On Sunday, we drove from Wallonia to the Brussels area.
It is interesting that Belgium has different languages.
Each region has its own language. In the east of Belgium, German is spoken in 9 municipalities.
French is spoken in the south. Dutch in the north and the Brussels-Capital area is bilingual, where Dutch and French are spoken.
In Kortemark we found a campsite with lots of animals in the area.
The Krekenmeersen nature reserve is also nearby and a wonderful place to go for a walk.
Alex slept badly that night. The donkeys and roosters made a lot of noise throughout the night.
I, on the other hand, finally slept very well again ☺️
After breakfast the next morning, we continued on towards the North Sea. Along the north-west coast to Oostende and then back inland to Hamme.
A must for us was to try the traditional Belgian fries in a typical chip shop/fries stall.
The “chip shop culture” has a long tradition. It is said that between 1950 and 1980 was the high season for free-standing, “mobile” chip shops. Since then, there are said to be fewer and fewer typical chip shops, as many operators prefer to move into permanent buildings.
What is so special about Belgian fries?
Belgian fries are considered to be the best in the world. One reason: they are made from fresh potatoes and not frozen. They are fried exclusively in beef fat and 2x. This makes the crust crispy and the inside velvety soft. They are also a statement against the health wave and the pride of the whole nation in Belgium.
It was really tasty, but it also has its price.
There was quite a lot of traffic at the pitch we found in Hamme and it was a noisy place. Nevertheless, we stayed 2 nights as it was very nice for a walk.
The Durme showed us the tides very clearly. We were a little surprised, as the sea, the North Sea, is actually still a long way away.
The Mirabrug is the border bridge between the towns of Hamme and Waasmunster.
It’s unbelievable how many cyclists there are here. Just for fun, we sat down on a bench by the bridge and counted them.
In 10 minutes there were 76 bikes. In another 10 minutes another 52. We sat at an intersection and only counted the ones that were crossing the bridge. We have never seen so many cyclists.
The next morning we met up with our Belgian friend and his girlfriend, whom we met in Figueira Portugal.
He lives in his camper van, but still has a large plot of land with fruit trees, vegetables and fruit.
We were allowed to take a look at his property and there is a lot of work to be done. You don’t have to ask Alex for help. He is very happy to do that.
Our friend leads us to his garden.
We were given various herbs, mustard salad and some rocket from his greenhouse. Perfect for our lasagne the next day.
In the evening, we drove together to a pitch in Bornem. It’s good to have someone with you who knows their way around. After each of us had eaten dinner in our camper, we went for a walk together through the beautiful forest. A paradise for pheasants. Later, Alex and I went for a walk around the village.
We said goodbye to each other again around midday the next morning. It was great to have spent time with the two of them. We continued on to the Netherlands where we found a pitch in Nuenen in the North Brabant region for one night.
The first real dinner from our new Omnia oven. Lasagna! It turned out super tasty.
Driving on Belgium’s roads is difficult for vehicles over 3.5 tons, as it is forbidden to drive through on most roads. We spoke to local professional drivers, who are also not very happy about these traffic situations. Our friend also had to realize that this is a big problem when he guided us from one parking space to another.
For this reason, we drove a lot on the highway and noticed a positive fuel consumption. So when we run out of fuel and want to go further, we just take the highway for a while 😂😂
It’s not so relaxing for us to drive due to the many roads that are closed to our vehicle. We also find that Belgium is a very expensive country. In terms of scenery, we liked the Flemish region of Belgium far better than the other regions. For us, Belgium will not be one of the countries we have to travel to again.
This Post Has 2 Comments
Besonders ich freue mich über das Omnia-Foto, da ich ja noch darauf angewiesen bin 🤗
Super Alternative oder?
Dennoch freue ich mich auf meinen künftigen Backofen….
Danke für eure Eindrücke und auch wenn der Gruß für Patrick, aufgrund unseres Wildnis-Aufenthaltes ohne Wlan, nicht mehr geklappt hat, so haben wir schon mal auch hier einen “Vorgeschmack” und genießen wir jeden Bericht von euch 🤩💐😘
Hallo Kirsten,
ohja, für mich ist der Omnia klasse. Endlich kann ich Aufläufe und Kuchen jederzeit backen. Ich glaube unseren Gasbackofen, der nur draußen genutzt werden darf, brauche ich nicht mehr. Viel zu kompliziert bis der rausgeholt und aufgebaut ist.
Das Wiedersehen mit Patrick war toll.
Sehr schön zu lesen, dass ihr gerne durch unseren Blog mit uns reist.
Liebe Grüße aus den Niederlanden
Iris und Alex 😘🤗