Holland and Belgium

3rd Oct

We had booked the ferry from Harwich to the Hook of Holland for Friday 4th October and it sailed at 9am so we thought that it would be a good idea to travel to Harwich the night before and so we booked a little park up with a site called, funnily enough, MACSUK! ///after.scanning.heartened

It was a gravel pitch in a locked compound and it cost £10 per night, no services at all but only 20 minutes from the ferry terminal.

We set off at around 3:30pm as we couldn't get on the pitch until 5pm and drove east towards the site via Colchester and arrived just on 5pm and pulled into the compound and got the van ready for bed!

4th Oct

The alarm went off at 6:30am and Andy put the kettle on for a brew. We got ready sharpish and left the MACSUK park up at 7:10 and headed for Harwich.

20 minutes later we were pulling into the port and got our boarding passes and at around 8:15 we drove onto the ferry!

The crossing was really smooth but took just over 7 hours and the wi-fi was rubbish. Andy eventually got hold of ee and bought a roaming pack for £25 but there was very little signal on board the ferry so he gave up on trying to work on line!

Soon we were approaching the Hook of Holland and we docked and we told to return to our vehicles.

We drove off the ferry and got our passports stamped and set off to the park up that we had chosen for tonight.

The road system was brilliant and well organised and there were new cycle paths everywhere!

We found the park up ///pepper.bouncing.gasiline but it was full so we turned around and park at the side of the road next to the dunes and the Markostand bunker. 

 ///quilting.melt.curled

After locking up we walked through the dunes to the beach which was massive. The was a beach bar which we might visit tomorrow but for tonight we bought 4 cans of Heineken and returned to the van to rest before bed.

5th Oct

Up at 8am and we got the chairs set up as it was a lovely sunny day.

A stream of classic cars drove past the park up on the way to (who knows where?) and we snapped them as they passed by.

After a while we got the bikes out and biked it to the beach at 'Hook van Holland strand' and popped in to the 'Beach club one' bar where we spent a really great afternoon drinking Texels beer.

Back at the van we just sat in the last of the sun drinking wine until it got chilly and we gave up and jumped into the van to warm up.

6th Oct

A cold morning followed a quiet night. Andy got up at 8:30 and Sue at 9:30. We had a slow morning checking sites for our next stop and deciding where to go to explore today.

We found a couple of leisure centres nearby and decided to try one in the next few days to use the showers and jacussi. The average price for a swim ticket is €7 each.

We also checked out the trains into Rotterdam centre for a visit in the next few days. Average cost €10 each single.

After breakfast we set off to find the leisure centre which was about 20 minutes away on the bikes. When we got there it was closed! Sunday and German bank holiday!

We cycled back and popped into the campsite to ask about using their services, "No problem" so we got back to the van and collected the toilet cassette, strapped it to the little trolley which we hitched onto the back of Andy's bike and, gingerly cycled back to the campsite. We paid €4.50 for drinking water and toilet emptying which was fair we thought.

Back to the van to unload the cassette and then off to explore the beach which was massive and beautiful. We walked along the sea shore and then up to the dunes where there were kites flying and people sitting in the sun at the bar/resturaunt and it looked perfect.

We didn't stop for a drink this time but got back on our bikes and headed for the van where we opened up a couple of session I.P.A's.

7th Oct

We are moving on today. We need to get closer to the centre of Rotterdam so that the bike ride doesn't take too long.

Before driving off we spoke to an English neighbour and his Dutch partner. She was over here visiting her family and friends.   They were very interested in our 'story' and asked how we manage living in a van.

We hit the road and collected cash from an ATM on the way and travelled through a couple of quaint villages on the way to J. Van der Eijk's place ///cook.earl.sticky where we are going to park for a couple of days whilst we explore Rotterdam.

The roads were good and no one was in a hurry, everyone was curteous and stopped for cyclists at junctions and roundabouts.

We eventually pulled into the drive and parked around the corner of the barn next to a stream and a field full of cows.

We had a nieghbour who was filling his water tank up. Andy filled the Mac shacks tank up to the brim once the neighbour had finished with the tap and then plugged into the 10 amp electric supply.

There was a toilet cubicle and a black waste disposal sink and with all of these facilities the cost of one night was €16.

 We had no sooner settled down than we had a visitor, a ginger and white cat who made himself at home straight away.

We got rid of our visitor and set of to explore Rotterdam. We had heard about Kijk Kubus houses and wanted to check them out.

These houses were built during 1982 - 1984 and some are occupied. They can be purchased for around €340,000 at the time of writing.

