Thursday 21 June 2012

Belgium - Flanders

Our visit to Flanders, roughly the northern half of Belgium, bordering the Netherlands (Wes en Oos Vlaandere in Dutch) was revealing. It seems to be holding its own economically when other regions of Belgium seem to feel the economic crunch. Adapting Afrikaans to a more Dutch manner of expression has been a bonus as communication with people has been no problem. Many Flemish people cannot understand how a British registered motorhome has a Dutch speaker on board. The point being that the Brits are known throughout Europe to speak only English. We anticipate crossing into the Netherlands in the next week, so also no language problems there.
Escaping some rainy weather, we made a quick foraging into the Netherlands just east of Knokke near Breskens on the Schelde estuary - the gateway to Antwerp. Walking on the sea walls/dunes, others cycling and some sitting at beach cafes, each content in their own activity. The sheer scale of these feats of engineering never ceases to amaze.

On the dunes near Breskens

Parking for 200 bicycles on the dunes

Back into Belgium saw us staying two nights at this canal boat mooring site ....

.... with some qaint / odd art next to the moorings.

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