Fighting the Cobbles - My trip to Belgium in 2018, Part 33 Walhain to Chastre

This blog continues the previous Part 32
https://gerdiwanninger.blogspot.com/2018/11/fighting-cobbles-my-trip-to-belgium-in_19.html

Friday, June 29, 2018

“The most beautiful in the world is, of course, the world itself.”

Wallace Stevens, American modernist poet (1879-1955)

   Walking along the relatively flat and very straight Chaussée de Namur I noticed that my shadows on my left grew very long. The sun prepared to set between the fields on my right - time to look for a place for the night.
   I've carried my sleeping bag and the small tent in my sports bag on wheels which I pulled the whole time behind me. So I’ve decided to spend this night besides the road I was walking on. I don't think there would be many hotels around this part of Belgium anyway...So I walked with one eye on the road and the other searching for a nice place.
   Right before a tiny country town, I discovered a wheat field with would be harvested soon. Between the road and this field was a small stripe of green grass, a natural cushion beneath my sleeping bag for the night. But I’ve decided against the tent; I wanted to see what's going on; the air was clean despite the nearby road and, most import of all, no insects were flying around bothering me in the night.
   As I wrote before I am an early sleeper and an early riser. Just as the sun sent its last red beams into the evening sky I pulled out my camera, put it on the tripod and took some last shots of a beautiful sunset literally right out of my sleeping bag...

Sunrise somewhere in Belgium

   It was a peaceful night only occasionally some cars driving by on this main road. After dark the street light got switched on and lit during the whole night. To protect my eyes I pulled my multi-functional neck warmer over them and slept very well...

   The next morning the sun prepared for another show - a beautiful sunset. Again I pulled my tripod and camera out of my bag and took some shots, this time out of my sleeping bag. 

Sunset somewhere in Belgium

   After the excitement of saving the sunset on my memory card through a very cheap 2nd hand lens, I ate and drank something which I would call a 'breakfast'. The main road was still very quiet but the sleeping bag had to be packed. Before I took a picture to record my night camp.

My simple Camp for the Night

   Refreshed and full of energy I continued the easy walking on the Chaussée de Namur until I came to a road sign telling me that I am in the 'Nil-St-Vincent' area which merged with Nil-Saint-Marin in 1812. 'Nil' is the name of a small river just like the more famous brother in Egypt.

   To make my walk more interesting I've decided to leave the main road and to turn right into an small country town near Chastre which is called Perbais. 
   There it became even quieter during these early morning hours. I've noticed some children walking to school through tidy small and clearly marked roads. Even in the countryside, there are clear green road signs for cyclists showing the directions and distances in kilometers. A country like this is a nice place to live and the reason why I visited Belgium in the first place.

(to be continued@https://gerdiwanninger.blogspot.com/2019/01/fighting-cobbles-my-trip-to-belgium-in.html)

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! If not convenient to subscribe on Blogger.com, I've started my own homepage @ https://gerhardwanninger.wixsite.com/travel

Fighting the Cobbles - My trip to Belgium in 2018, Part 21 - In Tervuren (1)

This blog continues the previous Part 20,

https://gerdiwanninger.blogspot.com/2018/09/fighting-cobbles-my-trip-to-belgium-in_5.html

Tuesday, June 26, 2018

     

   Back into Tervuren I still had to figure out my way to continue the walking tour to Namur. 

   As it was already late afternoon I tried to find a shop where I could buy something to eat. I've discovered a Carrefour (super) market (Hoornzeelstraat 12, 3080 Tervuren) in which I stacked up food and drinks for dinner and breakfast. I went to the market place in front of the Sint-Jan Evangelistkerk Church and had a late lunch or early dinner on a bench in the shadows.

   Not far away from the place I have just eaten I've discovered a police station and planned to ask there for my way. When I went through the door into the station there were two windows through which people can talk to the police officer on duty. One lady was in front of me so I put my rolling sports bag in the corner and had to wait for my turn.

