First, an apology - I did not fulfill my duties completely in reporting about Brussels. I told you about Manneken Pis, the peeing boy and I told you about Het Zinneke, the peeing dog. But I missed one - Jeanneke Pis - the peeing girl. I never found her, so I looked her up online and here's a picture. She is actually in a barred cage to protect her from vandalism.
Onto today - 102 km from Brussels to Breda in the Netherlands. We crossed the border at about 90 km. Typical EU border - non-existent. Nice and sunny today; great cycling weather.
Early on in the ride we are stopped at a canal as the bridge has been lifted, waiting for this barge. The canal was quite large so the bridge was lifted straight up on 4 concrete pillars.
Still in Belgium we are entering Lier.
Note the flowers on the bridge.
This is our view of the city hall as we stopped for a Cappuccino (and a free waffle!).
We guessed the big screen was for either ''Lier Feest,' which might be a film festival, or for community watching the World Cup (or both).
Another view across the town square, showing the fancy gables we see on many of the buildings.
We were still in Belgium when we had lunch. Lunch is a do it yourself affair with sandwich makings, lots of juices and a chance to fill your water bottles.
Just past lunch is this, listed on our notes as the 'Geometric forest.' Don't know what its purpose is, perhaps somebody had way too much time with a set of hedge clippers.
Netherlands now. Both Belgium and the Netherlands so far have been very neat and friendly looking. Check out this bike path beside the road, with trimmed hedges both sides.
A word about the cycling culture here. It is so strong that bicycles are respected and have the right of way in many circumstances that we would never consider in North America. For example, in this picture, if a car on the road in front of me wants to turn right onto a side road, he invariably stops & waits for me. Try to pass on the right in the same situation in North America and you would be road kill.
The towns are very neat and clean, with a large fraction of modern houses. Farmland in between has a variety of market crops: potatoes, corn, beans, etc. We are seeing greenhouses (some large) more frequently.
Almost all roads have bike paths, although one has to be aware in towns because the bike paths and pedestrian sidewalks are often side by side or one and the same. You have to watch out for pedestrians and other cyclists turning into your path.
In the Netherlands now, approaching Breda. This is Kasteel Bouvigne. It was (is?) a private residence that has had a structure on it as early as 1554. It was destroyed by a V-1 rocket in 1941 and was rebuilt.
A couple of shots near the centre of town. Lots of restaurants, bars and coffee houses on the streets. Lots of people enjoying themselves. The town had a very nice feel to it.
I won't bore you with more photos of the local church in the background (although it is pretty).
It would be nice to stay here a while and have coffee and pastries at a different street cafe each morning.
Near the hotel is the Kasteel van Breda (Breda Castle). It was closed so we couldn't get past the bridge over the moat, but I took a photo of the moat with its lily pads and geese with their goslings.
(Truth be told, we were downtown sampling various 'products' and had to get back for the riders meeting at the hotel).
Valkenburg park, between the castle and our hotel.
Speaking of hotel, we are in the Apollo Hotel. Very modern and the most striking room to date.
Too bad it gets wasted on cyclists with laundry to do..😀
Tomorrow we are off to Amsterdam, and two (count 'em) rest days!
Any suggestions for what I can do for two days in Amsterdam (after laundry).
Free day in Brussels - cloudy with a bit of drizzle, but warm enough to not need a jacket.
Today is all about architecture & statues. Oh yeah, a couple of waffles & some chocolates well.
My first stop is the Grand Place, the large square in the centre. Beautiful buildings all around.
The square is dominated by the Town Hall, much larger than the rest with the incredible steeple.
A covered shopping mall. It's still early, so not busy yet.
Away from the square is the Cathedral of Saint Michael & Saint Gudula.
Inside the cathedral, Note how the organ is suspended on the columns over the left side of the Nave.
And the pulpit on the other side.
A group of stained glass windows in an area referred to as the Treasure.
Enough architecture. A couple of bike pix. Here's a two young child in the front seat version.
On the wall of this cycle shop are 9 folding bikes. The tires are about 16 inches diameter (my bike has 27 inch), and the whole bike folds up nicely. Not a bad choice for traveling or taking on a bus or up to the office to prevent theft.
Statue department. My vote for the ugly statue(s) award.
This guy is called Manneken-Pis. First put in place in 1618, it is (apparently one of the best known symbols of Brussels).
And here is Het Zinneke, the piddling dog. He is relatively new, having been installed in 1998.
According to Wikipedia, he was hit by a car in 2015, and re-installed by the sculptor.
Lunch rime and a crepe and a waffle (both Belgian food groups). The crepe had chocolate sauce & ice cream. The waffle had strawberries (I asked for no cream as I'm on a diet).
After lunch I went further afield using the subway, the destination being The Cinquantenaire Arch in the park of the same name. Erected in 1905 to celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of Belgium's independence.
Notice some smoke near the base of the arch.
Close-up of the statue at the top of the arch.
So, what was with the smoke? Turns out to be filming in progress. A group of people, dressed as peasants are hauling a flag draped carriage under the arch. Lots of shouting and yelling, and many takes while I was there.
There are two buildings attached to the arch, one each side. One is the Art and History Museum, the other the Royal Military Museum. I had time for a quick tour of one of them.. Guess which one I chose? (sorry, Julie).
A couple of photos to end this piece. A WWI tank and a Triplane.
We're back on the bikes tomorrow. 110 km to Breda
First - check back into my June 17 post as I added some more photos.
Onto June 18 - it was a dark & stormy looking morning; not as much tailwind as the day before and drizzle / light rain a few times. Flat countryside, so we can make good time.
