We are in Oudenaarde. We are not really supposed to be in Oudenaarde. Our planned route was supposed to take us to Kortrijk, but remember a few posts ago I talked about not being able to find a hotel room in Kortrijk? Instead of riding 50 km to Kortrijk we decided to ride 30 km to Oudenaarde. Why Oudenaarde?
When we first started researching this trip, one of us stumbled on the Leopold Hotel, in Oudenaarde. It advertises itself as a cycling hotel. We were both intrigued and we filed the info away. Through the planning of our trip, the Leopold would pop up occasionally and we would still be intrigued. When our final route was set, we were not stopping in Oudenaarde.
Until a few days ago when we couldn’t go to Kortrijk, we decided to go to Oudenaarde. What the heck! Let’s do it! Let’s stay at the Leopold! So, today we ride shorter than planned and tomorrow’s ride into Bruges is longer than planned.
The weather networks are forecasting very high wind gusts (50kph) today, so we are on the road by 8:30 to try to avoid the worst wind. It is chilly and we both have tights on and I have my gloves on. The ride out of Ghent is the best exit of a city that we have had. We ride against the flow of the commuter bikes. The ride takes us along the rail line and then along a canal.
Oudenaarde Stadhuis
We make Oudenaarde by 10:30! Oudenaarde is small, but still has a massive church, grote markt and stadhuis. This area is well known for its cycling routes and riding atmosphere. The Tour of Flanders usually finishes in Oudenaarde so Murray walks down the highway to where the finish line usually is.
Yesterday, in Ghent, we stopped in to a bike shop and chatted with a fellow. He mentioned that some e-bikes can travel at 45 kph and these bikes must have a license. We have been passed by these speed demons on the bike paths and have wondered about the licenses. My opinion is that these bikes should not be allowed on bike paths, their speed is just too fast for safety.
A story from Brussels that I forgot to mention. We ate at a sushi restaurant and as we were paying our bill, the server asked us where we were from. Murray said “Guess”, and he guessed Canada. Murray said “How did you know?” and the server said “You are very quiet! Americans are so loud.”
The Ghent Altarpiece, which includes the Adoration of the Mystic Lamb, is breathtaking. There are 20 panels, 16 on the front and four painted on the back of the end panels. Each panel has a different theme – Adam, Eve, singing angels, judges, hermits, pilgrims and the centre panel is the adoration. One reason why it is so important is it is an example of the transition from Middle Age art to Renaissance art. I was in awe of its size and colours.
Adoration of the Mystic Lamb
We splurge today and take a boat tour in the canals of Ghent. It is always fun to get a view of a city from the water. The one tidbit of info I come away with is the fact that in the Middle Ages (13 – 15th century) Ghent, the centre of the textile industry at the time, was the second largest and important city in Europe after Paris.
It rains twice while we are out. The rain here is like Caribbean rain. A deluge for 10 minutes and then the sun comes out again. Everyone runs for cover, waits and then carries on. We are getting used to this ritual, although we did don our heavy duty rain jackets.
View from our boat tour
Walking the cobbles is tricky. Feet are not finding a flat space and there is teetering and tottering. If it is smoother on the sidewalk, or road, or path, that’s where we walk. There is a wide variety of cobbles too, both riding and walking. Flatter to extremely bumpy and everything in between. Guess which we like the least!
We walk to the old docklands and see that the city is repurposing the area like most of the cities in the world that have water front access. The old buildings will be either torn down or renovated into lofts. There will be restaurants and bars for the locals and tourists. The new buildings will be multi-unit and multi use with a large walkway along the canal. When it is finished, it will be a great place to live.
We ride along a river today, with the wind at our backs, which makes the ride very pleasant.
Whenever we chat with someone about bike touring, they are surprised that we do not have e-bikes, and then they are impressed. We meet an older British couple in Dendermonde who are touring, he on an e-bike and she on a normal bike. Bravo! We see a number of bike touring groups in Dendermonde and they all have e-bikes. If they allow folks to ride and enjoy themselves, go for it.
Riding to Ghent
Fries are a big thing in Belgium, and the Netherlands, so we are always on the lookout for fry shops. And the fries are delicious, cut from potatoes just before they are cooked, big and chunky. A large dollop of ketchup and I am set.
One of Ghent’s churches
Wandering the streets in Ghent we walk by at least five churches. Huge churches. Ghent was a prosperous trade and religious centre in medieval times, thus there was money to build these massive structures. There is also Gravensteen Castle, the castle of the Counts, built of limestone, in the 11th century, and also impressive.
