Fighting the Cobbles - My trip to Belgium in 2018, Part 27 - Arrival in Wavre

This blog continues the previous Part 26,
https://gerdiwanninger.blogspot.com/2018/10/fighting-cobbles-my-trip-to-belgium-in_8.html

Wednesday, June 27, 2018

   

'The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes,

but in having new eyes'

Marcel Proust

   After nearly one day walking from Duisburg (Belgium, not Germany) I arrived in the province of Wavre, named after its capital. As the mother tongue is French, the citizens are called 'Wavriens' and 'Wavriennes'.

   Following some smooth hills i finally arrived at the first houses of the city of Wavre, with over 34,000 citizens some of the larger urban areas I would passed on my trekking part during my trip in Belgium. 

Reaching Wavre City Limits...

   Historically a Roman villa has been found in an area close to the city but it was first officially mentioned as a dependency of the County of Leuven in 1050. Located conveniently on the crossroads of Brussel-Namur and Nivelles-Leuven a town grew in this place which have been granted its city charter by the Duke Henry I. of Brabant, "The Courageous" (1165-1235) in 1222. 

   Between the 16th and 18th century the city suffered from many disasters like retaliations, wars and two major fires. Wavre had its share of the 'Battle of Waterloo' (June 18, 1815) during which the French General and self-proclaimed Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte was defeated by the British-led Allied army under the command of the Duke of Wellington and a Prussian army under the command of Gebhard Leberecht von Blücher. The outcome of this battle ended the reign of Napoleon in Europe and changed the political situation in the old continent.

   I did neither come to invade nor start a war but rather came in the peaceful mission of a tourist looking around, breathing its air and try to learn something about this town. After walking from 9:30 in the morning to the late afternoon (5:30 pm) my first priority was to look for a hotel. I did not want to sleep in my tent which is not very convenient in a city. My friend Rene told me about a church in which I could stay but checking out the map beside the Town Hall it seemed too far for me to handle today.

Town Hall of Wavre 

   I walked thru the sometimes narrow streets and found a hotel and asked for the price. Before deciding I found a chain hotel a little outside beside a freeway which was priced higher and already fully booked. I left but discovered an industrial area with a large supermarket across the street. I went inside, bought my dinner and something for the road tomorrow. I returned to the first hotel and checked in, the price included a breakfast. The hotel had a distinctive Middle Eastern flavor, a surprise for me and a sign of the international openness of Belgium.

My cozy Bed for the Night 

   The first I did is to plug in my phone and camera to charge the batteries. Then I washed my clothes, underwear and socks which would be dry the next morning. I took my first extensive shower within two days. After all was done I made myself comfortable on the bed to have my dinner while I was watching TV, a time I enjoyed tremendously.

   The bed was great and, needless to say, together with the room, much more spacious than my one-man tent. I was glad that I decided to take off some time of my 'adventure' part of the journey... At around 10:00 I went to bed and, after some minutes, I longed for the fresh Belgium air. I closed the air condition and opened the window wide; afterwards I felt much better and had indeed a good night's sleep. 

(to be continued@
https://gerdiwanninger.blogspot.com/2018/10/fighting-cobbles-my-trip-to-belgium-in_17.html)

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