Compared to their neighbors, Belgium is not a huge country. With a population of 10,500,000 people that speak Dutch, French, and German, there are few places that one feels more in the heart of Europe like Belgium. Here are Flemish Dutch-speaking people in the north, and French-speaking folks in the south. In fact, there was an official line drawn through the country in 1962 between the Dutch Flanders and French Wallonia.
The weather can turn on a dime with sun in the morning and rain in the afternoon. But to sweeten up the dreary and wet weather, Belgium produces the finest chocolate in the world. The best time to visit are the summertime months from May through September.
There is so much to see and do here, and since we only have this one day to explore from the port of Zeebrugge, the medieval Bruges, or a ride to the capital of Brussels is a good plan. It is recommended to get ”gooey” over expensive and extraordinary pralines and truffles by prized chocolate maker Pierre Marcolini. Making a beer trips to try Westvleteren trio brewed is Belgium’s best. Their favorite meal is a steaming cauldron of mussels cooked in white wine with mountains of frieten or frites (fries or chips). Be sure to add Trappist beer brewed by monks.
Trademarks are chocolate, beer, café culture, the EU, and the Battle of Waterloo.
The average temperatures this time of year are from 50 to 60 degrees, with about 12 days of rain in the month of April. And that is what we had today, cool and some rain. The port of Zeebrugge was a very large and busy one with commercial ships, ferries, and cruise ships coming and going. The intended city for here was nearby Bruges, but you needed a way to get there by taking a tour, a taxi, or take the train. Taking a ship’s transfer was $80, a taxi was around 50 euro, and a train ride on your own was about 8 euro. Guess which one most folks did? Yes, the train won out.
While we’re on the subject of excursions, there were two 7 to 8 hour trips, one to the capital of Brussels, and the other to Flanders Fields with World War II history. The rest of the tours mainly went to nearby Bruges, the medieval city that is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, or to Ghent filled with scenes from the Middle Ages, 1 hour away.
There was a complimentary shuttle bus taking guests to Blankenberge, just south of Zeebrugge. The bus stop in town was close to the Railway Station, but also close to the sites here. The train ride from here to Bruges only took 13 minutes for the seven mile ride inland. We chose to stay in this quaint seaside resort, and see the sights here, as many people did as the bus was completely filled.
By the way, the Regal Princess was docked in front of us. That ship, a sister to the Royal, is 141 gross tons with 3560 to 4610 passengers and was launched in 2014. The level of their lifestyle onboard is rated as standard. The Amsterdam is rated premium, while Seabourn, for instance, is rated as luxury. But then the prices for the varying sailings are much different as well. We did notice that the shuttles taking the Princess passengers to town cost 10 euro, while we had the transfer free.
We were dropped off near a church, which was almost the center of town. There were maps of Blankenberge on the bus, and it was easy to follow. BY following most of the people, we easily found our way to the shopping area, which was a grid of cobbled streets lined with so many businesses. Here and there, we did see medieval structures like churches, an old town hall, and alleyways like we saw yesterday in Cherbourg. Monuments and statues were dotted throughout town as well. None of the shops were geared to tourists. We did not see one souvenir store or street vendor here. Boutique shops were small and offered everyday clothing and shoes. Every other store was a bakery, a chocolate candy shop, or a café. Very little was high end from what we saw. Larger restaurants and bars were mainly opened for dinner, but some were already opened for breakfast and lunch. Besides seafood, which is abundant here like mussels, there were burgers, hot dogs, Italian, and pizza….lots of pizza.
After visiting two churches, and walking the shopping lanes, we made our way up to the palisade and beachfront. This is where the 10 story apartment buildings and hotels face a sandy beach and the North Sea. The wide way was like a playground for adults and kids. On one end, there is a beach club, and the Belgium Pier, a circular building with a wide promenade that sits out in the ocean on a long pier. Under every apartment complex were stores, cafes, and restaurants. Below on the sandy beach were fenced off sections of extended restaurants with chase lounges and bars with playgrounds for kids. These complexes went on for at least a mile. In many sections of beach, we saw rows of small huts which we think are used by the summer crowd like a mini cabin.
