Monday 23 July
There were no real plans made today except we knew
that by about 4pm we would need to be heading towards Zeebrugge to catch the
ferry to the Hull, UK. Beware of any advice hotel staff and people working in
an Information office tell you. When I asked the question, what was the best
way to get to Zeebrugge ferry terminal this morning at the hotel, the woman behind
the counter investigated a taxi (for 50 Euro), or a train (leaving every hour
at 9 minutes past). We thought the second alternative sounded better, but
thought we might (for our first task of the day), just fully check this out
(since we had time).
There’s a huge orange building known as the tourist
office and also the entertainment centre which we’d seen in post cards. It
looked architecturally interesting and also practical, in terms of finalising
how we were to travel later in the afternoon. It was certainly getting warm as
we walked back along the edge of the canal, and through town in the direction
indicated on the map. The woman we spoke to in the new tourist office told us
that a bus left from behind the supermarket in front of the station at 5.15 and
that we’d need a ticket. She rang P & O, and booked us a ticket and told us
we’d be able to pay 17 Euro (for the two of us) at the ferry terminal.
We now felt fairly confident we’d sorted the next
stage of our journey. Our next mission was to find the famous De Halve Maan
Brewery- famous as it is now in its sixth generation; also Trip Advisor
recommended it as a place to visit. We were within 100 meters of the entrance
to the brewery when a woman slipped from under her feet, S caught her and slowed
her fall, and I was holding her head. She was a little confused, but
fortunately a doctor turned up and he was able to check her out for further
injury. She seemed to calm down quite quickly, so we left her in good hands and
continued on. The tables at the brewery were quite full but a gentleman waved
us in and we were soon seated with an English chap who was quite pleased to
have some company, while his wife was on the tour. We sat in the sun and drank
a glass of beer before our own tour started. The highlight of the tour was the
way our guide revealed stories as we travelled up and down the narrow
staircases of the brewery. I liked the huge vats, and the story of the cleaners
who would stay inside all day scrubbing these and appear wasted at the end of
the day, drunk with the fumes despite wearing oxygen masks. What tiny wee holes
they had to climbing and out of. The view from the rooftop was also amazingly
stunning.
Next stop was the church which housed a statue of
Michelangelo’s. We didn’t stay long…but this small Madonna and child was worth
seeing.
We bought a coffee and a waffle on the way back to
the hotel. The trip to the station was fine, and I had time to choose some food
for us from the supermarket to eat on the overnight boat ride. S sat and had a
beer by the unmarked bus stop. Within thirty minutes, the crowd of 3 or 4 had
grown to well over forty, and we needed to get ourselves in line.
Everything else went really smoothly…the check in
to the ferry, our comfortable cabin complete with our own shower, toilet, fruit
and tea making facilities. We checked out the facilities, we watched the boat
manoeuvre out through the canals and into the English Channel, and then settled
down to our light supermarket meal of bread, salami, tomatoes, cheeses and
beer.
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