This blog continues the previous Part 21,
https://gerdiwanninger.blogspot.com/2018/09/fighting-cobbles-my-trip-to-belgium-in_9.html
https://gerdiwanninger.blogspot.com/2018/09/fighting-cobbles-my-trip-to-belgium-in_9.html
Wednesday, June 27, 2018
"We shall never know all the good that a
simple smile can do."
Mother Teresa
The advantage of traveling in Belgium in that the summer
have long days. The sun rises around 6:00 o'clock in the morning and sets after
9:30 in the evening. There is plenty of time to be active during these long
hours, a big plus in Europe.
At around 5:30 in the morning I woke up, I know it was much
too early. But opening the zippers of my small tent I noticed a very beautiful
sunrise in the progress to start. There was no way to get back in my sleeping
bag. My resting heart rate jumped up immediately, I had to take my camera and
the tripod to record the rising of the sun after my first night in mother’s
nature.
 |
Room
with a View
|
With my equipment I jumped around like crazy, tried different views, different angles and different programs on my new camera. Compared to my older it has a flip-up screen, a big advantage for low angle shots and even selfies, which I am not very fond of.
For me the most important equipment beside the camera is the tripod, I
can use a low ISO with a long shutter time without worrying about blurs. Mine
is 746 g light and only 36 cm long folded (incl. the ball head). For a
light camera like mine it is sufficient and I enjoy the handling of the tripod.
I bought it around 10 years ago, some chipping of the color shows that it had
extensive use. It was made by a Japanese company in Thailand; their slogan is,
with a hind to its competitors, 'the most copied tripod line in the world!'
 |
Morning
has broken, like the first Morning…
|
I've spend around 1 hour being a child with the simple pleasure
of soaking up the magic of this morning; I still could be running around
if my stomach would not call louder by every minute.
I
walked back to my tent and pulled my luggage with yesterday's food out of it.
In this moment the benches and the table became hand even some flies tried to
get before me at the food. While I was enjoying my breakfast and elder
gentlemen rode slowly along the road with his bike and stopped. I looked at him and he asked in broken English:
"Do you have breakfast."
"Yes, I
do..." I answered.
"Would you
like to join me for breakfast in my house? I live along the road."
A little
surprised I asked: "Which is the number of your house?"
He answered
with a smile: "You will find it!" and slowly he rode away.
I did not know what to make of it but, of course, I was curious. It was already after 7:00 and I had to tear down my tent and pack all of my stuff into the sports bag or 'home' on wheels anyway. I left for the town of Duisburg but on the last corner I turned back to the linden tree and said farewell because it was so kind to give me a rest for the night.
I did not know what to make of it but, of course, I was curious. It was already after 7:00 and I had to tear down my tent and pack all of my stuff into the sports bag or 'home' on wheels anyway. I left for the town of Duisburg but on the last corner I turned back to the linden tree and said farewell because it was so kind to give me a rest for the night.
 |
And all I see
is just a Linden Tree..'Thank You!'
|
I
followed the main road into Duisburg and noticed a grapevine beside the road.
Even one of the most famous Belgian products is a sweet non-alcoholic products
which is named 'champagne' in Taiwan I did not see growing grapes so I took a
photo. Just when I was finished the elder gentlemen came from the back of his
house and invited me to come in.
My luggage got pulled up a small hill and we arrived at the backyard of
the landlord who introduced himself as Rene. He prepared already a nice table
with a cloth, on it everything a trekker's heart desires.
 |
| My Host Rene, a kind Trekker himself who invited me for Breakfast in his Back Garden |
Rene
is a retired but a very active person. He asked me if I want coffee, gave me a
plate with the silverware, cut thick pieces from his bread, offered me sausage
and cheese from the French Dordogne region which he bought on a weekend
farmer's market nearby. As I cut a small piece from his delicious cheese
he encouraged me to cut a thicker piece to truly 'taste' the French
flavor.
As
a trekker himself he had a lot of stories to share. As a Catholic he walked
several times the pilgrimage path to Santiago de Campostela which is a very
famous destination in Spain. But he told me that he carries a big backpack with
all his stuff, not a rolling sports bag like me. I appreciated
his openness and I understand that everyone is different...
Full from the offered breakfast he showed me around in his backyard. He had a white hen called 'Blanchette' which comes from the French 'blanc' meaning white. She laid over 40 eggs and Rene bought a 'breeder' for the eggs. 25 of them hatched for them he constructed a hen house made of mesh. He showed me many of his own planted berry bushes and fruit trees, his machine house with a lot of tools, equipment etc.
 |
My
Host Rene with his favorite Free range Hen Blanchette.
The
result of the hatched eggs can be seen behind the fence in the background
|
(to
be continued@
Disclaimer: I traveled Belgium by myself, I am not sponsored by anyone. Interested subscribers and/or followers in traveling an in this small but beautiful country are more than welcome!
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