We went into one of the houses which has been kept as a museum. It cost us €3 each and it was very strange, here is a video of our visit.

We left the cube houses and walked around the main square and then, after a quick beer, (Texels) we got back on the bikes and headed back to the Mac shack. 

(And the cat).

8th Oct

Today we were going to catch the 'Water bus' and travel through Rotterdam to see the windmills at Kinderdijk so we cycled along the river Nieuwe maas, (which originates in France and travels through Belgium and Netherlands to the North sea) and picked up the water bus at Erasmusbrug. Andy had booked the return tickets online for £13.39, bikes go free!

The water bus set off and picked up a tremendous speed which surprised us. We snapped some of the sights as we flashed past and soon we were pulling into our stop at Kinderdijk.

We left the water bus and headed into the visitor centre for a coffee each before jumping on the bikes and checking out the windmills. 

Some of the windmills were still working even though some of them were hundreds of years old! History here

We had a brilliant day out but by the time it was time to catch the water bus back to the van we were shattered!

We jumped back on the boat and were soon docking at Erasmusbrug where we dissembarked and jumped onto the bikes. Thirty minutes later we were sitting in the sun next to the van with a cold beer. Another day in paradise.

9th Oct

We were so tired after yesterday's trip to the wind mills that we slept in until 9:45!

After breakfast Andy got on with the 'blue' jobs and we managed to get on the road within a couple of hours.

We headed south west to a little farm which welcomed motorhomes for €12 per night called De regte Heijden ///port.signal.tiling and after dropping into a Lidl on the way we arrived at the farm where the owner invited us to follow the signs to the pitches. 

We found a lovely spot, through the farm yard and past the cow sheds and pitched up with a view across the fields.

We have nothing to report today as once we got parked on our pitch we just chilled in the van until bed time. It was raining and we didn't fancy exploring, however it was was quiet and relaxing with no traffic or aircraft noise and we both slept well.

10th Oct

Andy has got into a routine of working on the Vlog of our adventures daily now and either sits with a cuppa writing the blog and editting the videos first thing in the morning whilst Sue strives to acheive perfection with an extra hours beauty sleep or last thing at night, whilst Sue strives to acheive perfection with an extra hours......(well, you know how it goes...).

It was raining as Andy worked on the Vlog today whilst listening to the calfs calling for their Mums and the Mums calling back to their calfs, with a back ground of general farm yard sounds including cockerels and  machinery. It was nice and in no way disturbing the flow of the prose which Andy was committing to the laptop.

We decided that this park up was going to be a one night stand and that we would move on so, we drove around to the yard and disposed of our waste and took on some drinking water, all of which was included in the €14.60 for the pitch.

We decided to stay off of the motorways today hoping to see some villages on the way to our next stop but, the route was mainly by-passes so no villages until we got closer to our destination.

We stopped at the cheapest fuel station that we had seen on the journey and filled up to the brim at €1.61 per litre and continued to the sportshall car park at Schijndel, a town which was founded in 1309

///twist.pasting.coarser

We pulled into the car park and Andy popped into the sportshall and paid the €5 for the night.

The pitches are shady as the whole car park is covered by trees, very pretty but not much good for harvesting solar power!

We walked into town and found the high street which was under re-construction. Every surface, road and paths were block paving and most of the work looked like it was being laid by hand! 

We window shopped for a while and then popped into a bar called 'The pub' which was very busy and noisy and this was because there was a private party going on and we were politely asked to leave.

We moved next door to a bar and had a couple of beers before returning to the van for dinner.

When it got dark Andy went back into the high street to take some 'night shots' and had a wander around for a bit.

11th Oct

8:15 and it's school drop off time....It was a quiet night but the noise has started now. We are parked next to a school and a sports hall so we can't say we are surprised. Honestly though it's not a problem, just mums and dads pulling up in the cars and dropping the kiddies off. It only lasted for 30 minutes and then all was quiet again.

We thought that we would stay for one more night so we had our breakfast and then had a walk into the high street again and found a little cafe next to the Saint Servatiuskerk church and had a coffee whilst listening to the church bells,

As the night drew in we settled down and got to bed at a reasonable time, around 10:30. There were some lads playing on their bikes nearby and there was a bit of shouting but they were not threatening and they went away soon after, but...at around 3:30am we were woken up by loud talking and car doors slamming. We feared the worst but when Andy got up and investigated it turned out to be parents dropping off or picking up their kids from, what we can only guess, was a school trip?!

This lasted about 45 minutes and then they all left and it was quiet again. As we were parked in a sports hall car park a little bit of noise was to be expected and we have no complaints, we only paid €5 for two nights!

