Antwerp, Belgium (26 June 2012)

We’re in Belgium! We left London early the morning to make the 2 hour drive to Dover to catch the Chunnel train. Fortunately, we made better time that I had feared, and we were able to catch an earlier train with no additional cost or inconvenience. The Channel crossing went without a hitch – we had to take a special train that can accommodate buses, tall vehicles, cars with trailers & etc.

By 11am we were in France and racing East across the northern coast to go to Belgium. In less than an hour, we crossed the border and began looking for a place to eat lunch. We stopped in Veurne for soup and spaghetti, and to spend some time walking around the central square, grabbing some groceries, and getting used to the culture shock of the new environment and Dutch language.

We had previously decided to spend the night in Antwerp. Brenda had wanted to visit there to see the famous diamond district, and since we had visited Bruges in the past, we thought this would be a pleasant change. The city is larger and more modern, and much less touristy. It has a much more “international” feel, which is PC for “there are a lot of foreigners and strange looking folks here.”

We had gorgeous driving weather – 80 degrees and sunny – and the drive through Flanders is pleasant and picturesque. Things didn’t start to get crazy until we got into downtown Antwerp and tried to find our hotel. There is significant road construction going on in the center of town and many of the streets are closed or have been routed into opposite directions. After several attempts, our GPS just couldn’t get us to our hotel. We had to pay to park on a street some blocks away and then check in. Then, the fun began.

They don’t have any parking there, and all of the parking garages in the area have a roof limit of 1.85m. How high is the Land Rover? I don’t know… Holden and I then went on a walk to find a hardware store in the area, buy a tape measure, and then walk back to the car to find out that my Defender measures just under 2.2m. While the girls got settled in the room, Holden and I drove all over the place trying to find a parking garage with the requisite roof height. After about 20 minutes, we managed to find a place and finally got settled. We all then had to walk to the car to get our luggage & etc and bring back to the room.

It wasn’t until after 5 that we got settled and were able to walk about, seeing the sights and scoping out locations for dinner. We’ve decided to stay an extra day here tomorrow to give the town the proper level of attention.