Big Billy Trip 19 - Bockholtz, Luxembourg to Brugges, Belgium

Route – Bockholtz, Luxembourg to Brugges, Belgium via Brussells
Distance - 304km (4,034km total)

These last few stretches are all seeming to go very quickly. Probably a combination of flatter terrain and me being more used to driving long distances.

I awoke in a really misty foggy Luxembourg this morning, and had the mystery of working out which house on the farm was the home of the campsite owner; I had to pay her, and ask her how the showers worked. They were token showers, but the tokens she used were old Belgian 5F coins, so I had to get one from her little tin. She was very sweet, and didn't even realise I'd come back to stay at her place – she assumed I would've found somewhere else near the castle. I did think about it, but her place was in the direction I was travelling, and it was a sweet little place rather than one of these holiday park affairs.

The sun burnt the fog away fairly quickly, and the road to Brussells was uneventful. I got there around lunchtime, and just wanted to park up somewhere for a couple of hours to get some food and have a mooch around (I'd heard it was fairly boring, as cities go). I found a multistorey, but misjudged the height limit. It said 1.9m, which I know is right on the boundary of Billy's height, but I chanced it anyway. Mistake. I've got some nice red scratches on the roof now, from the red and white striped pole thing they have hanging at the entrance to show the height limit. Ah well, at least it was that rather than a concrete ceiling. Hopefully it will rub out with some t-cut.

So in the end I found somewhere to park on the street, then found a chippy, then found a fancy old building or two, then found a waffle shop. All good. Back on the road for Brugges.

I've learnt you can get a feel for a city fairly soon upon arriving, and I decided even on the ring road that I really liked Brugges. Maybe it was the guzillion kids on bicycles that crossed in front of me when I was at a red light? It just feels really nice here. I got the bus into town from the campsite, and had a wander around, and then some Moules Frites for me dinner. On the bus back, I made friends with a couple who were visiting as part of their gap year – I gave them a copy of the Alan Rogers PDF to help them on their travels. The whole city and its people and its visitors just seem really laid back.

So I'm going to stay another day, and I'm going to rent a bike tomorrow, and cycle all over. Huzzah. One last night here, than it's off to Calais for the 14.20 on Saturday afternoon. I think I'll go via some hypermarkets on the way back, for some booze and sweets and things. Fun.