Germany 2007, Day Seventeen, Belgium

Day seventeen 19th June

By the time we had packed up there was just time to do a bit of shopping in the Carrefour before lunch, first we had to recycle all our bottles, as we had in Bad Liebenzell Germany.   Like there, we had to stick the empty bottles in a hole in the wall and get a chit back for redemption a the till, only there was nowhere near the same amount of deposit here. It was hardly worth the bother. We got our shopping (beer) and went for the meal, only without the help of the waitress, we got the wrong things and it cost us twice as much (only certain things included in the offer), don't get me wrong though, it was still a cheap meal. One odd thing though, the lasagne tasted different, Dot suggested that it might be chicken but no, not chicken, it turned out to be salmon (never heard of it before, perhaps we should get out more).

Next we parked up further down the road in-between Lidl and Aldi and got more beer and wine and Dot got herself, a self inflating travel pillow (2011 and we are still using it). When we came out of the Aldi I spotted the American couple again, I couldn't resist asking if they had ridden all the way from Germany, they hadn't they had put their bikes on the train and they had also stopped in the occasional hotel or hostel along the way, not just the tiny tent. And the explanation for how they had disappeared a couple of nights before, they had popped into the Carrefour for an evening meal, just like we had yesterday.

The final thing before we left Bruges for the coast and ferry home, was to fill up with diesel. Then it was back out of town onto the A10 for the coast, then the N34 which goes all the way to Zeebrugge, but please note, this is not the quick way to Zeebrugge but the way to go if you want to spend a day by the coast. Another thing to note, is that the N34 is very good for parking up the van by the coast.

Our intention was to stop in De Haan for a seaside walk and then at a supermarket in Blankenberge for the final beer shop. If you look at Belgium 2005 we did the same thing then, so we know where we are going and what we are doing, so there was no stress on out last day.  In fact I find travelling via Zeebrugge particularly stress free compared to some other ports.

In De Haan we parked up by the side of the main road just outside town and walked the very short distance to the tram station, about 100 yards. Then is was just a short walk down to the sea front, beach and long promenade.

We had a very pleasurable day by the sea, in the sun, in a very nice town, what else can I say, except this time, as opposed to last time we were here, it was nice and warm.   De Haan would actually be a good place to stay for a short holiday or for a few day rest on the way home, it looks like there are good campsites close by.

Before too long though, it was time to continue with our journey, finish our shopping and get ourselves to the ferry. We had a look round a few shops and got a couple of things on the way back to the van and then set of for some serious beer shopping in the supermarket, on the outskirts of Blankenberge.

I prefer this type of beer shopping to the so called hypermarkets around the Calais area and for good beers the cost is just as good in this type of ordinary supermarket.  I must add that is just my opinion and I may be wrong but the choice of beer was not that good last time I used one in Calais.   Then again all it depends on what you want, if you want beer you usually get at home cheap, then Calais is ok, I you want something different, that would cost you a fortune at home, then ordinary supermarkets are the thing to do.

Did it, got more than I wanted and was very pleased, even got some chocolate and wine. Last thing to do in Belgium was to queue in the sun for the ferry.

Cabin was not as good as on the boat out, still an outside cabins but with bunks, and the entertainment was possibly worse. So it was back into the quieter piano lounge.

This is going to sound terrible but I even bought beer and wine from duty free, not like we didn't already have enough but they were special offers.

Day eighteen 20th June

Off the ferry, stuck in traffic jams all the way from the terminal out of hull, then a quick run straight to the twins school, to pick them up at 11:30 to have them for the day, holiday over.


We took the scooter with us and even though it is very handy we never used it on this trip.