Oostende - the Sea

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Wednesday May 20, 2009
Today was the sunniest and warmest day we have seen since coming to Belgium - (68F and sunny) so of course it seemed most appropriate that we should head to the "Sea". Jean and I biked our way to Oostende, and J2B got a morning nap before heading out on the train.

Oostende is protected from the North Sea by a network of dikes, and is said to be the largest city on the Belgian coast, with 67,000 residents. Oostende has a colorful history, starting as a small fishing village, plagued throughout its history by a constant onslaught from seaborne invaders, and then in the twentieth century, destruction came in the form of World War II aerial bombardment. We saw Oostende to be a busy resort town.

We also named Oostende "Most difficult to bike to the city" - after ending up in the industrial area at dead end streets - with the only way to get into the city was biking an additional 15k out and around the town and came in from another angle. In the morning, as we were sailing through the Hermitage - a beautiful green space - I blew a back tire. Despite the language barrier, we ended up coming across a lady that was merely riding to the local bread store for a morning fresh loaf - and she walked us to a local bike shop (over 3k). It definitely felt that we might have eventually found the shop but not as quickly or directly by any means!

The bike shop owner was absolutely delightful, fixed the flat, said we had "cheap" rental bikes, told me I could have ridden on the flat as long as I didn't jump any curbs, and pointed us in the right direction to continue our ride to Oostende.

By this time it was getting late for us to make our meeting point of the train station to meet up with J2B, so we rode more directly along the canal. A beautiful ride, warm and sunny.

Oostende offered us Frites (fries) and burgers (sausage patty on a bun?) - but food tasted great and we walked along the town streets and the boardwalk. Blake got his little face pink but had a great day, as did his parents! Jean and I put our bikes on the train (cost of 5 Euros) and took the train with J2B back to Brugge, noticing the prison along the route.

We ended up biking/walking 52K - no wonder the lunch tasted so good :-)

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Photos

J2B
At the end of our street along the canal in Brugge

BAM
He loves the stoops and had to stop and sit a bit on each on!

Jen and Eric
Running to catch the bus to the train to the plane :-)

BAM
In our garden playing with the bell (and goose and kitten)

Brugge countryside
I took an early morning ride

Brugge countryside
A small remembrance

Brugge countryside
And the day begins

Comments

[Ron Higman]

I could use some advice
Your blog is very entertaining, and BAM is very cute. My wife and I will be staying 3 nights in Brugge and 2 nights in Paris in mid-July. When we are in Brugge, we intend to take some day trips. We are thinking of taking a late afternoon train to Ostende for a nice walk along the shore and then have a good seafood dinner. Is that a good plan? For another day, if you could only choose one, would you choose Ghent, Antwerp or Brussels for train trip? Would it be too much to visit Ghent and Ostende in the same day? Do you advise renting bikes for Brugge? Your Photos are great. It looks like you are having fun. Thanks Ron

[Sewpippy]

Brugge recommendations
Ron - Thanks for your encouraging words - our time in Brugge was great - and although most posts say that 3 days in Brugge is too many, we found it a great place to be "home base" with more to discover all the time! YES - rent bikes in Brugge - it is great fun biking around and does not take long to get the feel of the city - the city is about 3k (north to south) so biking is most enjoyable vs walking. We biked to Knokke-Heist (north of Brugge on that North Sea) and actually liked this area much better than Oostende (not as big, more relaxing and same feel of boardwalk etc). But taking the train to Oostende (only about 20 minutes) is a great 1/2 day trip. Both Gent and Oostende in one day would be a alot - I would discover Brugge and then go to Oostende in one day. If I had to pick only one (Gent, Antwerp, Brussels) I would pick Gent. Also, if you have bikes in Brugge, do bike out to Damme in an evening and have dinner or a beer - is only about 5k out of town, but a great ride along the canal and gives you a feel for rural Belgium - absolutely delightful! HAVE FUN and let me know if you have any other questions at all! Oh - our most favorite dinner place is north of the city (a great bike ride - on the way to Damme)) and is called Du Phare (www.duphare.be) we found it to be where the locals eat, there is outdoor dining along the canal - and was much better than what we found in town. All the food was great!