Also on this walkway was a Serpentarium, a zoo-like places filled with spiders, snakes, frogs, and lizards. Surely an unlikely thing to find in Belgium. The casino nearby was expected, but not the reptiles.
We walked all the way to the end of the promenade where the entrance to the marina was. A lighthouse marked the entrance for the sailing and fishing boats. Making our way around the corner, and past some new apartment buildings going up, we found we were on the backside of these tall buildings. This side faced the scenic marina, and even more cafes and restaurants. It was already 1pm by now, and we did need to relax and find a suitable spot for lunch.
So right across from the marina, we ducked into a small restaurant called Smash Café. Sitting inside for a few minutes did not work, since it was way too hot in there. The outside tables inside the glass enclosure was a better spot. Lucky for us, no one was smoking, and unlike yesterday, this area was much more spacious. We shared a croquet monsieur, a fancy name for a toasted ham and cheese sandwich. It came with a small side salad. A side order of wedges, fried potatoes, went well with the Stella Artois beers. Sharing a slice of delicious appeltaart with vanilla ice cream was perfect. The nice thing was that only locals were in this restaurant, and we appeared to be the only cruise folks in there.
Right across the street from this row of cafes was Leopoldpark with some flowering trees, a mini golf course, and a track for little kids to pedal small race cars. In the center was another restaurant, which was not opened. Facing the marina was a unique structure called the Paravang. It is tiled roof covered seating area with a windbreaker of glass in the middle. We have never seen anything like this before.
Time to head back, we went back to the beachfront promenade, and eventually went back down to the old shopping town. Our job for the way back was to purchase some chocolate. There was a store that reminded us of a See’s store we have in the US. The name was Confiserie Moeder Babelutte, where we found a bag each of milk chocolate and dark chocolate candies with nuts. They set us back 8 euro and will be savored slowly.
On the way back, it began to rain lightly. The bus was waiting and we got the last of the seats once again. Back at the pier, we had to be dropped off at the terminal building, where our room key cards were checked. Then we went out the back door, and boarded a smaller shuttle back to the gangway. The xray check was done on the ship, and they were still collecting any bottles of alcohol, possibly using the code “candy” to confiscate the bottles. Of course, most everyone had real candy, but that was OK. No $18 corkage fee.
It was not long before it was time for sail away around 5pm. The Captain announced that 86 guests were still coming back from tours, so our sailing would be delayed. This sure has happened often this cruise. The rain had stopped, but it was really chilly out on deck eight aft. Our usual suspects were there with cameras in hand. We lasted about an hour, but chatting more than taking photos. Eddie’s knit hat had blown over the back railing, so we hope he was able to find it, as it got caught up the railings three decks down. We have seen this happen so many times….one reason we don’t wear hats back there.
Worth mentioning, recently all of the elevator “day of the week” carpets have been replaced with new ones. And according to a note we all received, several guests had asked if they could buy one or more (cleaned and wrapped). Really??? So, this afternoon, one such carpet will sell for $50, or a 7 day set will run $300 (a bargain). The positive thing is that the money will be donated to the crew fund, but really? This subject came up at our dinner table at the President’s Club affair a few nights ago, and even the Captain had a chuckle about it, saying it was not his idea. Perhaps those guests that have unlimited luggage shipment on decks six and seven may be tempted, or else they will be offloaded with your luggage wherever you disembark. There was a total of 80 of these “used carpets with character” to purchase.
We are now heading for Amsterdam, a very special place in the world for this ship. And it will be a most special day for everyone onboard.
Dinner time was fun as always, as we caught up on everyone’s exploits of the day. Our food was good, with some different items offered for entrees. Ever heard of veal meatballs without the marinara sauce and no spaghetti? They were most delicious, as was the flat iron steak meal. The rest enjoyed the cornflake-breaded fish and the white wine steamed mussels for appetizers.
The entertainer for tonight was a lovely young lady, Iris Kroes, the winner of Holland’s “The Voice” harp, singer, and song writer category. Very impressive.
Bill & Mary Ann
