Every day when I’m travelling I see something cool. Sometimes it’s just the colour of the sky or the crispness of the snow, other days it’s a momument, a building or archeological remains.
Today is predicted to be the rainiest day, so we decide during breakfast to do a woodsy walk in the hope that the trees will protect us a bit. We pick a walk from the flyer of the OstBelgien tourisme office, it's a bit further away - about half an hour by car - but… Continue reading Rainy..
elegant crack fix Up at eight, can you imagine! We sat in bed reading, cozily warm, for an entire hour before that. During a leisurely breakfast we negotiate which route to hike today, still with the eighties disco music list. It's supposed to remain dry until the late afternoon, so plenty of time to roam… Continue reading windy!
I wake up a few minutes before the alarm goes off at seven. This is a trick I only manage to pull off on holidays, so I suspect it has to do with active days and better sleep. It's pretty chilly in the house: there's no central heating and it takes a while for the… Continue reading settling in
Up at six, lots to do today! Arne wants to spend some quality time with his computer, so after breakfast I head over to my Mom to continue our sewing projects. We're making a fleece vest and the first job is to make a pattern. That's my Mom's specialty and not really something I can… Continue reading hop east
So this is a bit strange. Most of Western Europe is in some kind of lock down and here in Belgium only essential stores remain open. Cafés, restaurants, any stores except food, pharma, etc.: all closed. And Belgium is a 'red zone', so if you travel to another country you have to remain in quarantine,… Continue reading Corona holidays
No rush today, so yesterday evening I set the alarm at eight. It's a bit surprising when it goes off at seven instead, but as breakfast is only scheduled at eight thirty we kill it and sleep another hour. We spent half of dinner last night talking about the new COVID-19 counter measures: less social… Continue reading A significant navigational error
We have planned a short getaway: we have this Friday off work, will go for a walk or something and will sleep in the Voeren area of Belgium. Saturday more walking, something cultural or a movie, doesn't matter as long as it's relaxing! I have spent an hour or two in the evenings earlier this… Continue reading Mushroom Central
Is this a 'broek' or simply a cut off arm of the Ijzer river? In any case this white heron was enjoying it until it saw me with my camera..No rain! The wind has picked up and is blowing the clouds away.The momument to the brothers Van Raemdonck, volunteers in the Belgian army in WW1.Did… Continue reading Summary
Alarm is still at six thirty, but we both wake up at six with an urgent urge to use the facilities. It's dry when we hop the 20 m to the common building, though the ground feels like it's been raining during the night. When we get back to our hut, we figure we might… Continue reading difficult knees
I must have woken up ten times during the night, every time I wanted to turn I got my legs tangled up in the linen sleeve inside the sleeping bag.. nevertheless I feel rested when the alarm goes at six thirty. We undertake a first express expedition to the facilities, it's not raining! Breakfast is… Continue reading Easily satisfied
Up at six, my Mom is the most polite wake-up alarm ever. We check the weather radar during the eggs and left-over sausage for breakfast and decide to put on Gore-Tex from neck to toes. All the luggage back down (over the narrow stairs, the lift is broken) and we load up in the entry… Continue reading A Gore-Tex day
all the luggage together Today is both a working day and a holiday: up at six, first work meeting at seven thirty - there's a few early birds at work and these early hours are the best for complicated meetings. It's quite busy, lots to do and somehow I manage to finish most of my… Continue reading pre-trip: hop to Mom’s
Next week Thursday my Mom and I are leaving on a week long bike trip. Corona is still limiting the travel options and I wanted a budget friendly holiday, so we're keeping it simple: we leave from home on the bikes, with just some clothes, a bar of soap and camping stuff, take three days… Continue reading How to pack for a bike camping trip
Up at 7:15 - no point in getting up earlier if breakfast is planned at 8 - and it's raining still, or again. It's supposed to rain a bit in the morning and then get drier, so we resolve to stick to the plan and go cycling again. We pack a lunch bag again from… Continue reading Trees – Canals
Ow my muscles. I underestimated the impact of using a different bike, it seems. It's a great bike: smooth, silent, sturdy, but the configuration takes a bit of getting used to. I'm much more inclined forward, supporting part of my weight on my arms and though this allows you to put greater strength through your… Continue reading Walk + Movie
It's Thursday, normally a working day, so the alarm goes off at six. The cat actually woke us up earlier, but we are in no hurry whatsoever and it takes a while to get moving. A working day breakfast, but then a different list of activities: pack a small bag, grab a bunch of gear,… Continue reading A wet bike ride
Admittedly, this summary is a bit later than planned, in my defense we came home Sunday evening, I did some laundry, we had food and went to bed. Next day up at six to go to work, by bike. So now we're Thursday and this is the first free moment I've had to look back… Continue reading Summary
Breakfast is served at the table in a large, empty dining room, I think we must be the only guests in this hotel. Some restaurant and hotel people say it's a bit quiet, but not too bad, mainly the foreign tourists are missing. Other hotel owners say it's been too quiet and are worried about… Continue reading A short way back home
The usual breakfast routine, the restaurant chef brings us a selection of fruits, cheeses and meats and makes us eggs on demand. Out before nine, we decide to do a little detour to see the Venner Moor nature reserve that gives the hotel its name. We can't see much of it from the road and… Continue reading Up
Up at seven, breakfast half an hour later, gone before nine. Today will probably the hottest day of the week and I prepped some packing yesterday, just so we could leave early enough. Arne wakes up a bit woozy, he's always been a bit bothered like that by antihistamines. Hopefully the grumpiness disappears during the… Continue reading Views from hills
Not a good night, I would say. Too hot! And too itchy! We opened the windows at some point, desperate to the point that we're willing to risk the extra bug bite and that seems to help a bit. Not many bugs either, I suppose the swallows and bats take care of those. A wet… Continue reading Itchy! And hot!
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