Journey through Western Europe 2017. Belgium
Belgium
Part 1. Poland and the Netherlands
Part 3. Belgium
We called this part of the trip “Beer Tour”. Still, Belgian beer is cool. And in general, so many things have already been sung about the beauties of distant Belgium that we can’t wait to see it. The Belgian language is very, very similar to Ukrainian! And no, we went to the market with Polish products. Everything is fine. The language is completely different. As always, we arrived at the hotel ahead of time. So, we just loaded our things and went to explore the town.
Ghent
The first impression of Ghent was made by the Cathedral of St. Bavo. It was one of the largest cathedrals we have ever visited. I can’t convey all that antiquity, pomp and the reigning spirit of the Middle Ages. But it is a must to visit. Don't pass by. Behind the cathedral, all the beauty of Ghent opens up. It's like Prague, only more comfortable and close to each other. These streets, these houses and a picturesque canal.
We have marked 25 must-see places on the map. It was even strange to realize how so many places fit in such a small town. But here you can even wander aimlessly through the streets dying from beauty. We started the beer part of the tour with local canned beer.
We chose a place for ourselves in a secluded district and dangled our legs from the canal. It was a light beer, not much different from any other. But here the main thing is to get to the white. Now you can walk further. One of the main questions was where to eat. McDonald's is still under construction, and local cafes charge from 17 euros for a dish. It's good that someone wrote about souplongue in his blog. It was a real salvation. For 5 euros you get a hefty bowl of cream soup, buttered buns, peach and various additions like cheese to the soup.
For the especially hungry, there is a liter bucket of soup for 6 euros to take away. After that, we walked around the local fairs and had a bite of local sweets for dessert. Half an hour ago it was scary to collapse from hunger, and now there was a total overeating. It was impossible to look away from the facades of houses, bridges and paved paths. This city seems to be living in the past 200 years ago. The romance in the air is just over the top.
Also in Ghent there is one local pub Bierhuis in which there are more than a thousand varieties of beer. And when a confused traveler does not know where to start, beer is also poured for free, 50 grams per sample. Of course, I wanted to try the whole assortment, including the strongest beer, which is poured no more than three glasses of 0.33 per hand.
But unfiltered white is probably always delicious. It was delicious. I think in Belgium even non-beer lovers will become lovers. In the evening, by the canal, the whole city gathers in the streets of Ghent. Everyone is like one big family sitting and enjoying the moon, the reflections of the facades. A very comfortable city.
Brussels
In the morning, we checked out of the hotel and went by train to the capital. Trains run every 9 minutes. Less than an hour drive through green fields. At the station, automatic lockers are very conveniently located. So handing over your backpacks was quite inexpensive and fast.
Another big plus is that the station is located right in the center. So where do you start? Of course, from the chocolate museum. You pay 6 euros for entry and the unlimited kingdom of chocolate is yours. Eat as much as you want) Or rather, as much as you like, I wanted more than I could.
In varieties of cocoa beans, Dasha and I had a disagreement. Liked the different ones. Further, according to our cultural program, it was necessary to find all three pissing statues.
The most interesting thing is that the statue of the boy turned out to be smaller in size than most of the souvenirs of the same name sold. The statues are located in such a way that while you pass them all, you will see almost the entire old city. Very comfortably. I would not say that the statues make a special impression, but a certain quest comes out. In the capital, we tried canned Hoegarden and Lö f. Hougaarden tastes like the same as we have in banks, but in terms of strength it reaches the head much faster. Or maybe it was just hot weather. Since there is a large shortage of shops in the city, all tourists sit on the curbs around the central square
. We spent about three hours in the city and were pleased that we stopped by. Now we're going to the back of Belgium
Bruges
The journey from Brussels to Bruges takes less than two hours. The trains are very comfortable, so that the time passes without pain. Bruges is much larger than Ghent. At the booked hotel, the sweetest hostess was waiting for us. She greeted her guests with a glass of beer and juice. Excellent reception in Belgian) The old town is surrounded by a canal, which we recklessly decided to walk in a circle. The path was calculated in hours) But the beauty of this path was indescribable.
Ghent took the beauty of the inner city, Bruges immediately captivated us with its beauty from the outside. You can just walk along the canal and admire. There are practically no people here, which adds even more beauty. On one side of the canal there is a long park area and real mills.
As far as we understood, during the day you can go inside for money. In the evening, you can simply climb up the stairs. True, it is not entirely calculated that you will climb unattended.
But still. We arrived in the old city in the evening. At the town hall, which is located in the city center, the bell concert has just begun. The whole old city was enveloped in bell music. They played something really famous.
But in the ringing of bells it is not easy to determine what exactly was playing. With playgrounds in Bruges, there is some kind of crisis of the genre. We found in three places what looked like a playground with a device very similar to a children's carousel.
And with the first two, you could still come up with something. But how to have fun on the third “attraction” consisting of parallel convex pipes remained a mystery.
There is one minus in these cozy cities. If you want a private room with private facilities and less than a hundred euros per night, then you have to live a little outside the old city. Every night we had long trips to the hotel.
In the morning, our hostess prepared breakfast for us as if we were counts who had come to enrich themselves culturally from distant lands. Everything was very decorous and noble. I even felt like I was wearing a tailcoat! How convenient to live next to a bike rental shop. Two of the fanciest bikes were already waiting for us.
Riding such unusual and beautiful bikes was like driving a brand new Ferrari. We were even told by one of the local grandfathers on the street that we have very unusual bicycles. At the entrance to the old city, an open drawbridge was waiting for us! Moreover, the bridge was opened by turning in the plane. At first, drawbridges made us very happy. But over time, their open state began to interfere more. On bicycles along the canal, we rode along the waking city. Bridges, gates and windmills accompanied our journey.
