Belgium 2008
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Belgium 2008
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| Ghent | Bruges | ||
2008
Day twenty-three 23rd June
To get to Belgium and Ghent form Berny-Rivière in France, we had to head back towards Compiègne on the N31 to get onto the A1 north as far as Lille. We then took the A27 into Belgium where it changed name to the A16, then onto the A17 and the A14 for Ghent, this bypassed Lille as we did not know what the roads there would be like. The GPS took us off the A14 early but the road it took us on (the N60) was straight to the R4 anyway, we turned off onto the N466 then followed campsite signs.
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Ghent Camping Blaarmeersen Zuiderlaan 12, 9000 Gent |
Booked in and got a hardstanding pitch (needed my passport to book in, fist time for years), the site was very waterlogged, it looked like there had been a lot of rain around here. Could not find the electrics for ages it was in the bushes and took two leads to reach, the sockets were numbered a throwback to the days when the electricity was metered (as most sites we visited last year).
Went back over reception to find out about the busses to the town centre, they leave from outside the site every half hour and the cheapest way to get tickets, was from the machine at the bus stop. You get off the bus outside Mcdonalds in the centre of town and the bus back is from the opposite side if the road. We were in the centre for 14:30 so we had plenty of time for a good look round and it was nice and sunny and hot, which was lucky as in our rush to get there we had not taken warm cloths, umbrellas yes but no coats.
On arrival in the town centre we were a bit peckish, so I suggested that we walk around, find a chip shop or van and just get chips and mayonnaise, we are in Belgium after all.
Well we walked round the whole town centre for an hour and a half and didn't find one, by this time we were famished, so we got a chicken baguette each and sat in a square to eat them. They were very good and as we were sat close to a small bar we popped in for some beers to wash them down (we had Dentergems Wit, Haacht Witbier & Orval).
After the nice refreshing beers, we continued our rest our feet by taking one of the many boat trips, the one we chose would drop us back off at a bar with dozens of different beers. The boat trip was very informative and had some great views, I took loads of photos, especially of the many bridges we passed under.
At the end of the tour we didn't have a drink, but continued with our walk, we only had one day to see all of Ghent centre and we could have a drink latter. We walked towards the river and passed where the confluence of the rivers Scheldt and Lys used to be, before it was blocked off when canals were built but there are plans to reopen this old channel. It was a gorgeous day for walking in the sun but the heat does take its toll and we needed a sit and a drink eventually. We were lucky and managed to get a seat on the busy terrace of the Bierhuis, on the banks of the river Leie. The choice of beer was amazing but I knew what I wanted, a Kwak, with the special glass and holder. Dot had a Blanche De Bruxelles and thankfully it does not taste of what the picture on the label implies.
Suitably refreshed, we walked back along the river, eventually found a frits and mayo seller and had to have some. Then it was back into another bar on the river for another couple of beers, a Ename and another Haacht, Witbier.
After this we went up on to the bridge to get the often seen photo of Ghent but I left it too late, the sun had gone down too far and the wind had started to ripple the river, oh well, always next year. By now dot was getting cold, as I mentioned before, in our rush to get there we had not taken warm cloths, so went to get the bus back to the campsite. We had just missed one, so popped into the bar opposite, just to keep warm you understand. As we were there we had a beer anyway, the beer we got was a Belgian White from the USA, didn't expect that.
Back at the site we had something to eat and as it was still early, we walked back over to the site bar but even though it was early, it was about to close. We did manage to have one drink though, Dot had a Bruges and I had a Maes, just because I hadn't had one before and I will not be having one again.
Day twenty-four 24th June
Shame but this morning we had to leave and head to the ferry and home but we did have all day to visit Bruges. Straight onto the N466 to the A10 and off towards Bruges, missed the turning we wanted into Bruges and wasted time getting back to where we wanted to be. We parked up a the Carrefour we used last year, we intended to have lunch there but in the end just bought the ingredients for sandwiches, and lots of beer. Next, also like last year, we parked up further down the road in-between Lidl and Aldi and got more beer and wine.
Then we parked up on the ring road and walked in the the centre, through he Kruispoort (Cross city gate), for the rest of the afternoon.
We had a very good walk and even tried to get onto one of the many canal boat trips but by then it was too late. Eventually we had to make our way back to the van and then on to Zeebrugge, we left the centre by the Gentpoort (Ghent Gate) but had to wait for a barge to pass along the canal first. On the way back to the van we passed a type of vertical lift bridge I had never seen before, the main spans, two large cylinders, turned to wind up the footpath deck beneath (see the photo).
We had to fill up with fuel and make a final stop for beer in Blankenberge, where we usually go on the way home. So from the R30 (the ring road) we headed anticlockwise to the N371 and N31 to Zeebrugge and then back along the coast to the supermarket (we could have just stayed on the N371 but hadn't checked the map properly).
Once settled in on the ferry I went on deck to take photos in the port, then back in the cabin, we watched a film on the laptop, had sandwiches and beers before going to the bar for the rest of the evening.
As last year, I even bought beer and wine from duty free, not like we didn't already have enough but they were on special offer.
Day twenty-fifth 25th June
Once off the ferry, the traffic out of Hull was much better than last year (no bad traffic jams), but unlike last year we were not in a rush to get the twins school, as the are now full time and we didn't have to pick them up until 15:00.
So we though we would make a visit to the Humber bridge for photos, the car park at the visitor centre was deserted when we arrived, so we parked and wandered up to the bridge. It was just as big as I remembered and I got loads of photos, by the time we got back to the car park it was getting busy and the cafe was open. So we got a full English breakfast.
This is a my tip if you are ever on the ferry back into Hull, if you can wait for breakfast, get it at the bridge visitor centre cafe, it was good, cheep, not crowded and served by friendly staff. Plus you can have longer in bed on the ferry.