Belgium Blog …

Our Belgium blog – Driving in Belgium in 2023

So what is it like driving in Belgium in 2023?

Well for us, on the way over, in Tournai, some guy decided to do a U-turn in the middle of the road right in front of us! Everyone on bot sides of the road came to a reaching halt, and the horns started blaring! Luckily I just had my brakes done, so they’re super sharp, ‘cos he missed us by less than a foo! . I don’t think he even saw us at all until I too started on the car horn?! Two sets of Belgians got out of their cars and started shouting at him … which was nice!

So is it just me that this happens to or … ?

So last time we travelled across Belgium was at Christmas time – we’d spent Christmas in the German Alps … think traditional German Market city! It was great, but one of picked up covid, so the journey back was pretty horrendous for them! 🙁 Also, it absolutely poured down with rain the whole way across Belgium, so much so that you could barely see ahead of you due to the spray from the road! And, we took a wrong turning and ended up getting stuck in Brussels during rush hour! All in all, not the greatest experience of Belgium ever.

Maybe it is just us? ….

Anyway this time, we decided to travel across the country from camping in France, avoiding all toll roads and all motorways. Whilst this added a few hours to our time, and potentially cost us a fair bit more in fuel, we got to see loads of traditional Belgian villages and towns, which ordinarily you wouldn’t get to see! …

… That’s me trying to put a positive spin on things, as actually we were knackered by the time we got there it took so long … perhaps a few faster roads are good from time to time 😉

Anyway, in general the journey was great! … but crikey, please can someone hassle the Belgians to fix their urban roads … they’re absolutely terrible! 😉 Obv not 4×4 territory, but just generally crap! I’m pretty sure it never used to be like that?!?

Are the Belgians rich?

I knew they were well off, but I mean it’s getting embarrassing! Have you been through some of the smaller towns towards the Ardennes?

I mean, it’s not just interesting just how much clearly richer the Belgians are than the French, it’s frankly incredible! There’s hardly a run down building in the country that’s not being renovated. And wow, some of those renovations are spectacular – it’s like travelling through an episode of Grand Designs!

How do they do it? Or maybe it’s like one really rich guy who’s buying up the whole of Belgium? ….

Camping in Belgium

So … 31°C all day today, which I love, but others clearly don’t and clearly in fact completely HATE IT 😉 It did make it feel a fairly long day all in all! It was such nice weather that we camped again – well you gotta keep those costs down if you’re gonna make it right round the world without blowing your budget!!

This time we stayed at Camping Le Roptai – not far from Namur and Dinant in Wallonia. I’d recommend it if you’re after a fairly cheap site, it’s decent with some good views, and very relaxing – though not many level pitches! We’ve been sunbathing all morning …bliss! Also though, perhaps the relaxed atmosphere may have been because the school holidays haven’t started yet … come to think about it, it was fairly quiet! And, they were filling a large swimming pool in preparation for 1st July start – take note!

As a site it’s got a bit of life about it – you know kids running about causing mayhem, parents wilfully ignoring them, pretending that they’re someone else’s kids! And … it has fast wifi at your tent! (although it states that it doesn’t – maybe it crashes if too many people connect to it?)

Downsides are that you have to pay for shower tokens and you have to collect bread/pastries from the office, which can be some way away, and they don’t open until 9am. Oh, and although they advertise that they speak English, it’s pretty limited. They do speak French though, so if you’re like me you should be ok 🙂 All in all though, I’d definitely stay again in off season.

Go to Dinant!

For those who haven’t been to Dinant, arriving can be a bit of a shock. They’ve purpose-built a car park just before the entrance to the city for this very reason. It is SPECTACULAR! Huge cliffs line the imposing entrance, just magnificent. You see it, slam the brakes on, park up and marvel … incredible! If you’ve not visited, you really must!

Sitting behind the city is a large cliff-like escarpment with the Citadel of Dinant on top. There’s even cable cars going up to it, and who doesn’t love a cable car!

The city itself is really picturesque, although aside from the masses of restaurants and café’s, there’s not a huge lot else to do there – it really is geared up for tourism only it seams. Oh and there is an infatuation with saxophones!! I’ll leave it there ….

Anyway, we’ve got more on Belgium on its dedicated page … go look if you’re interested 🙂