Blogs from West Flanders, Belgium, Europe - page 4

This morning we said our farewells to Vienna, then boarded an Austrian Airlines flight bound for Brussels, Belgium. All went smoothly, from the taxi ride to the airport, to check-in and the security screening. Our flight on a Embraer E95 jet was smooth, except for the fact that both of us experienced clogged ears during ascent and descent; not sure whether this was due to the flight profile, or perhaps an issue with the aircraft's cabin pressurization system. In any event, we arrived at the Brussels airport more or less on schedule where, after walking a considerable distance from the arrival gate to baggage claim, and then to the exit, we met our shuttle driver who would deliver us to the picturesque town of Bruges (Brugge in Dutch) in his super comfy black limousine. By 4 ... read more

Dear Blog Readers, Finally taking advantage of a cracking Christmas gift to use the Eurostar and scope out locations for a sequel to a cult movie, we were going to have a few days in Bruges. It was an early start but the authentic French cafe just outside the check in area set us up nicely with a petit dejeuner. It was authentic enough, although I’d have preferred the waiter to at least throw the cutlery down onto our table rather than place it softly. Check in was straightforward and we were on the train in no time and already asleep within half an hour. Next stop Brussels where we had a 20 minute wait before the Belgian Rail train rolled in an took us through the countryside to Bruges an hour later. It was early ... read more

So incredibly thankful we had moved on from Ypres from the music festival and a decent night sleep was had. Onto the town of Ghent (Gent) which had been relatively untouched by war as the Germans had moved through prior to forces advancing and were retreating fast at the end of the war. It is a student/university town and the sheer number of push bikes attest to this. Helen was meeting us, coming from Antwerp, so Marie and Philip went into town first, while we waited for her train to arrive. A trip in on the tram to the centre we came across an 'interesting' person (still not in agreeance on the sex) who went above anything expected in the rain, guiding us to another tram which literally dropped us straight in front of Gravensteen Castle. ... read more

Up early for the train back to London Waterloo Station, hopefully it will be more time efficient and easier than the way down. Linda made us some bacon sandwiches for the train ride, much appreciated, and it was off to Wool Station for the ride back. Train was on time and off we went. 10 minutes late into Waterloo, not too bad considering the trip down. Off to the tube station for the last time to St Pancras International Station, turns out on the noisiest tube we have been on. Too much grease we think. Arriving at St Pancras with lots of time to spare we found quite possibly the biggest coffee's I have ever seen, I think they are classed as 'bucket' size. Grabbing some snacks for the Eurostar and off to departures where we ... read more

So I won’t lie, I had a five minute teary eyed moment as the train departed from Crewe. I waved goodbye to Mum and El at the station (and already said bye that morning to Wilson & Binx!) and thought to myself “Just what to bloody hell have you gone and signed up for, you soft cow?!” Anyway, it took me a few minutes to tell myself to get a grip and man the f*ck up! I was also helped by a few friends giving supportive messages like – Be a nomad, not a gonad!! ……….Thanks Mark. I arrived at London Euston and started to walk to St Pancras, cursing to myself at the London signs which were about as clear as the canals here in Bruges. I arrived at St Pancras and was thoroughly frisked ... read more