   To my surprise the officer on duty could speak English. After I inquired about the way he invited me to come into the police station! It was fun to walk between policemen, he lead me to and typed something into a computer. He showed me the way on a map and explained me how to go there. But somehow he came to an impasse with his English and asked another policeman to joined us. He explained me that I had "to pass one 'arch', turn right, follow the street through a forest until I come to the 2nd 'arch'. After it I had to turn left and on the right side of the road there is a clearly marked walking path through another forest!" Three of us had a small chat and a laugh, finally I left the police station with my sports bag still waiting for me!  

The 1st Arch on my Way to Duisburg

   I followed the advice and passed the 1st arch which lead me to a road named 'Rijkunst' (English: horsemanship), from there I had a nice walk through the refreshing air of a forest. I followed a very old wall protecting some houses behind. As the road name changes to Capucijnenpoortdreef (English: Capuchingatelane). I suppose that these historic walls were originally protecting a monastery or another religious institution of the 'Order of Friars Minor Capuchin' within the Catholic Church. 

The 2nd Arch or rather Gate on my Way to Duisburg

   At the end of the road I came to the 2nd arch. I turned left and crossed the very empty main road, the Duisburgsesteenweg. I could walk into the forest but the sinking sun worried me. In the dark through an unfamiliar forest? Forget it!

   So I've decided to walk into the town of Duisburg to find a suitable place for the night. Shortly before Duisburg the road name changed into Tervuursesteenweg. Upon arrival to the town I turned left to the Sportcentrum van Defensie. I walked until I came to a another forest but did not find a suitable place. So I turned back and followed the main road. After the last houses I turned left and came upon some fresh cut fields. I thought I found a suitable place but after I sat down I got 'attacked' by many flies. I continued and came upon a crossroad and walked straight ahead, later I would turn right.

   There, between fields and the crossing of two rural roads, I discovered a large linden tree with two wooden benches and a table under the tree's branches and a garbage box. There was enough space between the bench and the tree for my small tent; I've decided that this it 'the' place for the night! 

My Camp for the Night!

   First of all I gave a prayer of thanks to our Lord for providing me with such a nice place and asked for His protection during the night!

   I 'claimed' the benches and the table for myself, opened my bag and started building my tent. While I was busy out of nowhere came an old farmer and tried to talk to me in Dutch. He looked a little confused but not scary. I could not speak his native language and even he served in Germany for two years with the Belgian Army he could not speak any German at all! But with good will and gestures with our hands we tried to communicate. In moments like this I was glad that we wanted to communicate and made the same efforts to try to understand each other. Feeling that we do not come very far we said finally farewell to each other...

   Trying to get familiar with the environment I've discovered a map with mountain bike trails around the town of Duisburg which shows me that the Belgians make efforts to invest into their own country and to improve the lives of their citizens. 

Map of the Mountain Bike Cycle Network

   The 2nd discovery was a statue of Virgin Mary, the mother of our Lord Jesus Christ, within a memorial. I am not a Catholic but this showed me that people living in this area have a reverence for their religion beliefs and thus confirming that this would be a safe place for the night.

Statue of Virgin Mary and Jesus Christ within a Memorial blessing the Fields around

   As the sun went down I crawled into my tent and sleeping bag with my sports bag serving as a pillow. I know, my tent is very small but it was my home for the night and provided me  with a simple shelter which I longed for. It is strange but under my small roof I felt very happy and even I was very tired I could not fall asleep right away. Too many impressions, too many things to be appreciated and thankful about during my 1st day of walking. Finally I felt into a good and positive dream only to be disturbed by some cars stopping by and throwing their own garbage in the provided public garbage bin sometimes. But I did not care too much, I slept like a baby...

