Campsites,Belgium

We drove to Leige and looked a little, but these Belgium towns don’t seem as interesting as the towns in Holland. Near Limburg, as we bought gasoline, we asked about a campground. A customer heard our problem and said, “Follow me,” a phrase that is our favorite when directions are perplexing.

One evening in the Brussels campsite, we heard some shouts and saw the tent next door was on fire. I grabbed the RV’s fire extinguisher and ran and put the fire out. The man had burns on his face, and a little boy had a minor burn on his ankle. The supplies from our First-Air kit were applied as needed, but I think they were unhappy that I messed up the tent and their dinner with the fire extinguisher. No way I was going to sit and watch a tent on fire, right next door.

Brugge must be the most interesting and beautiful city in this part of Europe. We walked all over the place, and could not get enough of it. There is a high tower in the town square, the Brugge city hall is in another market square. Two or three years we spent a night in the campsite, and one year, while traveling with Emmy’s Cousins Hugo and Maria, they slept in a Motel room, we slept in the camper in the Motel parking lot.

Oostende’s campsite was rather narrow, and very, very deep, and had room for thousands of people. There are a dozen campgrounds nearby, just across the street from the English Channel, but it's not crowded at this time of the year. Later we crossed the road and walked on the sandy beach along the English Channel, but although it was August, it was very cold for us. We each wore two pair of pants and a heavy coat.

There was no electricity in the Antwerp campsite, and no one seemed to know where the next campsite might be. Other than that it was OK, and only cost $1.50. One year we spent the night in Antwerp’s youth hostel. That night in the hostel helped prove that the RV is the quietest, the most comfortable way to travel. We don’t recommend it for you, but we love it.

We drove to Ghent, and found the campsite was run by the city, and was very nice. It’s located near Ghent’s water sports area where there’s a long straight channel, called Watersportbaan, maybe a mile or two long, where they have boat races of some kind. Some scenic views in Ghent are as interesting as the street and canal scenes in Brugge.