Gravensteen Castle
Murray and I both comment today how our legs like riding better than walking. After our ride here my legs feel fine, but after a long walk my legs are aching and I have to lay on the bed for a rest.
Most hotels offer breakfast, but it costs anywhere from 15 to 20 Euro each. That’s expensive for breakfast. Due to my food issues and not agreeing with the cost, we are eating picnic breakfasts in our room. Murray eats a bun or two with peanut butter. I eat a couple of gluten free WASA crackers, ham or salami and an orange or some blueberries, a total cost of maybe 5 Euro. On ride days, we eat the same thing for lunch too. It’s not exciting but, as my trainer says, it’s just fuel. Every day we shop for the few items we need for the next day. We eat well for supper which I usually get to pick – Thai, sushi, burgers, the occasional pizza or pasta.
Canal in Ghent
Tomorrow, we have tickets to see “The Adoration of the Mystic Lamb”, which is housed inside St. Baafskathedral. It is an important piece of art for its detail, use of oils and symbolism. I learned about it many years ago in an art history class and have wanted to see since then.
We took our first walk through Ghent today. It very old and the history is very well preserved. There are newer buildings for sure but a good portion of the very old ones are standing and still in use. At least it appears that way. Checking out some of the construction I would say the requirement is that the facade be kept, the building behind can be demolished and a new building attached. Sort of sleazy but I think it would be hard to upgrade the 11thC electrical up to today’s standards. Anyway the city is fun to walk through even dodging the multitudes of other tourists.
”If it’s Tuesday, it must be Belgium” A 1969 romance/comedy movie starring Susanne Pleshette, Joan Collins and a plethora of stars of the time.
It’s Tuesday and we mistime our departure from Brussels slightly and ride with the rush hour drivers, walkers and bike riders. Yikes! Our route wiggles and waggles so the turns are always anxiety producing in the traffic. We make it through the city and by about 12 kms we are in quieter traffic.
Murray warned me about it being hilly today. The hardest climb is about a 10% grade for about a short block. That gets us breathing heavy! Once we leave the Brussels area, the terrain tended down down down.
With such short mileage, we arrive in Dendermonde by noon. Luckily, we get into our room earlier than the 3:00pm check in time, change clothes and head out to see the city.
Dendermonde has a university here which gives it a certain vibe. Pizza is easily available, along with burgers and beer. The grote market is small and the surrounding buildings, including the stadhuis, are well kept and in good condition. There was a parade last weekend and the parade floats are sitting in the grote market awaiting the results of the judging for best float. They are all very impressive.
A float in the Dendermonde Grote Market
St. Alexius Begijnhof, with its buildings laid out in a triangle is an oasis of quiet. This religious women’s residence has sections dated from the late 1200s, and parts that are considerably newer. There is a small church in the center of the triangular area. It would be a peaceful place to live.
St. Alexius Begijnhof
The canal that runs through part of Dendermonde is used for sports. Today there is a class of upper elementary kids in kayaks, navigating up and down the canal with lots for noise and pandemonium.
Kayaking on the canal
I have to tell you about our evening last night.We sat down to book our hotel for tonight and thought we should also book our stay in Ghent. Holy smokes! The few hotels in Dendermonde seemed to be all booked up and Ghent doesn’t have any rooms available! What is going on? It’s midweek! We find and book the hotel we are at now, Boutique Hotel Marie Marie. Then we start playing with dates for Ghent and find one for two nights instead of the three we planned. Then we thought we should look at the next places we are going, Kortrijk and Bruges. Apparently Kortrijk has an international construction convention in town and there are NO rooms. We decide not to go there at all and reroute ourselves. Then Bruges, similar story with a lack of hotel rooms, with bike parking. We end up booking the Velohotel, 2km outside the center of Bruges. Apparently a lot of tour groups stay there, so we will be rubbing shoulders with other cyclists. There is a bus stop right there so we can get into Bruges. So, we have booked hotels for the next week, something we were trying hard not to do.
We have been on the road now for 11 days. While eating supper tonight we tried to recall where a particular restaurant was. Which city? What hotel did we stay in? It’s all starting to blur together…….
We utilize the metro today to save some walking. Metro systems all over the world are laid out the same way. Know your line’s colour code and end station. Decide where you are getting off and follow the signs. Works every time.
We test the theory and take the metro to the St. Catherine’s area to view some building artwork and where the old fish market used to be. The area is slightly run down but within a few blocks of walking, we find ourselves in the tourist zone of restaurants, shops and, of course, tourists.
