Belgium - First Week in Europe

We have launched our European overlanding expedition! Hard to believe we are here. But then, nothing will come of nothing. We picked up the truck in Liverpool with no issues, zipped through England, took the ferry from Dover to Calais and drove through to Belgium. Covid is making things a little complicated but travel still very possible. We arrived in England just as their mandatory Covid quarantine for US citizens had been revoked. We were required to provide a negative test to arrive in England and to transit through France, but have not been asked to show our Covid vaccination cards at any border. In Belgium, masks have been required on public transport and museums and have been the standard for indoor dining but not common outdoors.

The Schengen requirements for us to leave most of western Europe after three months have made planning complicated. We are opting to head north as quickly as possible to explore Sweden, Norway and Finland before it gets too cold. Along the way, we are spending some time in Belgium, Netherlands and Denmark.

We loved Belgium! The architecture, the people, the pastries, chocolate, and beer. With no expectations, the history and beauty of this small country has blown us away.

Entering Ypres, Menin Arch memorializing 54,000 soldiers killed in WWI with unknown graves.

We planned a route balancing cultural experiences with being able to explore natural beauty. Crazy Tourist (they are not really that crazy, but they are a quick resource for highlights)has been a useful resource for us in trying to quickly figure out some of the best spots to hit.

Our Belgium route

Unstaffed France/Belgium border crossing - typical within the EU to see the old infrastructure between countries which has been abandoned.

YPRES

Our first stop was Ypres and the Flanders Fields Museum, feeling the profound sorrow of the massive loss of human life.

Feeling like an anachronism driving narrow cobbled streets in our rigged out truck.

We were grateful for our relatively compact size navigating the small streets of towns built centuries ago.

Flanders Fields museum, Ypres

Initial research told us that wild camping is illegal in Belgium. We have since found out that throughout much of Europe there is more of a grey zone. People are using excellent apps like Park4Night to find places to stay. Our biggest camping resource in the US and Baja was iOverlander but it is sparsely populated here. We are not set up for stealth parking with our pop up and we elected to stay in established campgrounds as we got our bearings. We found it easy to find convenient spots and book online, although the style of camping has not been our favorite. A typical campground has vans, campers and tents lined up in rows in a field like setting. On the positive side, great clean toilets and hot showers are the norm. Most of our fellow campers were Belgian tourists who are set up in large family style tents or camper trailers. All the places we stayed had multi-lingual booking features. Typical cost was about $20 a night, much more than we would consider paying in the US, but reasonable for accommodations in Belgium.

Language has not been a barrier for us. We have been able to apologize upfront by saying that we “only speak English” and everyone has been kind in accommodating us by switching to our language. Smiles and basic informal sign language also work well. The lack of tourists right now makes people even more welcoming. Many places we have been, we are told we are the first US tourists to arrive in over a year.

Typical Belgium campground

BRUGES

Next stop, Bruges. This was our favorite place in Belgium. A medieval city with extraordinary achitecture built along canals, it was a visual feast.

Gorgeous Bruges

Our fall back when we arrive in a new city is to pick up the tourist information map with the walking highlights and hit the streets. Andy is the navigator.

And somewhere along the way - the picnic lunch.

Beautiful churches everywhere.

More Belgian field camping

GHENT

Another Belgian city filled with history and beauty. And a castle.

Gravensteen Castle, Ghent

Medieval toilet

Straight down to the river below. According to the audio narration on our tour, villagers below applauded when the count’s missiles dropped.

Would not want to swim in that water.

Perfect end to a sightseeing day.

ANTWERP

Another beautiful city! Here we signed up for our favorite urban acitivity - the free historic walking tour (also known in some places as the umbrella tours). Our guide was fantastic - informative and funny and we learned a lot more than wandering on our own. He also introduced us to possibly the best chocolate we have ever had.

Pedestrian walking streets everywhere.

Belgian chocolate - an artisanal feast.

Dawn stopped by Paul Ruben’s house and museum and enjoyed an unexpected and beautiful musical treat.

Another great way to end a sightseeing day. Depending on who you ask, the Belgians claim to have invented french fries.

DURBUY

For our last stop in Belgium we headed to the forested hilly area of the Ardennes and the medieval town of Durbuy. We were pleased to learn that our favorite hiking resources - Gaia (for GPS based trail tracking and mapping) and All Trails - for finding hikes and recent hiker reviews and information are both populated with data in this area of Europe.

Hiking in the Ardenne

Chocolate croissants with a view above Durbuy

For our final Belgium photo - posing the truck.