30th March Wednesday
Whirlwind London City
"Fair-well England"
Weather: Light rain, cool
Avg Temp: 8c
Had a few jobs to do first up today so went to the internet café and postoffice and booked our tickets to Brussels for the 4.39pm train.By the time that was done it was 12noon so decided to take a doubledecker tour bus to get a taste of London. The tour was 2.5 hours ofsitting on the top of an open air double decker appreciating theatmosphere (cold and misty) but we got to see all the majorattractions - Big Ben, Tower of London, Westminister Abbey, BuckinghamPalace (the Queen was spending Easter in the country), Number 10 andLondon Bridge etc.We are now on the Eurostar to Brussells having a last glimpse ofEngland before the tunnel.
England:
- The motorways are usually 3 lanes one way, one lane for 100km/hr andless, middle lane for 120km/hr and the the third land for "What the..?".
- There are "Free houses".
- They seem to have the heating thing down pat - we were always warmin the rooms.
- Alcohol is freely available at servo's and grocery stores - evenAustralian wine.
- We paid 89p a litre for petrol which converts to around $2.20/litre
- There maybe no footpaths along the side of roads but there are thousands of hiking paths and mostly through farmers paddocks.
- The english love their dogs - a lot of which we saw were black labs.
31th March Thursday
Brugge
"Belfries, bicycles and beer in Brugge"
Weather:Cool, hazy
Avg Temp: 10c
Brugges population 117,000
Bruge is a medieval city surrounded by a stone wall. The city's a labrynth of alleys some with only enough room for walking or riding a bike through.
Exploration began at the Markt square, this is where the bus from the train station can drop you to. To avoid crowds we promptly handed overour E6 for tickets to walk up Belfry (366 steps). Its tight spiralling staircase woud not be fun in heavy crowds, as there is barely shunting space in most of the stairwell.Views from the top are magnificent, you get a good view of the central township and local landmarks.While we were there the fog was still visible which limited visibility somewhat.
Well today was our first experience of foreign travel using the trains. After a few questions and aimless wandering we caught the most-likely train and we were happy to arrive in Brugge refreshed - (firstclass is very pleasant). Brugge is great - from the train we caught a bus to the Markt and from there wandered through the cobblestoned streets, along canals and bridges. We were keen to do a bicycle tour at 1pm but the gentleman scheduled to take it was sick with the flu so we wandered some more. Canal tours operate regularly so for 35mins we explored the canals of Brugge in a low boat. We were just about ready to sit down for some hot food when we came across a bicycle hire shop and opted for it instead. So on pedal power we cycled outside of Brugge into Damme through Belgium countryside for about 5kms. Jas's back bike tire was half flat and most of Brugge is cobblestone and I think he felt everyone of them. Damme is a great little town but we had to return the bikes by 7pm so we road back to Brugge via a different route that took us through farm land. We dined in Brugge before catching the train back to Brussels. Everyone cycles in Brugge. At the train station, thousands (yes, thousands - I have pictures) of bikes lined the bike parking. Motorists and bikes use the ways in harmony. They all ride comfort bikes - large wheels, upright seating and I think I saw 2 mountain bikes the entire day. Brugges is so flat it is easy to ride anywhere.
1st April Friday
Namur
"The only trouble with castles are they are all atop of steep hills"
Weather:Sunny, fine
Avg Temp: 17c
Today it was fine and sunny and warm. We visited Namur which is approx 50mins South of Brussels. The lonely planet guide has left this out of the europe pulication which is surprising because it is an attractive little eighteenth century town with an impressive citadel at at its centre. We walked to the top of the citadel past its many innerwalls - it was a steep climb for tired legs. Since it was our last day in Belgium we had to sampled the chocolates and the beer and we shared a waffle on the way back to the station. I know I could never eat a frozen waffle again ...
Since the train stops at Brussels Centrale Station we decide to get off and walk to the Grand Place. The square is bustling since it is Friday night and and we wander around for 4 or so hours enjoying our last night in Belgium.We head to Koblenz tomorrow via Koln (Cologne) in Germany so it will probably be a travel day which is not so bad...
2nd April Saturday
Brussels to Koblenz
"Arhhh... Travel day"
Weather:Sunny, fine
Avg Temp: 20c
Travel days are great - you sit on a train in first class most of the day and watch the world go by. The ache in your legs disappates and the rumble of the train almost puts you to sleep. We rose early to catch the train to Koln (Cologne) - we had to book for this 2 hour journey. Just across the border of Germany the train broke down and we were transferred to a local train. No hassles just about an hour delayed. We had not booked Koln to Koblenz so we just caught the next train. Koln station was an amazing structure - the entire station under a barrel roof. Catching the trains in Germany is so simple - once we worked out that Gleis and Abfarht were not names of locations rather they meant 'Platform' and 'Departs'. Our railpass allows us to travel first class which is very nice :)
3rd April Sunday
Rhine River Cruise
"A new day a new ache"
Weather:Sunny, fine
Avg Temp: 15c
We hopped a river cruise to Rudesheim - it was free included in the railpass. It was a great day, clear, fine but a little cool. We hopped off at Bacharac and wandered through the little village then up to its burg (castle). A lot of the villages on the Rhine seem to be about 2 or 3 roads deep before they run out of space and steep hills prevent anymore building. Grapes are grown anywhere on the steep, steep hill side so much so that it would be impossible to get machinary to it - it must be mostly manual labour. After Bacharac we caught another ferry up steam to the town Rudesheim. A very commercial and popular town. Wandered some more then caught a train back to Koblenz. The Rhine has a dedicated biketrack along its west bank. Many cyclists were enjoying the good weather and flat roads and the convenience of putting the bicycle on to a train or ferry for the return journey. They were travelling faster than the ferry (15km/hr) (the ferry was traveling up stream at considerable effort as it was flowing so fast).
4th April Monday
Mosel valley - Burg Eltz
"Would have thought it was difficult to hide a castle".
Weather:Sunny, fine
Avg Temp: 20c
From the train station Moselkerb there is a walk to the Burg Eltzcastle. From literature it ranges from 1.5 hrs to 45mins so we started hiking to it. It is a very pleasant walk through German forests and woodland and it is only at the very end, around the last corner you see the Burg Eltz so the entire walk you wonder if you are still on the right track :) We took the tour of the castle and then walked back to the train station (55 mins).
The train continues toTrier but we opt to get off at Cochem. A bit more touristy but since it is a Monday it is fairly quiet. Because we don't think we have done enough walking (ha!) we decide to walk up to the Rheinsheim Burg (sp?)(Castle Cochem) which dominates Cochem's landscape. All the castles along the Rhine and Mosel were built by merchants who dominated the trade routes. Most were rebuilt at some time (often in the 16th century) and most were affected during WWII. The Mosel valley has larger townships and new housing developments. Unlike the Rhine it has a couple of bridges across it.
We note that generally everyone in Germany is fit and active.People of all ages ride bikes and/or hike. Almost every house has a well kept garden or each town has a community garden for vegies etc. As we walked through the towns you could here the tinkering of the men in their sheds. They love camping/caravaning.
5th April Tuesday
Travel day - to Munich
"Perfect weather for a travel day".
Weather: Wet, cool
Avg Temp: 10c
We were surprised to awake to a wet day after three such beatiful days. Luckily the trip to Munich is about 5 hours so we are spending the day on the train.
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