St Catherine’s area
There are so many chocolate shops! I want to buy a sample of each but my panniers will only hold so much, and I have to ride with the extra weight! Bah! I am telling myself that in Bruges, our last stop in Belgium, I am allowed to buy a small amount of this famous Belgium chocolate!
Brussels Stadhuis
The Grand Place (main square) is surrounded by buildings with gold painted accents. On one side is the impressive Stadhuis. It’s hard to fathom that such ornate architecture was created in the early 1400s.
Buildings surrounding the Grand Place
After lunch of a falafel wrap and fries, we hop on the metro again to go to the Atomium. It was built for Expo 58 and renovated in 2004 and 2006. It houses various exhibits, viewing galleries and a restaurant. Apparently, it is the most popular tourist site in Belgium. It is fun to walk up to it and under it, but we didn’t go in. We meet a couple of Austrian fellows who are bike touring and have non electric bikes also. They found it windy riding from Amsterdam south, just like we did so we compared notes of who rode in front and who got to draft.
Atomium
The people in Brussels are very friendly. While stopped looking at our map, we have had a number of folks ask us if we need help. This unsolicited aid always reminds me that humans can be kind. French is used in Brussels so I understand parts of what folks say, but then have to say, “Sorry, I only speak English”.
More bike fodder. There is one particular electric bike that seems to be popular with the kids in the Netherlands. It is an OUXI v8. Every Dutch town we stopped in had a dozen or more kids racing around on these bikes. I think Mr. OUXI is making a fortune. He should continue to do so until there are so many of those bikes on the road it is no longer cool to have one.
I am going out on a limb here but I would say at least 75% of the bikes on the road in Holland and Belgium are electric. This is no small investment. A quick search on the web indicates the bike is in the thousands of Euros range. Still cheaper than a car I suppose and much easier to park.
People in both countries have a fascination with what I would call cargo bikes. Bikes with an extra long front end and either a cargo space or seating for a passenger or two. The passengers are usually small children but we have seen a couple of teens getting a lift from mom. These bikes must be super heavy but again they have an electric assist and the riders move along a good clip with very little input.
Another difference between Netherlands riders and the ones in Belgium is the Belgians are more likely to be wearing a helmet. They are still in the minority but there are more covered heads.
Today was a trip into Brussels central to visit the first art galleries we have seen this trip. The old masters gallery was OK. The paintings were amazing but not my schtick. A lot of religious subjects, again not in my realm of interest, and gory scenes of battles that took place long ago.
One painting we did stop at was the ‘Death of Marat’ by Jacques Louis David. Both Debbie and I had seen this painting in books many times and it is always amazing to see the original.
The exibition that was very good was the Magritte Gallery. It is a permanent collection with pieces from when he was very young till his death in 1967. There are a lot of paintings, sketches, some posters, some photography and some film. None of his iconic works were on display. I think they are around the world in many other galleries. One we have seen before is ‘Megalomania, La Folie de Grandeurs’ which is in the Menil Gallery in Houston Texas.
There are a couple of paintings that I have not seen before that made me stop and stare. Black Magic one of several paintings of female nudes painted up unusual colours.
Another is ‘Empire of Light’. A painting depicting a house lit by a street lamp, supposedly in the evening but with a full on daytime sky in the background.
The coolest building we saw all day was ‘Old England’. An amazing example of early 20th Century art nouveau architecture. Designed by architect Paul Saintenoy and built in 1899.
Tomorrow we continue our tour of the sights for Brussels.
Flat??? Flat my ass! Today we rode from Leuven to Brussels. There was not 1cm of flat ground. Different gradients for sure, there were no 20%+ grades like the Muur, but up and down all day. Then I looked up the meaning of Leuven and to my surprise it means the ‘town of hills’. So I looked up Brussels, meaning, ‘city of no flat ground’. (disclaimer. You have to do your own research as to the meaning and origin of the names above.)
I think today the bike roads were in the worse condition of any we have traversed so far. Poor asphalt, bumpy concrete and a section of what would be loosely termed as gravel, that had a very steep down slope. We rode it and with the slope alone, no pedalling, we were going far to fast for the conditions.
Some of the route was along a state highway. Noisy, dusty and not a very pleasant ride. After following canals far from any road most of the time till now the highway ride is a bit of a down grade.
I think the bike road designers have been trained by the folks that design XC ski trails in Canada. You know the trails that have a right angle turn at the bottom of a very steep slope. At the bottom of every downhill on the bike paths is a set of lights. Always red of course and you don’t get to use any momentum gained from travelling with gravity to carry along the flats because you have to halt right at the base of the descent.