We rounded half the circumference of the old city and turned onto a road leading into the distance. Our goal was castles in neighboring towns. On this day, the sun was not weak. But the breeze from the ride made it easier. The main thing is not to stop. The first castle "Kasteel Ryckevelde" was waiting for us in a real Belgian forest. There is a lake in front of the castle, a huge sunny meadow and a sword in the stone!
I even wanted to send an SMS to my work, saying goodbye office plankton, it turns out that I am now King Arthur! But no matter how hard he tried, he could not get the sword out of the stone. Still, I'm an office plankton, not a king. Further, the route lay along cornfields, luxurious summer cottages and the small town of Oostkamp.
We drove through the city without stopping. But it's still kind of calming. During the trip, the railroad crossings were very memorable. The barriers close, probably, half a minute before the train. Then a train flies by at an incredible speed and the barriers open. This whole process takes a few moments. Around the train, you can directly hear how the air shock wave is going.
The second castle was waiting for us in the city of Loppem and was called “Het Kasteel van Loppem”. The castle was more interesting than the first, but the essence did not change. The lake was clearly better here. We settled down on a bench and on the grass. During a long rest, we watched a local fisherman who either caught a fish or released it. Sports fishing.
We even had a little chat with the peasant about the country. Now we went to the city itself, in search of a market. First of all, it was necessary to cool down, otherwise overheating and heat stroke was inevitable. There was a bike rack in front of the market. We photographed every blocking of our bikes. Those were the terms of the lease. Looks like it's in case it gets stolen. The anti-theft system on our bikes was serious, consisting of several levels of protection. The market was a paradise for us. It consisted of two departments. The first one was cold, the second one was very cold. In all departments there were tastings of goods on the principle of self-service. And good portions. At the tasting there were wines, cheese, coffee with buns, jars of yoghurts at once, chocolate and nuts. And for dessert, we bought ourselves a liter of juice and buns and cakes. This market was a salvation from a distant road and from intense heat. Now we are full of energy again and ready to go back. By the way, it is not very long, Bruges is not far from this city. How spectacularly trains rush across the road here. And again the divorced bridge.
You won’t particularly go to the center of Bruges on a bicycle, as there are paving stones that are inconvenient for a bicycle. So we parked our bikes and went to relax in the parks and surrounding streets. On this side of the city there was a wide canal and a huge clearing with swans and ducks.
By the number of feathers in the grass, we can conclude that this is the permanent habitat of these ducks. Unfortunately, the time has come to leave romantic Belgium. On this trip, we discovered two new countries. And both were successful.
We give Paris a medal for adventure and interesting things, and Belgium for romance.
Eindhoven
We got to the Netherlands on a flixbus. What impressed me in the city is a large monument in the form of a ball breaking skittles. But unfortunately, this is where the sights of the city ended. We also read that you can rent a bike and ride at night along the luminous path. But we read it this morning. Although this city was the most uninteresting in our route, it left unforgettable memories of our most comfortable breakfast. The house where we settled had a small patio. It was cold in the morning and it was raining. But the hostess insisted that it was better to have breakfast in her yard. There was a table on the side of the courtyard, there was a roof above it and a chandelier hung, which primarily served as a heating function.
That is, exactly our two seats and the table were in the dome of warmth and comfort. Behind our conditional dome, a heavy downpour and cold poured down. The breakfast itself consisted of very interesting products. What they all seem to have in common is that they were especially ecological. Even the tea was especially biological. All this atmosphere mmm....We remember forever.
Pyrzowice
We settled in another hotel near the airport. It was already evening time and it no longer made sense to go to Katowice. So we will explore the local area. The weather was just perfect, it was neither cold nor hot. The setting sun shone with its last summer rays. Around us are fields and forests. We had dinner for 50 zlotys from the belly. We ate two huge portions of dumplings and potato pancakes with goulash.
The amount we ordered was probably for three people. The only entertainment in this city is to go and watch the planes take off. To do this, it was necessary to bypass the airport zone. But in the most unexpected place there was a stopped building. We carefully climbed over the barricades, walked around the pits and took the best place to see how the planes would fly at us. The last adventure that Europe gave us on this trip was how we were escorted out of the construction site by security.
And no, in the morning the transfer did not come for us to take us to the airport. It was an adventure with adrenaline) That's actually all. It was the last eighth trip of the fifth season. Europe this season has shown itself from the best side. First Italian Lake Garda, now Western Europe. In general, there is a solid offset. The Netherlands, Belgium and France are must-sees!
This season was probably the most interesting for us, during the year we made 25 flights, spent 58 days abroad. Tickets for six of the eight rides were purchased before the start of the season. As a result, this season turned out to be the most planned in advance. Even the sudden change of work could not move the busy travel schedule. As a result, during the trial period, it was necessary to agree on three trips at once. And the third was unexpected for us. In our fifth year of travel, we used the last-minute tour for the second time. We also discovered something more beautiful than the Maldives - the Thai island of Koh Lipe.
Alarm clock, I open my eyes. We need to understand what kind of hotel it is and where we are. Is this our room? Are we in Kyiv? Aaah, that's right, we returned yesterday... Okay, we need to get ready for work...
Trip Information
Date of travel: 08/23/2017 – 08/31/2017
Duration: 9 full days
Full days without rain: 8
Flight tickets: WIZZ + WIZZ
Hotels: Booking
Excursions: All by yourself
Trip difficulty: 3/10 (easy)