12th Oct

Eventually, Andy got up and immediately put the diesel heater on and wrapped up in a fluffy fleece throw and watched TV whilst supping his first tea of the day.

The van didn't take long to warm up and Sue surfaced soon after.

We got on the road and headed for a town called Meerhoven which was near to Eindhoven where the 'Next nature museum' was situated. This was a museum building which the Philips company built in 1966 in the shape of a U.F.O. flying saucer.

We stopped off on the way at Camperplaats Oirschots where we dumped our waste etc. for €5.

///deepest.dovetails.dicey

Waste dumped and back on the road

We soon arrived at the park and ride at Meerhoven

///prickly.declares.twitchy

We parked up and headed into the Mc Donalds across the road for brunch, €26 ! We had bought the ticket for the park and ride bus into Eindhoven for 50c each and jumped on board.

We got to the 'Next nature' museum in about 10 minutes and spent a couple of hours exploring the exhibition. This is an exhibition which tells the story of how us humans have and are affecting our planet. It shows the history of our developement of our technology and our struggle to acheive an easier life but at the expense of the weather, global warming, food and other resources.

It then shows how we are moving towards survival in the future by developing different food types from algae etc. including synthetic food stuffs, meat, fruit and vegetables and how astronauts can survive long trips in space by using some of these new foods and recycling their own waste products. 

We are trying to draw water from the ground on Mars and the moon and there are experiments where we are trying to grow and cultivate food on them and actually on board the International Space Station.

We eventually headed back to the bus stop and jumped on absolutely shattered from walking around the exhibitions three floors but we really enjoyed it and would recommend it.

Back to the van then and a relaxing evening. Andy realised that he had run out of beer and so he walked the 10 minutes to the store and bought four cans of German wheat beer called Benediktiner which was 5.4% and was lovely and smooth.

13th Oct

We are moving again today so a quick breakfast and vlog update and then back on the road and south into Belgium.

Setting off from the park and ride in Meerhoven we drove past a big fun run which had closed roads all around the town, music was pumping and the crowds who were lining the roads were cheering the runners on. We waited patiently whilst one of the stewards guided us across a busy junction when a gap in runners appeared and then continued our journey across the border into Belgium and pulled into the camping car park at Hamoir.

///puppets.earplug.goofy

We filled with fresh water and plugged in the electric before walking down to the local bar, Quai 28 where we sat and had a few beers sitting outside until it got cold and we moved inside.

There was a DJ who was playing some great tunes and we sat next to a Croatian chap and his partner and we got chatting.

Sitting next to him was a lady who was, apparently, a medium and she picked up on Sue and told her some really interesting information (which we won't write here as it is personal).

A very drunk Andy paid the bar man and we said our goodbyes and walked back to the van where Andy jumped straight into bed after beans & egg on toast as he couldn't focus on the TV. (Strong beer!)

14th Oct

A slow morning today, Andy was still feeling the affects of last night session at the bar 'Quai 28' so we took our time getting ready to go for a ride but then the rain came and we sat in the van catching up on YouTube and Netflix and Andy wached the Finland v England UEFA nations league match (1-3).

Later it stopped raining and we had a walk along the river Ourthe.

!5th Oct

It's time to move on today and we are heading further east towards the Belgium / Luxembourg border through the Ardenne and a place called Bastogne, a town which has just celebrated the 80th anniversary of the battle of the bulge.

We left Hamoir and headed south east for 80 minutes and soon arrived at the war museum car park at Bastogne.

///jammy.splintered.mature

After parking up we got the bikes ready and cycled into town to have a look around. We locked the bikes up and walked up and down the high street and popped into Saint Piere's Catholic church. 

There seemed to be more jewelery shops than usual here and there were some lovely watches on display. Sue was very interested in the clothes shops which were displaying some very expensive looking clobber!

16th Oct

It's war museum day today, The Bastogne war museum tells the story of the 2nd world war and especially the 'Battle of the bulge' which happened in and around the town of Bastogne in December 1944.

We walked into the museum and paid €41 for the two tickets and started the tour, which included audio description via headphones.

There are displays of armoured vehicles, tanks and weaponary. There are uniforms and actual clothing of some of the officers involved in the battle but the interesting part of the tour were the many films which were available to watch as we walked around the displays.

You can find more about the museum and about the battle of the bulge by clicking on the green links above.

We took a leisurely two and a half hours exploring the museum and then had a beer in the canteen before walking around the massive memorial to the American military who were involved in the battle.

17th Oct

We are going to head through Luxembourg and into Germany today and so will start a new page for this part of our journey.