LOW COST TRIPS AROUND BRUSSELS: LOOKING FOR THE SPRING IN FORET DE SOIGNES

Day after day, we dutifully spend hours and hours on end writing covering letters, updating CVs, reading through tonnes of job ads and attending interviews. But when the weekend comes, and no new adverts are published anyway, we stretch our limbs, put on trekking shoes and search for a suitable place to enjoy the lovely weather we've been blessed with lately. Thanks to our friends we have just discovered the place to go in Brussels: La Forêt de Soignes, a huge forest just outside of the city, where bikers, trekkers and joggers will all find something pleasing.

Destination: La Forêt de Soignes.
Transport: tram 94, from Avenue Louise (destination Musée du Tram), get off at Coccinelles stop.
Equipement: walking shoes, picnic, comfortable clothes and a camera.
Cost: public transport ticket.

Thanks to our savvy friends, we got to the forest quickly and without any trouble (really, it's only a few metres away from the tram stop). The day was beautiful, and it was exactly 20th March, the first day of spring. We have thus decided to look for the signs of the latter, and were not disappointed: cute green buds were springing up from just everywhere, saplings were timidly pushing their way out of the ground, closely followed by yellow and white flowers, forming a soft, colourful, living rug.

Woodpeckers pecking, flowers flowering and joggers jogging, everything seemed in its place, unanimously announcing that the spring has come. Do you doubt it?, a robin, perched on a branch just a few centimetres from our very noses, appeared to be asking. If in doubt, listen to me!, and he sang a robin song as if composed for our benefit, indisputably heralding the arrival of the warm season. The forest was coming back to life.

We enjoyed our sandwiches in an isolated spot, listening to the sounds of the forest (and, to be completely truthful, some sounds of the nearby road). After lunch, we continued towards the Arboretum Groenendaal, where all kinds of (sometimes exotic) trees were planted, all of them bearing their name. This is actually how I discovered that Latin is easier for me than Dutch! I also saw my first living sequoia, and was very pleased with the experience.

Bored with the hustle and bustle of Brussels? I advise you to simply get lost among the paths of Forêt de Soignes for the whole day, and get in touch with the nature, the spring, your inner self or whatever it is you need to get in touch with. It's relaxing, good for your health and costs absolutely nothing. No better way of welcoming the spring. Big thanks to A & E, the authors of the equinox forest trip idea!