last 204 years. The museum is really well done and leads you through the French Revolution and Napoleons rise to power and up to the day of the battle. You then go into a 3D theatre to experience the actual day. The the museum follows on with all the treaties and dividing up of countries. Interesting stuff. Some men sitting in a room decide on what nationality general people are. Coming from a country where the sea determines the countries borders, its quite fascinating to have these lines drawn on bits of paper, bargaining between the powerful. From the museum we then viewed a restored 1912 panorama of the battle. It’s 110 metres around and 12 metres high. Last at the site was a climb up 233 steep straight steps to the top of a mount with a huge statue on top. The mount was formed in 1826 at the location where the Prince of Orange was wounded. There is also access and information to the house Wellington used as his headquarters plus the house Napoleon used as well as a farmhouse that had heavy fighting on the day and the field hospital. We didn’t go to any of those but anyone really keen on war history could spend days here. They did a full on re-enactment in 2015 for the 200th anniversary which would have been amazing to see.
We drive off through the Belgium countryside. Belgium is just a blend of influences. There are shop signs in Dutch, French, German all side by side. The buildings seem a mix of styles too. On the down side Diesel prices seem really high and a google search explains that the government ordered that Diesel should be the same price as petrol to discourage its use since its not good for the environment. Damn we should have filled up in the Netherlands.
Next stop of the day was Ghent. Ghent is really cool. Totally recommend visiting! Everywhere you look there is an interesting vista. So many interesting small buildings done with bricks and huge gothic buildings too. There is a full on medieval castle that you don’t even notice at first as it’s totally surrounded by shops and houses. There aren’t many tourists at all and as it’s a university town it has that vibrant energy. It has interesting old buildings, canals and lots of squares with things going on, places to sit eat and drink. We visited The Belfry and spent longer than we expected. The bells ring from a massive carillon, a huge drum that rotates pulling the wires connected to the 54 bells. It’s connected to a pendulum clock. The first time it played we were walking around the outside of the belfry. We made a point of being in the room when it played again 15 minutes later. They change the tune every 2 years. Oh and at the top of the spire is a dragon. Inside there are 2 earlier versions. No idea why they have dragons but they are really neat. I like dragons.
Today we spent time in two totally different head spaces. It’s hard to believe it was the same day.
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26th June
Another day, another town. And it keeps getting better. Bruges is totally awesome. Yes there are a lot of tourists but they are mostly European tourists, I’m not hearing lot of English being spoken on the streets.
Step-gabled buildings lining cobblestoned lanes, canals winding throughout, towers of the churches and the famous Belfort. We did intend to go up the Belfort but looking at the massive queues and with the knowledge it’s 366 steps up a very skinny spiral staircase, we decided to give it a miss. Later the walking guide told us one time he was almost to the top when a large tourist was coming down and there was no way past him so our guide had to back nearly all the way down.
We do a Canal trip for a different perspective, then a walking tour for more in depth information.
Incidentally learned the origin of the saying ‘Stinking rich’. It came from the wealthy having their bodies entombed in the churches to be closer to god but the bodies decayed, naturally, and stunk out the churches. This is also why they started using incense. We then learned the origin of ‘Posh’. This was from the wealthy traveling by ship. In order not to be exposed to the sun and get tanned like common workers, they requested cabins on the port side going over and the starboard side returning home. Their tickets were stamped POSH, port side out starboard home.
Of Bruges we learned about the step-gables and the different building stages of the Belfort, churches and the hospital and gained recommendations on the best waffles, chocolates and beers. And soon we were all keeping an eye out for the numerous statues of Mary and baby Jesus set in to the corners of buildings.
After the tour we promptly followed his advice on the best beer and went to Bourgogne des Flandres. The beer is made with lambic and no yeast. It was a very nice beer! We shared a table with a Swedish couple and had a great conversation, Bruges, Belgium, European driving, coffee, skiing, America, brixit, climate change. Doesn’t matter where in the world you come from, environment issues are a concern.
Bruges is so photogenic. We walk the streets until half an hour after sunset. The crowds disappear , the clouds dissipate and the light improves. By the way sunset was 10pm. We mightn’t have climbed stairs today but we did get plenty of exercise.
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27th June
Off to Ostend today. About 15 minutes into our drive Greg spots a field he wants to photograph so we do a u turn and park. Then he noticed the water cap isn’t on! Thankfully it’s still sitting on the ledge between the back door and the bike rack with my keys still in it. Amazing they didn’t fall off at all! Italian roads and they wouldn’t have lasted 2 minutes. Anyhow we’re now at the beach. Pity it’s a bit windy.
Leaving Belgium in the morning but we will be back soon. Dunkirk is just over the border in France so we’re going there next.
BAGGAB 