Jeff: Belgium

The next day we crossed the border and headed deep into the country by driving for a couple of hours. We managed to get to our destination just before it closed and headed on a very different type of hike. It was a barefoot hike so we headed into the forest, paid our money and left our shoes in a locker and out onto a specially designed forest path we headed. It was about 3km and varied in textures from bloody painful, to freezing cold, to slippery and to slimy mud. The hike also included a cave section, a high tower and a couple of ladders and high rope bridges. Despite Rich’s bitching he did enjoy it and while I didn’t like the muddy and slimy sections the rest was fairly enjoyable and it was definitely something different to try. Once we finished we had to wash our feet and put our shoes on and head out of the forest, which felt really weird. We then headed to a place to park for the night and as its Halloween we are carefully considering where we park up for the night as we want a relaxed night and there will be some places which are really busy with families.

After a fairly relaxed night we headed to a national park where we got the bikes out and cycled into the woods and up a path which slowly took up to the tree tops (well 10 meters off the ground) and circled around in a circle before bringing us slowly back down to the ground. It was a short track, less than 1km, but it was nice and it wasn’t too busy so we got to ride it slowly and enjoy the views. After this we headed back to the van and a bit further on to another path, this one allows you to travel through water. We did consider getting the bikes out but decided to walk this one instead and walked down the path which was cut out of the lake and meant you were head height with the top of the water. After passing through we attempted to walk a different way back to the van but soon realised it would be a very long walk so we headed back the same way and again walked through the lake. Back at the van we grabbed some food before heading to our next destination which is a metal structure built to look like a church made out of lines and is called read between the lines. Again we parked up and walked the short distance up the hill to the installation and it was an interested piece of art. I think inside looked better and parts of it did look like a whole church and the views from on the hill were good. After spending a little time there we headed back down the hill to Jeff and headed to a camper stop for the night near Brussels where we plan on going tomorrow.

We were glad we had picked that camper stop for the evening as storm Ciaran has hit us and the wind was rocking the van all night but we were lucky as there were no trees around us last night we didn’t get any branches or anything hitting the van. As we drove in towards Brussels we passed many fallen trees which were being cleared up by locals and the authorities. We tried a few different stops before settling on one near the Africa museum and we still were totally happy with it due to the number of trees around and the noise they were making but we parked in the centre of the car park and thought that was the best we could do. We then hopped on the bikes and cycled, with difficulty, into the city. On the route we not only had to avoid the numerous branches and trees down but compensate for the wind which pushed us side ways on several occasions. We made it to the city, just about and decided to tie the bikes up at a stop which was covered. It was a bit dodgy so we took our helmets with us and hoped our bikes would be there at the end of the day and hopefully as they were sheltered from the wind and rain they would still be standing. We walked into the old square which is beautiful and surrounded by old building which are gilded in gold and shine in the light. We carried on walking around the city and pretty much spent the day eating and walking. We headed to see the Manneken Pis which is the famous statue of the little boy peeing and is often dressed up, but today he wasn’t dressed up which was disappointing. We also passed many of the EU commission buildings and many murals, some of which are comic strips inspired by Tintin and other famous Belgium comics. Fun fact alert – Belgium has more comic strip artists per square kilometre than any other country in the world.

The smell of waffles got us first so we found a vegan waffle house and shared a waffle (it was too early to have one each) and then we walked to a café to have a warming drink and to avoid a rain shower. We also found a vegan cinnamon roll shop so we headed there a bought some for dessert later. After that we found a dumpling shop and had some before heading to a restaurant which served some almost poppadom’s with a mix of fillings. By the end of the time in the city we were totally full but the walking between places and around the city had shown us that it was a noisy and busy city, which was far dirtier than the rest of the capital cities we have been to on this trip. There were also a lot of homeless people and some areas you didn’t feel like you wanted to hang around it. I don’t know if it was this storm that was making the city crazy and weird or if it is usually like that but we decided to get out and head back to the van and drive on to somewhere for the night, again away from trees as the wind was still howling. However when we got to the bikes we found that Rich’s bike lights had been taken, while my bike which was locked up with his was left alone. This meant he had to cycle home in the growing darkness with no lights and I had to light the way and tell him which bits of the paths to avoid as the route was still littered with branches.

When we got to the van and parked up about an hour from the city we put the kettle on and had our cinnamon rolls and a cup of tea and they were worth carrying around the city and home on the bikes.

Overnight the wind did eventually calm down and meant we got a better night’s sleep. The following day we planned on a day of shopping as we are heading home soon and we needed to get a few things like some Belgium beer. We planned to shop at some larger stores and head over to Frace which is a short distance away to see what the prices were like there for a few bits and pieces, including replacement lights for Rich’s bike. We spent the day exploring the different places and taking it a little easy after the hectic day previously. It is always interesting to jump from one country to another to see the changes that happen, including the changes in driving. We managed to get most things before heading to a stop for the night and chilling

We planned to go for a run the next morning and had to set an early alarm so that we could get it finished before the rain, that was due came. We headed out on the route and soon found a fallen tree that we had to climb under and around. We managed to get around it and carried on but Rich then trod on a stick, which was hidden under leaves, and slipped and twisted his ankle. This put an end to our run, less than a 1km into it, and we headed back to the van with a hobbling Rich and showered before getting ready to head out. The rain started and meant Rich had to do all the servicing in the rain and we had to decide where to go as it was due to rain all day. There was another nice stop not far away that we decided to head to where we could plug in and chill for the day until it stopped raining. It’s a shame the weather is so changeable as if we had realised that yesterday would be good weather and today would be worse we would have gone shopping today and done some exploring yesterday.

The next morning we woke up to blue skies again so we decided to make the most of the day and drove north to Bruges. We parked up about 10km out of the town and got the bikes out to cycle in. Most of the path is along the canal which made it a really nice ride in. We got into the centre and managed to quickly find a huge underground bike parking garage with CCTV and loads of bikes so we parked up there, removed our lights, and left the bikes in hopefully a safe place. We then started walking around the city. Its such a beautiful place and has a lovely feeling, especially compared with Brussels. We walked the old monastery, to the market, to the town hall and main square and just down lots of little side streets. We did a bit of shopping along the way and enjoyed some snacks whenever we saw something vegan. It was soon getting cold and dark so we grabbed the bikes and brought them across the town to a little vegan restaurant we have booked as its our penultimate night out of the UK. We headed into the restaurant and ordered a couple of blonde Belgium beers which were 8% and helped warm us up. We then ordered lots of starters to share and another couple of beers. After all that food and drink we had to cycle back to the van slowly and settle in the for the evening.

The next day we headed to a sea side town called Koksijde which is not too far from Dunkirk when we plan to get the ferry from the next morning. We stopped at the supermarket on the way for any last bits and pieces. Once we settled into the stop for the afternoon we got the bikes out and decided to head to see the beach and to see a man riding a large golden turtle statue by the beach which is supposed to represent the slow agonising way to utopia which doesn’t exist. Afterwards we rode down the pier to enjoy the views and the sun setting before heading back and spotting a couple of seals, 1 of which was enjoying a very large fish for dinner. We then headed back to the van and had to have an early night as we have a early alarm in the morning in order to service the van and then get the ferry back to the UK. See you all soon!