Vacationing in Belgium – June 15

Condor

Jul 5

Visiting Ostend

When planning a visit to the Belgian coastline, there are quite a few places to choose from. Ostend is probably the best-known one, but there's also Blankenberge, Knokke-Heist, Kokzijde, Cadzand, Bredene, De Panne, Zeebrugge, and a few more.

On Thursday, June 15^th, we travelled to Ostend. By now we were well acquainted with the train system. From Aalst, we had to travel to Ghent, a.k.a. Sint Pieters Leeuw, and there change trains to get to Ostend.

As soon as we left the train station in Ostend, we could smell the sea, that unmistakable aroma of freshness, salt, and seafood. We didn't have to ask which way the sea was, numerous boats, ships, and yachts were bobbing along several peers.

Before moving on to the beach, we popped into a souvenir store and came out with no less than three bags. A little something for this colleague, a little something for that colleague, something else for the lady who was looking after our cats, and of course some things for ourselves.

Even though it was a warm day, there were hardly any people on the beach and nobody in the water. The occasional seagull looked at us expectantly, but we didn't risk feeding one of the birds as there is a hefty fine for feeding seagulls. In four languages, this prohibition was made very clear.

Around lunchtime, we started checking out a few restaurants. Nearly all of them charged an arm and a leg for the most basic of lunches. A Chinese restaurant offered moderately priced lunches and although we're very fond of Oriental dishes, on this occasion we passed. When in Ostend, one needs to eat some kind of seafood. We eventually took a seat at a restaurant with a terrace, and while nice at first, a chilly wind forced us inside. While the restaurant was not exactly packed, a steady stream of hungry customers trickled in and waiters rushed back and forth. One of them came to take our order, fish and fries for Dieter, and mussels with fries for me. You would think that being on the coast, fish and mussels would be dirt cheap, but nothing is further from the truth.

Why fish is so expensive is something I've never really understood. Why meat is expensive is somewhat logical. The animal has to be fed for several months or years, there might be veterinary costs, then the farmer has to pay to have the animals to be transported to the slaughterhouse, he has to pay for the slaughter, and in turn the butcher charges for cutting up the meat, plus the rent of his shop, and the facilities.

But fish … fish doesn't need to be fed, there are no veterinary costs and it's pulled from the ocean with big nets. All that needs to be paid for are the facilities that clean and freeze the fish.

Anyway, the pot of mussels I was presented with was worth every penny. When the pot was placed in front of me and the lid removed, the aroma alone was mouth-watering. Dieter eyed the pot with suspicion … would I, with my small stomach, be able to finish all that? Well, I did, short of four or five mussels, I finished them all, along with the plate of fries.

After lunch, we went on a boat ride. When we first arrived at the beach, we had seen this boat with hundreds of people waiting to go aboard. Now the same boat lay waiting for passengers and there were hardly any. We decided to join them, even though we had no idea where this boat was going. It could be a simple joy ride, it could go to Zeebrugge, or even all the way to Dover, England, we had no idea. As it turned out, it went just across the bay, no more than a ten-minute ride, but it was enjoyable all the same.

On our way back to the train station, Dieter spotted a church and had to pay a visit. I was used to this by now. Whenever he spots a church, he makes a beeline for it. Not that he's all that religious, he just likes the architecture of these buildings.

In the late afternoon, we got back to Aalst, and after all that walking, I thought I deserved a treat. So we stopped at a local bakery and picked up a few pastries. With so much to choose from it was a tough choice.