A good part of the trip is alongside the canals. Here's one of their freight barges,
The city of Gent is on the way. A view as we enter it.
One of the churches in Gent
This style was typical of a number of buildings.
A beautiful clock tower with flying buttresses.
The local trams. Negotiating cycles over the tracks is second nature for the locals, but us "foreigners" need to pay lots of attention to avoid getting caught.
Many more beautiful sights in Gent, but time to move on.
One of two traditional windmills seen today. No doubt more to come.
A lot of the roads in town & out have dedicated cycleways. Also, many Belgian flags hanging from balconies. Patriotic Belgians? Maybe. Perhaps the fact that Belgium as playing their first World Cup game later on had something to do about it.
Mary, one of the faster cyclists, was having problems with her (skinny) tires, so I gave her a hand, and then we scooted into Brussels. As usual, no photos on the way in due to traffic mayhem and me staring at F.R.E.D. in an attempt to navigate.
We got settled in a hotel near the centre of town (Marivaux). Out for some nice Belgian beer with Judy from New Zealand.
This is at 'A la Mort Subite.
My photo inside the pub didn't turn out so I stole one off the web.
Off to another bar (Delerium Taphouse), watching Brussels win their game and then dinner.
Later on we were in The Grand Place watching some street performers. The skies became completely clear and the evening sun made for a nice photo.
Encouraging some of the audience to participate.
June 19 now - a day off and it's still early. Time to do a little more bathtub laundry and then out for a wander. Possibly a Belgian Waffle & some chocolate .........
They spell it Brugge here - more about that later.
A long day today in spite of it being only 84 km. the reasons include:
-2-1/2 hours on the ferry and getting going
-a side trip to Dunkirk beach
-a time zone change
So, instead of getting in about 1 pm. I got in at 4 pm which left little time for chores (shower, laundry, etc,) and exploring before the riders Meeting and dinner.
Off we go. I said I'd try for better pictures of the White Cliffs and the castle. Here's what the ferry staff see when 29 people on cycles show up at the turnstiles. BTW, there are actually 33 of us including staff, but there are different regulations for groups bigger than 30, so we get 2 cyclists to ride in the trucks and the trucks go separately. Go figure. It works.
Here's a sort of better shot of the castle behind a better shot of the castle.
A much nicer shot of the cliffs as we leave. Note the classy touch of getting a sailboat in the photo.
The crossing was nice and calm, but you can tell that the ferry has had some rough trips from the amount of salt spray on the windows 6 decks up, so no photos. Besides, it's cloudy and threatening rain.
We're in France now. Unfortunately, our track takes inland behind a very industrial part of Dunkirk - nothing nice to look at. I saw power stations, an oil refinery and other industry.
About 10 km into our ride and 5 km north of the town centre, I detoured from the track and went to the beach. It's a large & beautiful sandy beach. I found a memorial to a paddle wheeler called the Crested Eagle. It was attacked by dive bombers during the evacuation and caught fire. The captain ran it aground in an attempt to save lives, but over 300 soldiers and crew perished.
The beach looking east.
That's it for France. 34 km into our ride we cross into Belgium with only a sign to indicate a change of country. First impressions: very flat, generally more modern looking homes than England with lots of farming and canals.
They have drawbridges over the canals with interesting looking davit style cranes to lift the roadway.
The country is much more bicycle friendly. Lots of wider roadways with space for cycle lanes both sides.
A group of local cyclists. Note the basket decorations. It was Sunday and the streets were relatively quiet. A lot of the cyclists I saw were riding at a relaxing pace. We'll see what that's like tomorrow as they head to work.
Near the end of the day I passed under this arch at the entrance to Bruges.
Bruges is a World Heritage Site which has been occupied since the Middle Ages. As I mentioned I had little time to look around, so here's a few shots.
St. James Church (or De Sint-Jakobskerk) is one of two that dominate the skyline. It is from the 1100's and has that Medieval look. I couldn't fit it into a single shot. Here's the tower from down the street.
And, from a bit closer.
An interesting building
This is one side of the main square. The square is quite large, fully paved with stone; the size gives it an open feeling.
Another church in the distance. I don't know the name of it.
Depending on the schedule tomorrow I may take a bit more of a look around.
Tomorrow's ride is to Brussels, where we have a day off.
June 18 now - I was able to get a look around Bruges. This tower is referred to at "Belfort" or belfry. Started in 1240, it served a number of purposes including a treasury, archives storage, bell tower and lookout for fires & other dangers. It was damaged / destroyed 3 times in its history. You can pay for the privilege of climbing the 366 steps.
The inner courtyard and lower part of the tower.
View from in front. Note the gloomy and foreboding skies. Drizzle & showers on and off during the day.
As I went to Befort I found the original main square of the town. Totally awesome architecture.
Still in the square.
Last view and a shot of one of the canals as I leave town
Evidence of the Belgian cycling culture. There were at least 50 cyclists stacked up at the light. I only managed to get my camera out for the last half. Belgian drivers have to be very aware of cyclists and must have a lot of patience. It would take many, many years for this culture to be accepted in North America.
So, that's what I saw as I left Bruges.
Onto today - 102 km from Brussels to Breda in the Netherlands. We crossed the border at about 90 km. Typical EU border - non-existent. Nice and sunny today; great cycling weather.
In the Netherlands now, approaching Breda. This is Kasteel Bouvigne. It was (is?) a private residence that has had a structure on it as early as 1554. It was destroyed by a V-1 rocket in 1941 and was rebuilt.
Valkenburg park, between the castle and our hotel.