(to be continued@

https://gerdiwanninger.blogspot.com/2018/09/fighting-cobbles-my-trip-to-belgium-in_12.html)

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! 
If not convenient to subscribe on Blogger.com, I've started my own homepage @ https://gerhardwanninger.wixsite.com/travel

Fighting the Cobbles - My trip to Belgium in 2018, Part 4 - Preparing to leave Taiwan

This blog continues the previous Part 3

https://gerdiwanninger.blogspot.com/2018/07/fighting-cobbles-my-trip-to-belgium-in_23.html)

Even working in my company and preparing and serving the homeless in a local Taiwan church I tried to prepare the trip as best as I could.

Take 5 during my Trekking Week including the whole Travel Equipment for three weeks

I bought a new camera with a better video quality (4K), a flip-up screen and many more functions unknown to my previous SLR. It is a mirror-less camera which much handier than my older SLR camera. As the design is different the camera and lenses are much smaller and the whole package was much lighter. I bought a good used telephoto lens in a shop with guarantee. I prepared 4 batteries but forgot one with the charger. I found out that I did not need the charger, I could reload the battery within the camera even on the go from my big extra battery (see below). I took 3 memory cards with me, 1*16 GB and 2*32 GB. When you take more videos the three memory cards would not be enough.

   My smart phone was only around 4 months old and would do the job. Important was the 'line' connection which allowed me to call my wife for free if I had a wi-fi connection.
   The most important electronic equipment was my extra 'big' battery with two outlets which allowed me to charge the phone and the camera at the same time. This extra battery included a handy flashlight which comes in very handy.    

   In Taiwan I bought an 110 V (Taiwan plug) - 220 V (European plug) adapter which had a malfunction during the trip. In Belgium I bought a 220 V European plug with two outlets for charging two devices at the same time (see above 'big battery').

Battery Plug (220V-110V) with two outlets charging both Battery and Smart Phone at the same Time on board a Belgian Train

It is not allowed to send batteries with your luggage so you must (!) hand carry them. I have a messenger-style camera bag which is big enough for the camera, the extra lens, the batteries, the adapters with the cables and space for a thin jacket. I could even put my light tripod in this bag. A great advantage it that this bag can be fixed on the handle of the sports bag which was very convenient.

Packing the before mentioned wheeled sports bag's main department I not only rolled my clothes but also put them in different waterproof bags:

- one for socks, underwear and t-shirts

- one for outerwear like trousers, shirts, sweaters.

   I have the habit to put my toiletry rather in a clear plastic 'cooler' box which people use in a fridge for storing food than in a toiletry bag. The plastic box is hard to withstand pressure, the tooth paste and the liquids would neither be pressured nor spilled out over other items.

   In the main department of my bag I also put my light tripod (for the light camera!), my small one man tent (which I bought 11 years (!) ago) and my new sleeping bag which I packed in a waterproof bag. I would use this bag later to store my 'dirty' and 'smelly' clothes.

Wild Camping under a big Linden Tree with my Equipment on the Table

   In the upper separate department of the bag I put my 'hardware' like the padlock for the locker of youth hostels, my spare keys, my outer bag for the bottles.
   The lower separate department was for my 2nd pair of shoes which were sport sandals. The come in handy strolling around the hotel or the campground but also give tired feet in trekking shoes some more 'energy'. Asking Toms Hank's advice when directing a movie he answered: "Change your shoes once a day gives you an extra boost!" He was right!
   In the separate department designed for a computer or tablet I put my clothes in case it becomes too hot or too cool!

   Currently my wife and daughter travel in Germany using the above same equipment for three weeks. For travel most items are an investment not only for the trip but also for daily or longer use.

My whole Travel Gear with the different colored and sized waterproof bags

(to be continued @ 

https://gerdiwanninger.blogspot.com/2018/07/fighting-cobbles-my-trip-to-belgium-in_26.html

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! If not convenient to subscribe on Blogger.com, I've started my own homepage @ https://gerhardwanninger.wixsite.com/travel