Autumn in Belgium and Germany – words and pictures. Part 1.

2024 has been a decent year for trips and travel for us, and we are just back from our last trip together for this year.

We spent some time in Belgium and Germany and as you might expect it was quite a contrast to our earlier trips in the year to Scotland when we visited Lochalsh and Skye and then later when we returned to Scotland to spend some time in Newton Stewart .

I have also done a couple of motorcycle solo trips this year – first to Ireland and then almost immediately before this Belgium/Germany trip I travelled extensively in Spain and Portugal.

We’ve been before but …

Over the years we have travelled and stayed in quite a few different places in both Belgium and Germany and have always enjoyed our time there.

For this trip, we had decided to stay near the Belgium city of Namur in the Wallonia region at a decent property/gite called Au four et au jardin.

After that we moved on to Germany and a stay on the outskirts of the town of Leichlingen in North Rhine-Westphalia region.

Although neither of the locations we based ourselves at could be described as ‘touristy’ they were both ideally located for one or two places we wanted to get to.

Heading for Dover, Calais and Namur

The downside for us when using the south coast ferry ports or the tunnel is that the journey from home in the North West really can feel like quite a drag.

A few weeks previously I had made the journey down to Plymouth to head out on the Brittany Ferries crossing to Santander and then again the return journey back north from Plymouth after a couple of weeks in Spain and Portugal. This time it was another motorway slog, but down to Dover to take the P&O crossing to Calais.

On this occasion an early start meant we were through the Midlands without any delays, our only stop being for a coffee at Watford Gap. The journey was dull but routine and we were checked in with time to spare for our lunchtime crossing.

Although only a short crossing (about 90 minutes or so) we had booked the Club Lounge.  For the extra £100 for the outward and return journey we think it’s worth it. Refreshments are included in the price, along with a pleasant and quiet environment – and the food is plentiful and tasty.

Clicking any of the images below will open a picture gallery that can be clicked or scrolled through

Day trip to Namur

The accommodation we stayed in was a little over six miles from the city of Namur, which in turn is about 170 miles from the ferry port at Calais and about 40 miles or so from the capital city of Brussels.

Historically the city had a strategic military importance due to its location on the confluence of the rivers Meuse and Sambre.

The ‘old town’ is pretty compact with a mix of old and new. There’s a wealth of small streets with quite a variety of shops, along with tea rooms and a fair number of bars. It’s not a big place and it’s an easy and pretty area to wander around, with more than enough to do to make a day of it.

We had a really enjoyable time, enjoyed our wanderings, and took the cable car to the impressive citadel that in earlier times was one of Europe’s mightiest fortresses. Napoleon once dubbed the citadel   ‘The ant-hill of Europe’. A visit there gives an opportunity to find out more of the history of the city.

The birthplace of french fries …

I’m told that French fries actually originated in Namur!

Apparently back in the eighteenth century the people of Namur enjoyed ‘frys’ which were small fish. It seems that during a particularly harsh winter, the river froze and fishing was impossible. So as a substitute to the small fish the people cut pieces of potato in the shape of fish and fried them!

Off the beaten track but …

I suppose Namur isn’t quite the obvious choice for a tourist, but there really is enough there to make for a decent visit.

We were fortunate with the weather during this trip which made wandering around the narrow streets and the colourful market a really enjoyable experience. In addition to visiting the Citadel we  walked to the massive ‘Turtle’, a sculpture more properly named Searching for Utopia by Jan Fabre.

Pictures from Namur

Clicking on any of the images below will open a picture gallery that can be clicked or scrolled through.

 

The pretty town of Ghent

After an enjoyable first day wandering around Namur we decided to spend our second full day in the medieval city of Ghent. This involved a drive of a little under two hours to make the 80 mile journey from our accommodation to the city in the north west of Belgium.

It’s another city established at the confluence of two rivers – the Leie and Scheldt. We had actually stayed in Ghent a few years ago, it was a one night stopover on our way home from travelling in Belgium and Germany. Unfortunately on that occasion my wife had been unwell and we just hadn’t been able to make the most of our visit, which is one of the reasons we were keen to return.

The old historic centre is quite remarkable, and there really is an extraordinary concentration of historical buildings and monuments – just look at some of the images in the next picture gallery. It’s a busy tourist and university city with a really vibrant feel, and if you get the opportunity to visit and wander around we doubt you would be disappointed

Pictures from Ghent

Clicking on any of the images below will open a picture gallery that can be clicked or scrolled through.

Part two coveing visits to Dinant on the banks of the River Meause in Belgium and a visit to the very pretty town of Monschau in western Germany is now online – at this link.