Art Nouveau in Brussels
The Belgian bicycling culture is noticeably different from that in the Netherlands. The bikes are different and the riders are different. Although there is a major overlap I note some differences. The bikes, in the Netherlands the everyday bike is huge. Everyone is very upright and I think the wheels are bigger than standard wheels. In Belgium that type of bike has standard 700 wheels. The bikes do not look as ungamely as in Holland.
There are far more bikes with drop handle bars in Belgium. Not just riders in kit but everyday commuters have ‘racing’ bikes. To that there seemed to be a lot more serious riders out and about in Belgium, both on Friday and Saturday. Riders in spandex on expensive ‘racing’ bikes riding very fast, alone or in small groups. It is a bit scary for a couple of off the continent slow riding tourists as there is not a word spoken when they pass. It is just whoosh and you’re looking at someone’s back wheel.
The serious riders are not the only ones that pass without warning. The ebike crowd does the same. Maybe saying ‘ passing on the left’ would have to be repeated 1000 times per ride and it would get rather boring but it would be nice if we knew there was someone about to overtake us.
A bit of getting lost on the way into Brussels but we end up at the proper hotel and check in. We start looking at the info we have gathered we found we were a couple of blocks away from a walking tour of some of Europe’s best examples of Art Nouveau Architecture. A very famous architect Victor Horta did a couple of the buildings and they are now UNESCO heritage sites. If you are out this way the walk takes just over an hour and is worth the time. Tomorrow we brave the centre of Brussels on a Sunday.
Art Nouveau in Brussels
Debbie Writes:
It’s Saturday today, so we see sights we wouldn’t on a weekday. A group of young girls riding horses on the bike path during a riding lessons. Their instructor is at the head of the line riding a bike. We say Good morning to the young ladies as we pass by slowly and they politely reply back.
Earlier we meet a girl riding a horse walking beside her friend, pushing a scooter. The horse seemed unperturbed.
As we ride over an overpass across a major highway, we look down on a major traffic jam. One direction is moving at a crawl. I wonder where they are all going?
By the time we reach greater Brussels, it is close to noon and everyone is out doing their shopping, meeting friends, having coffee. We ride through one section where there are cars and people everywhere. This is where I would like to have a big Canadian flag on my back so everyone knows I have no idea how to ride in the congestion!
Ah, the hills! Today was the hilliest riding so far. It felt like we were either going up or going down, no flat bits. All the training in Ardrossan, outside Edmonton, has paid off! The longest up hill was leaving Leuven, and Murray says it was a two kilometre climb.
We have arrived in Brussels and have two days off our bikes and onto our feet to visit art museums, palaces and interesting alleys and streets.
I wake up anxious today. We have spent two full days away from our bikes and today we are getting back on them. Why am I anxious? Here’s the story….
Riding into Antwerp was hard for me. A ways out of Antwerp, we were riding down a bike path and approach from behind moving equipment on the path. It was three large ride on units, one “grass cutter” in front, a “baler” second and a “blower” in the back. The fellow in the back sees us, moves his machine over off the path so we thought it was safe to go by him. I am following Murray closely to get the draft. Murray realizes the blower is still extended across the path and slams on his breaks. I manage to swerve around Murray to avoid him, ride into the bumpy ditch, can’t get my foot out of my pedal clip and do a slow motion fall onto the ground. The guy came rushing over to make sure I was okay and insisted he help get my bike back onto the path. I then had to get by the other two monsters on the path. Fortunately, I came away from that encounter with only a bruise on my butt and a couple on one knee.
By the time we got to the hotel in the centre of Antwerp, I had almost wiped out twice after my tumble. I was so glad to get off my bike!
Thus the anxiety this morning. I study the route out of Antwerp and it is fairly direct with not too much zigging and zagging. It still takes about 15 kms for me to relax. I no longer feel comfortable riding closely behind Murray except on a pristine path with nothing going on.
On the bike path
The ride is excellent to Leuven. Most of it is along a couple large canals on an 8’ wide perfectly paved path. Many road bike riders, in kit, whiz by us, so this route is a favourite one for locals. There are also numerous e bike riders that cruise by us. And the wind is at our backs! We make good time and have lunch in Mechelen’s main square watching the activity.
Mechelen
We arrive in Leuven by 2:00 pm and after showering and organizing, head out to explore the town. Groot Begijnhof is a 13th century walled community for religious women. Although these women led a religious life, they did not take vows and were free to leave or to marry. Many of the buildings are being used today as student or professor residences.
Groot Begijnhof
The library at the university is open to tourists, so we poke our noses in. I was expecting something more grand, but it is still impressive. Three levels of 5 shelves per level around three sides of a long narrow hall. That’s a lot of books!
