Distance: 48km
Ride Quality: variable
Accomodations: Camping Blaarmeersen
With some reluctance this morning, we rolled out of Brugge and onto the LF5 route bound for Ghent. The reluctance was due to 2 things: first, the bed and breakfast we stayed at in Brugge was really very comfortable; second, a single rest day was not quite enough to make our legs (or our arses) forget the agony of cycling for hours.
Fortunately, the LF5 is relatively flat as it follows the canal system from Brugge to Ghent and the distance not overly long. However, the route is of variable quality and we had a mix of everything today from smooth pavement to cobblestones to single dirt track. There was more of the last 2 than anything else, which made cycling with our road bikes rather interesting. But for once it wasn't raining and we were pretty happy to soak up a little sun even if the weather insisted on being chilly (it has stayed between 5-10 degrees all day and certainly felt cooler than that with the wind).
The other positive thing about the LF routes are that they are well signed. We only took one wrong turn while out in the fields of farmland but it ended up for the best since I got to snuggle with a donkey. Yet another addition to my foreign farm animal photography collection.
I was keeping an eye out for sheep on the ride today because apparently the marshy fields around Ghent are ideal for sheep herding but no luck in that department yet. Sheep and chickens are the key farmyard brethren that have yet to be added to my collection of fuzzy friends.
Speaking of sheep, now that we're in Ghent, the thing I am most excited to see on our rest day tomorrow is the Adoration of the Mystic Lamb. While you may be thinking, 'I've never heard of that one' - in truth, you probably have since it's one of the most famous (and infamous) paintings in Europe. Go ahead and read the Wikipedia article about it (that's what Penguin is doing right now... I've assigned it to him as homework for tomorrow, hehe). Wiki actually does a pretty good job covering all the important points of the painting without you needing an art history background to understand it all.
Tomorrow also just so happens to be Thursday, which is the official veggie day of Ghent. Ghent has the highest number of vegetarian restaurants per capita in Europe and on Thursdays the city has a special initiative to encourage everyone to eat vegetarian one day a week. Sounds like my kind of place!
Lonely Planet has called Ghent 'the best kept secret in Europe' and National Geographic has called it the 'most authentic historic city in the world' - which is pretty darn cool considering we just came from Brugge! Penguin says that he is most excited about visiting the castle in Ghent. More details on all these cool Ghent activities and more coming your way tomorrow.
In the meantime, we're snuggled in our tent and sleeping bags here at Blarmeersen campground. It's advertised as 4 star camping and is certainly no backcountry Algonquin site! There are washrooms, showers, laundry, a restaurant and bar, grocery store, pool, athletic complex, beach, and 5km running track all within 3km walking distance of downtown. Pretty impressive there, Ghent! And for 7.5 euro a night, we can't complain one bit about a little traffic noise in the distance.
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| I never thought I'd consent to 4 Star camping... But I'll admit that it's rather nice. |
One thing that I have noticed as we've moved further away from the French border is that Flemish is a very difficult language to pick up. As a result, we've both reverted to speaking in English first to people we meet along the way. After working so hard to speak French, it feels very self-centered to speak to the locals here in our language first rather than theirs. Belgians, however, are remarkable linguists and have all generally spoken excellent English back to us. But I'd still like to give Dutch a fair try - after all, it is my heritage... so here's hoping I can pick up a little while I'm here and continue to work on it when I get home.
Cheers!
Saroja
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