The beauty, the ugly and back to normal

Thursday, 11th of August. Leaving lovely Brugge while the sun is shining – I saw a swarm of doves just standing in the air and also flying backwards (caused through the heavy wind this day I think) – and cycling the first 25 kilometres along the very nice Kanaal Brugge-Oostende, which is mostly used by motor yachts. While I was cycling in direction north-west, the usual adverse wind caught me diagonal.

In Oostende I reached the sea. I love the sea. On the other hand the Belgium coast is pretty boring, but tries to stick up by being extremely stormy, Elise and Julien, my tonight's hosts, told me, the wind had 27–53 km/h, justifiably so you can say it was stormy (tomorrow it's probably better, it's said it will be 13–24 km/h). While I was still able to cycle around 20 km/h beneath the canal, I now had to slow down to 8 to 12 km/h, what I did for 20 kilometres from Oostende up to Westende (at the Albertkanaal it was 17 to 21 km/h). It was quite hard not to be blown away. At the end my face laced with grains of sand. The ugly houses, kind of high-riser with the charm of a building made with precast concrete slabs after all offered some wind protection.

I don't understand the Belgians. Like in Germany, too, they have places with caravans. In Germany there are many bowers within allotment garden, mostly placed at town border, often close to train tracks and also motor ways. But they are very green with much planting, a place for once own to relax. There are also places for static caravans, which are placed into the green, often into a recreation area. Usually nice places (if you are okay with the bourgeois middle-class character). But in Belgium they have places with static caravans, all of them same type, standing extremely close next to each other without any place for doing some personal arrangements. And they are usually placed beside the most highly frequented road. Why do they do this? Have they no sense for beauty and cosy settings?

The Belgian north looks shabby. It is reminiscent of Romania, where Klaus and I had been some years ago and also some parts in the North German Plain – uninteresting houses on a broken street with even worse bicycle paths. It turned to get better when I reached the Belgium/French frontier. Today's goal was Dunkerque, which I reached after 85 kilometres.

I had a warm welcome at Elise's and Julien's home. They are so friendly, relaxed and interested in a broad range. We had some dedicated talk about social and education system in France and Germany, including a side trip to politics, effective and useless development assistance in Third World Countries, being parents (I and their little one and a half year old son Simon immediately made friendship) and some more. They were so considerate, we had a great supper with an even better cake, Julien showed me the route to the harbour while moving the whole kilometres way on Google streetview… Elise and Julien, please come to visit me in Bamberg and make me able to be such a great host as you two are!

Addition to Brugges / Belgian and Facebook

Wednesday, 10th of August. At 8:30 P.M. all tourists were gone, the leftover people looked much more like locals, just pleasant night life. The paths along the canals were just that silent and lost like the were suggestive in the movie In Bruges – one of the reasons why I had to come to this town. By the way – as it was written in the best tourist information map I've ever read: "1892. The popular book Bruges la Morte describes the city as a dark, poor and ugly place. Locals are not happy with this, but tourists see some romance in it, and start visiting Bruges more and more. […] 2009. The movie In Bruges wins an award for best scenario. Quote: 'If I grew up on a farm, and was retarded, Bruges might impress me. But I didn't, so it doesn't.' So just like in 1892, somebody calls Bruges a shithole, which attracts only more tourists."

At my second night in Brugge where I had this peaceful night along the canals I also found places, where they played live music. Country, rock and electric music within this medieval masonry… Brugge has also many horse-drawn carriages for sightseeing tours like Vienna, too, but as Brugge has a totally different character as Vienna, the horse-drawn carriages also have. And Brugge is an expensive place to eat. And they serve their white beer in the wrong glasses, but with peanuts. In the breakfast room of my youth hostel hey have cups with smurfs printed.

Facebook is extremely popular in Belgium. wherever I am I sound this word out of the chatter of the generally young people. Bart is also a big Facebook fan, because it's so easy to stay in contact with all your friends and for organizing stuff. (Even when we were in a bar where Bart asked for having the next couchsurfing meeting there, they arranged to do the details via Facebook, as the bar had also a Facebook page.) Bart has also a Google+ account (but didn't really grappled with it right now). But he don't like it, he thinks it's much to complicated – why the hell all these circles ?!

In Bruges…

Wednesday, 10th of August. Brugge is so great! I arrived yesterday night at 10:30/11 P.M. (after 95 kilometres of cycling) and now I'm in a nice youth hostel. This town is so lovely and relaxing – just all these tourist are disturbing… I don't feel like one of them. I don't want to take a boat trip through the canals and I'm not interested in making photos. It's unbelievable how much boats are there and all of them full with people (as one can see in this photo someone else shot…)

After spending much time on the internet working on my blog while Bart was at work, it was 4 P.M. when I left Antwerp yesterday. It's funny to ask somebody: "I want to cycle to Brugge, in what direction do I have to go?" – he will meet you with disbelief. First I had to cross a river. There are several tunnels for bicyclists and pedestrians, the elevator goes 31 metres down.

In this elevator I had a conversation with a cycling retiree, who come back from a cycling tour to Portugal quite recently. I asked him for a bike path to Brugge, and he invited me to follow him, as the route I had to take was also his way home, so I had some nice companion for the next 5 kilometres. Then I cycled a bike path he had shown to me nearby the arterial highway, which meant heavy traffic noise, but this stopped after 20 kilometres, so it was nice and easy to cycle and, best of all, the most direct route. After 50 kilometres I had a cappuccino break in Zelzate. I always forget that the Belgians have their own understanding of what's a cappuccino. They also offer some creamy thing, once I had something what could have been vanilla butter (very good to eat separated!) once something that could have been egg liqueur. Until I approached Brugge with 25 kilometres left everyone I asked for the route to get sure I didn't miss something showed the same reaction: meeting someone with disbelief, complete amazement, repeating the word Brugge in different languages and pronunciation – and at least they informed me about how much kilometres Brugge is away from where I was now (and each time the mentioned a much to small number!).

