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Published: June 28th 2011
Today was another hot day - was 91F, humid and cloudy - the weather report called for 70% chance of thunderstorms in the afternoon. I felt like I got no sleep at all due to the hot weather - and was feeling pretty puny - so we hung around the apartment trying to get past the hottest part of the day. We needed to return the bikes today - so we finally headed out around the city - taking the scenic route! We had lunch in the park - Jean wanted to stop there yesterday, but I thought we hadn't biked far enough yet - so no stopping yet. We had a great lunch and felt like true locals - they got us an English menu, but it left off all the great Flemish food, so we tried what the locals were eating and were not disappointed!
We continued down to the river and returned our bikes at our bike shop "under the bridge" and then headed back up through the main part of Antwerp on foot. Man I hate walking after biking, it feels like a snails pace! It was very hot and humid, and I for one was
Dikke Mee Restraurant
Biking through the park we found this great little place to stop for lunch!dripping in sweat and melting with every step.
We browsed through some post card shops, mailed the post cards we had ready to go, and were headed to the train station. I forgot to mention all the wonderful makes of cars we have seen - these are the ones that I recognized:
Volvo (LOTS AND LOTS of Volvo's, even a convertible!)
Audi
Lamborghini
BMW
1 Ford
1 VW
Smart Fortwo
Porche
Jacquar
Mercedes-Benz
Peugeot
Citroen
But still remember that there are more bikes than cars!! The order of priority for yielding is 1) Bikes 2) pedestrians 3) vehicles - is SO great!
Yesterday, when we were biking back to the flat along the "ring" route it was like traffic congestion on a highway there were so many bikes on the route! Everyone clipping along and everyone passing the weaving in and out - you had to keep up or get run over! Just after the Berchem train station and not far from our flat - a guy ran into my right rear pannier, pushing my bike over and knocking my pannier off my bike. The bungie cord held it on the bike as it bounced along on the
Uitsmijter
What a great idea! Was delicious! ground. I managed to leap off my bike and did not fall to the ground but banged up my arm as I caught the bike, and grabbed my pannier while working to get off the path. Now THAT was exciting!
Jean had a guy keep looking over his shoulder at her, so she went sonic slow speed and he turned in another direction.
A few other "tails" have come to mind - TO TELL THE TRUTH
1) KS gets all the green lights at intersections, and JS gets all the red lights, that is why she is behind me
2) Jean learned how to ride through a round-a-bout and pretend to be a car!
3) KS has been bitten by every known and unknown bug in Europe - and it tends to make her grouchy!
4) When you bring your rain coat, it does not rain
5) Churches were either under re-construction or locked - so where do the Catholics go to mass?
6) We can only say the Flemish words that are the same in English, but they still come in handy!
7) We mostly like to bike when it is flat, and not to cold and
Jean's lunch
Same idea, only with hard boiled egg and chicken! not to hot!
8) If the bike route goes under a highway - take a big breath and hold it - then pedal like crazy and don't breath until you get to the other side. Then you can enjoy the cool breeze without smelling the urine.
9) Partially paved bike routes are really dirt that turns to mud in the rain.
10) When the bike route ends at a river, wait for the ferry!
At the train station we checked the schedule and our tickets, and we are good to go. I desperately needed to lower my body temperature - so we returned to Matiate in the train station and had pizza and beer in an air conditioned space! Was great to cool down.
On the way home we stopped at the grocery story and then got home just as the rain started coming down hard.
Tomorrow we pack up and get the train from Antwerp to Amsterdam, Jean says she liked Antwerp more than she expected to. It really is a great town - and the different bike routes one can take are numerous.
Today was only a 20 mile biking day, and a 7
Bike path CLOSED
Oh me - oh my - the route is closed, wait, Kathleen is already on the other side - under the warning tape Jean goes - and we were on our way again! mile walking day. The thunderstorms tonight were wonderful! We spend the night in Amsterdam tomorrow and then fly out to our respective homes on Thursday.
Kathleen and Jean
Biking Belgium 2011
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Edie
non-member comment
great trip
looks like you guys had a great time in spite of the rain. Beautiful pictures!! Love those old buildings. Can't wait to see the rest of the pictures when you get back!! Edie