- What is it? Why are there so many people on the train?
- Mais, madame, il fait beau! It's warm and sunny!
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| Il fait beau! |
This simple explanation did not occur to us, however, when we boarded the train to Oostende, in the north of Belgium, and had to fight for seats with dozens of middle-aged men in white socks and sandals. Yes, il fait beau, and this unusal, unexpected gift from nature forced even the laziest Belgians out of their comfy flats, pushing them towards one of Brussels' three train stations, when they got on our tain, took our seats and put their crying children within close vicinity of our peace-craving ears. Oh, and it gets better: during the trip, which, due to traveaux, took half an hour longer than planned, we got to participate in such activities as folding and unfolding of a pram, picking a baby off the floor or looking for a lost ball on the floor. But no complaints - as opposed to a large number of our fellow travellers, we were actually seated.
The idea was to get to Oostende and embark on a picturesque 12-kilometre long hike along the beach towards the beautiful village of De Haan or, in other - English - words, The Chicken. For reasons such as moving, work, sickness and buying furniture, we hadn't been out for what seemed like forever. Our hopes and expectations were high enough but, according to the abundant wisdoms of the internet, The Chicken would prove satisfactory. Well, things did not exactly go as planned.
Error 1: Kasia is the guide
Who was I kidding? I can't even read a map, so why did I convince everyone involved (i.e. Jandro and, amazingly, myself) that I could actually memorise one? Result 1: we walked the wrong way for about 20 minutes, after which we turned back and walked towards our starting point. Result 2: Jandro nodding wisely and giving me the amused "I so new this would happen!" look.
Error 2: Internet knows it all
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| The views at the beginning of our hike |
Well, actually, I didn't really double check the information I stumbled upon on the internet. Result 1: what seemed a promising hike, turned out to be the industrial zone of Oostende for the first 5 kilometres or so. Yes, then it got beautiful, but I don't suggest you follow in our tracks. Result 2: after an hour we managed to find the coast-tram stop and, after an exasperating wait, we boarded one. If we had known that our hike would include exciting views of warehouses, we would've taken the tram right at the train station.
Error 3: No bathing suits
This, at least, is not exactly my fault. Nobody could've expected the North Sea to be warm enough for us to bathe at the beginning of October. And yet it was. Result 1: my very first time as a nudist. Result 2: an intersting study on human body. Yes, I looked! But I will say no more.
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| No Chicken but so pretty! |
Unfortunately, we have not managed to reach The Chicken. Instead, we took a very long walk along the beach and bathed naked and drank coke and beers and laughed a lot. We even managed to find seats on the train back home, and slept profoundly for about ten minutes, until a baby started crying, just to continue for the rest of the trip. All in all - big success!
A beach day in October... Who would have thought?
And one final piece of advice: if you ever want to hike around Oostende, take the coast-tram from the train station to the beach and then continue on foot to De Haan, Knokke or even Denmark - just make sure you steer clear of the warehouses. Really not worth the effort!
More pictures available here.
More pictures available here.