After Antwerp hasn't been that good, I expected nothing from Brugge. And than it impressed me totally, because I arrived at one of the town gates, Kruispoort – and there was such a great warm light, so lovely, so calm… And – what a fortunate coincidence! – I found myself just in the youth hostel's street.

What a welcome. Some guys at the connected pup were immediately curious about my guitar, another one wanted to invite me for a glass of wine. But I first wanted to unload my stuff to the 10 persons bedroom. When I came back, the guys were gone, but I found my glass of wine on a feeder pillar. So I went with my glass along the street, and joined a nice small Turkish diner, where I had a lasagne and shortly companion, too, because it turned out, that the Turkish owner was able to speak German. He had learned it in school and worked about ten years in Ankara, where he'd practised a lot, but had never been to Germany. He invited me for another glass of wine, we had nice talk, he complimented my eyes, then tried to hold my hand, so I had to made plain to him, this was to much, and we went on with talking. We hugged for good bye, and he once again tried to made it a closer hug, I eluded from, but altogether it was e very nice, interesting, strange night. I had a very late shower and some very good sleep.

Hobbes has said, he no longer wants to travel inside a bag, and he's a big tiger, so today we visit town together. We greet Klaus, Nilsbär, Kleiner Bär and Henry!

Antwerp

Antwerp, 7th to 9th August. After I met Bart yesterday we went to a music event. Right now everywhere in Antwerp is celebrating, because it's Zomer van Antwerpen and therefore there are sunflowers everywhere. I love sunflowers. :-)

Bart hadn't to work on Monday to be able to regenerate from weekends festival experiences. Monday evening he volunteered at an event of Zomer van Antwerpen (because of all this volunteering most of the events are for free). Meanwhile I worked on my blog. Earlier this day he showed me around (but it wasn't that good as my first unforgettable impressions together with Wim).

Bart is very experienced to couchsurfing, he opened all his flat to me, being much tolerant in any way (I spend very much time at his computer. Thank you again, Bart). He demonstrated absolutely no suspiciousness, I hope I was able to show I earn so much trust. I don't think he cares about any risk and surely has a good gut instinct. Bart is very companionable and very active in organizing stuff, especially for the couchsurfing community. He cares about economy and was very helpful (so I was able to wash once again). I regret we didn't have private talking. I'm not sure he was somehow interested in me and my personality.

Bart is a big beer fan. Finally I could upload the Schlenkerla Rauchbier from Bamberg (and also two printed T-shirts I had made for my dear couchsurfer Tomas, who was also hosted by Bart shortly before. Bart will send the shirts and some Belgium beer to Tomas). Now I'm eventually able to put my rucksack in one of my paniers.

To Antwerp

Sunday, 7th of August. I decided to cycle the Albertkanaal, and as my little Google maps cantle, where on the backside I had written down all the names of the towns I had to pass by using an ink pen, was so much afflicted with yesterday's rain I needed some help from a local. He sent me to Beringen where the canal passes. There I lost my new sunglasses.

Right now I have lost (respectively forgotten):

• the good one of my 1 litre aluminium drinking bottles by leaving it after fixing the chain (I bought a new one in Bedburg, only 750 ml, but also with a drinking straw)
• one cotton bag with fruits during cycling and one cotton bag I used for collecting my laundry, which I left at Franzi's home, were I was able to use a washing machine (Octavian gave me two new one he didn't need)
• my water proofed windbreaker – but fortunately some car drivers adverted to that by honking the horn, so it's actually almost lost
• a nut slice which felt off the bag while I cycled downhill, holding the bag between my left hand and the handelbar
• my bicycle gloves, which I left at the toilette of a café, but realized it then I went on my bike

Things I forget to pack at home:

• a hairbrush (I bought one in Sittard)
• the camera cable to be able to use the photos on a computer (up to now I was often fortunate that my hosts had a card reader)

The bicycler's rules do no longer work: I had constantly wind from the west, that means adverse winds! – regardless how large the forthcoming cyclist's group was. This canal has a different character as my local Main–Danube Canal, bigger, much industry beneath and many people do water skying.

After 30 kilometres on the canal path I decided to try another route. So I reached Geel, where lots of young people broke up from a raggae festival. Much of funny cars (painted and/or old), also interesting smelling smoke. Bart, my today's host in Antwerp, told me later that this was the festival he had visited, while he wasn't able to host me the day before.

Because it was still windy while using the street I turned back to the canal.
Once a forthcoming racing cyclist made the thumbs up sign (regarding the wind plus my package, I think). This was one of the few communicative situations in Belgium. Greeting isn't common there – normally you don't get a reaction when you are greeting. Greeting forthcoming people (especially bicyclists) is one of my hobbies: In Germany they normally answer the greeting and you often get a smile, in the Netherlands they smile at you a priori and you have to be fast to be the first one to greet someone. But in Belgium there's just nothing – not even some irritation, what also would be nice. I really like the people from the Netherlands, other than the Belgium people (nevertheless they are cooperative and friendly when you're searching for the road and so on).

After 105 kilometres I reached Antwerp. First impression was disappointing. Big streets, much traffic, allover industry. But than I met a racing cyclist which stopped while I was asking a woman how to cross a bridge which wasn't allowed for bicycle. He offered to lead my to my host's home, and not only that, it was great to chat. He had seen me on the canal when cycling the other direction, and he was so kind, he choose a route through the historic part of Antwerp and made a small tourist guiding. Thank you so much, Wim, I would love to here from you again!