Blogs from Oostende, West Flanders, Belgium, Europe
Breakdowns, beaches and dodgy roads in Belgium!!!
Published: January 11th 2012Europe » Belgium » West Flanders » Oostende
January 11th 2012
Bonjour everyone, we are writing to you from a bright and sunny Oostende in Belgium. Now for only being away for three days a hell of a lot has happened..from the beginning... Our first day was not too good to be honest. As we drove onto the Eurotunnel there was a lot of white smoke coming out of the back of the van. We worried about it the whole 30 min journey and after the initial excitement of driving on french soil we pulled into an aire and called the insurance company. They gave us the address for a garage in Dunkirque so we had to go find it (!!) and that was easier said than done. We actually ended up having to pull over at McDonalds and use their free wifi so that we could ... read more
Abba'd out/Belgium chocolates and frites with mayonaisse
Published: October 29th 2011Europe » Belgium » West Flanders » Oostende
October 29th 2011
The holidays approached and with nothing in mind there was much disagreement in the house. Opinions differed in the run up with Glenn being taken up with a short trip to Pembrokeshire which would include some walking, sitting in pubs doing nothing, relaxing and just being glad to have time to ourselves without work on our backs. Oh to win the lottery but having given up entering it was some kind of dream which would never materialise. All pennies being saved for Suzy. I on the other hand had fond memories of a three week trip from Dover to Lands End in the wet and windy summer of 1977. Following a trip from Ross on Wye to Lands End in the hot summer previously I imagined we would have the same luck with the 1977 trip. ... read more
September 10th 2010
Andy hier, Lauren is nog aan het werk en heeft mij de verantwoordelijkheid gegeven om de auto klaar te maken en ervoor te zorgen dat we alles meehebben. Hopelijk is het mij gelukt, allé, hopelijk zal het mij lukken want volledig klaar ben ik nog niet. Het is net gestopt met regenen en ik hoop dat de weergoden ons de rest van de dag goed gezind zijn, zodat de wegen droog blijven. Volgens onze "planning" zouden we vanavond aankomen in Troyes omstreeks 20 uur, hopelijk lukt ook dat, dan zijn we klaar om morgen naar Montpellier te rijden. Ik zal het hierbij laten en hoop dat ik vanavond kan posten dat we in Troyes zitten, maar nu is het tijd om verder de auto klaar te maken en alles voor te bereiden. Cheers, Andy... read more
September 8th 2010
Hier is het dan, de eerste woorden op deze kutblog. Hier ga je de komende dagen kunnen volgen hoe we proberen met de ecomobiel in Valencia te raken. Ons vertrek is gepland voor komende vrijdag zo ergens rond 13u, en we hopen 's avonds te kunnen aankomen in Troyes om daar dan te overnachten in een formule1-hotel. Zo is er een planning voor iedere dag van de reis, maar zowel jij als wij weten dat die planning waarschijnlijk moeilijk te volgen zal zijn, gezien de onvoorspelbaarheid van de Franse Routes Nationale en enkele andere dingen die wel eens in ons nadeel zouden kunnen spelen. Niettegenstaande zien wij het volledig zitten om met de Corsa helemaal tot Valencia te rijden, het is eens iets anders, een reis waarin geen enkele nacht een hotel geboekt is en waar ... read more
August 22nd 2010
Hi all, 11th Aug - On our second day in Brugge we again went into town and this time the weather was great, we had a good day wandering around the sites and shops. 12th Aug - Our next stop was the Belgian coastal resort of Nieuwpoort, instead of driving straight there we took the coast road and drove west from Blankenberge, it's not somewhere you would not think of for a holiday but we passed through half a dozen resorts including Ostend, Middelkerke but the best looked like De Haan with it's alpine looking chalets and nice cafes and bars, well worth a long wknd trip if your on the ferry to Zeebrugge I'd say. The site at Nieuwpoort was great for the kids, pool, mini golf, playgrounds so they made the most of it ... read more
North Sea and Holland -- close proximity to Bruges
Published: June 25th 2010Europe » Belgium » West Flanders » Oostende
June 6th 2010
Sunday, June 6, 2010 Bruges, Belgium Today was to be a rest day before our flight to our eventual destination, Kinshasa, DRC (Democratic Republic of Congo). Tricia wanted to see the ocean and our original idea to ride bikes to the sea never panned out. So we hopped in the Benz and headed toward a little sea town on the coast. The countryside was beautiful. When we arrived at the seaside town it was much bigger than I anticipated. We parked and strolled along the wide cementwalk (not boardwalk as in Atlantic City) and the beach. Ostende was visible along the coast and appeared to be a major port. After our visit to the beach, we were getting hungry so headed for a small town over the border in Holland Sluis recommended by our landlord. You ... read more
Belgian Vagabonding: Ghent, Brugge, and a rainy day in Rhode
Published: June 7th 2009Europe » Belgium » West Flanders » Oostende
June 6th 2009
Saturday:Ghent and Brugge My day started much too early, 7:00. I wanted to get an early start, because two cities plus train/bus travel makes for a full day. Ghent: Didn't really like it. It was too metropolitan, and it had a sketchy feel to it. I did find some pretty gardens though... I ended up stayng for only an hour, much less than I had planned, but I didnt find the city too appealing. Now lets take a 180 degree flip! Brugge: Brugge was absolutely wonderful and charming. The walk to the main part of the city was a beautiful park, I was kind of jealous of a couple having a picnic; mais c'est la vie. Once I got to the main part I was greeted by street musicians of all sorts: accordian, singers, tambourines, ... read more
June 1st 2009
Oostende voor anker. Uniek evenement voor bootliefhebbers. Zeilschepen, platboten, enz. honderden schepen kleurden de haven. Samen met een 50 tal andere mensen heb ik een zeiltocht kunnen maken in de Noordzee. Beaufort 2......... read more
January 6th 2009
Jawel, de eerste entry op onze reisblog. De inhoud van m'n rugzak ligt over de tafel gespreid en de oudjes roepen op dit nachtelijke uur vanuit hun bed of het wat stiller kan. Buiten vriest het zo'n graad of -5, terwijl het in Bangkok 35 graden warm is. Nog één koude nacht slapen en we zitten op het vliegtuig. De mails zijn verstuurd en afscheid is genomen. Kussen zijn uitgewisseld en tranen hebben gevloeid. Een mens zou voor minder lyrisch worden. Morgen beginnen onze volle drie maanden indo-china. Wel, de volle drie maanden min één dag, om precies te zijn. Etihad's vliegtickets zijn namelijk een stuk duurder als je langer dan drie maanden wegblijft. Maar gezien ook ons fortuin zijn grenzen kent, is 3 maand al een mooi begin. En dan ga ik nu met welig ... read more
September 23rd 2008
Here you'll find the pictures of our trip to Belgium in August 2008. We stayed in Middelkerke (near Oostende) for nine days, living in the appartment of a friend of us. There we spent some nice days together with our friends from Belgium, enjoying the sun (specially the sunsets) and the fine food...... read more