We have been seeing town halls (Stadhuis) in every town we ride into. The most impressive one so far is here in Leuven. The detail on the exterior of the building is jaw dropping. I will let the photo describe the detail.
Leuven’s Stadhuis
Leuven is a university town with many young people in the square and along the streets. The town is beautiful with a number of churches and university buildings. Definitely worth a visit!
Sorry folks, we missed yesterday. We were hopelessly lost and didn’t get back to the hotel until 9.30pm. We were on the way to the Jumbo supermarket and our friend got out her phone and Google mapped a route. It wasn’t very clear and we headed in the complete wrong direction. By the time we figured that out we were at least a 1/2 hour farther from our hotel. I have to say it was a pretty good walk and we got to see Antwerp in the early night time. By the time we arrived at the hotel, we had travel on foot just short of 20km over the day.
When we arrived I scooped a paper map from the front desk of the hotel. Ya paper. There was a walking ‘tour’ of the central part of Antwerp. 4km with a few side trips and a couple of times getting lost and a couple more. It was a really good way to see some of the must see places. A more ordered approach than the random method we usually employ.
Another not so normal adventure was lunch on the main square. Often the restaurants on the plein would be more expensive than a similar place one block off the square. But on the menu was mussels, one of the highlights of the Belgian cuisine. Debbie and I managed to consume a kilo of mussels in a garlic veggie broth. Our friend showed us the proper way to eat mussels which was more efficient than what we were doing.
The wear and tear of the tour meant we were ready for an afternoon nap and both of us indulged.
The end of the day saw us seated for dinner again on the main square. We left the hotel in search of a place to eat and it is not easy to find random restaurants. We decided on pizza and half way to the restaurant the skies opened up and it poured. Debbie and IB used Debbie’s heavy riding rain jacket as an umbrella and I had on my light rain coat so was protected. We all got half soaked. The rain made the pizza taste wonderful. On the way home we got lost as I mentioned above.
The thing a North American must learn is to look both ways twice when crossing the street. One to cross the bike road and once to cross the car road. The people in Antwerp obey the don’t walk lights to a tee, the little red man. You can be a side street with no traffic in sight either direction and you wait. The little green man is the cue to cross.
As far as I know Antwerp is not on any tourist agenda but I think it is worth a couple of days stopover. There maybe nothing earth shaking here but it is a has a good vibe and some places that require a look see.
Today we leave the Netherlands for a short foray into Belgium. But I have a couple of nagging comments about the Dutch. It is a culture of mini dogs. There are a ton of people out walking their dogs but 99% of those dogs are no taller than a foot (30 cm for you younger folks). We presume this is due to the size of the people’s residence. No room for a St. Bernard.
The second thing is a bit odd but here it goes. The Dutch have amazing toilet paper. It is the same quality as those paper napkins that you keep and only bring out when you have guests.
Last, but this is not strictly a Dutch thing. I am sure I mentioned this when we travelled through Denmark. I hate cobbles. Our asphalt roads in Alberta can be rough but to pedal over cobbles after 5 hours in the saddle is horrible. Shaking and bouncing about, your forward progression slows and it is just generally uncomfortable.
Antwerp Central Station
We crossed the border in Belgium today and you notice things have changed. The canals have disappeared. Lot of green countryside but no water. There are only about 1/2 as many bike riders. Yes it is still a biking culture but the numbers are down a little. In general the bike ‘roads’ are not kept to the same standard as north of the border. At least not on the first part of our journey here.
When we arrive at Schipol we met a couple from our home town that was going to spend a month riding around most Belgium. When we told them we were starting in Amsterdam she mentioned they and pedalled about the Netherlands a few years ago. Her strongest memory was the wind was forever a head wind. I kind of thought bad luck and we can do OK with a bit of wind. The last two days have been the wind from hell. Yesterday we spend about 4 hours into a 30+km wind. OK we made it. Today we start out with a mild tail wind. All good. about 11am the wind changes direction and again we are head on into a 30+km wind. I’m kinda hope’n our luck changes sometime and we can ride with the wind.
Our intro to Antwerp was quite uninspiring. We road on bike paths but through a heavy industrial area. I think it was near the port so big machines and trucks, huge warehouses, big yards of storage and transfer of goods. We then travelled along some heavily used arterial roads, again not the first impression that makes one think you have arrived in Eden. Finally we get to the main square. Quite a stunning place but crowded and maybe not the place for a couple of North American bike riders to have to manoeuvre through.
We are spending the next two days off our bikes, wandering around Antwerp.
