The planning for 2022 (and hope we don't have to cancel!)

 Nowadays it's tough to make plans for trips. More than not you have to cancel what you already planned, due to new corona measures or lockdowns.

Anweyway, as travelling is our long life, we have made plans for the coming year.

During the spring break (end of February-beginning of March) we'll go to Tromso in Norway. That's way up north, in the polar circle. Christine wants to see the Northern Light. We have already been to Norway to see the fjords, but this will be something different.

In the course of May, we have scheduled a city trip to Barcelona. And a week later, we can go to Versailles for free (exchanged Hilton honors point to get a room for 3 nights in the Trianon hotel). 

In the course of July we have our 'big trip'. We'll fly to Vilnius in Lithuania, go from there to Riga (Letland) and then head for Estland. We'll be visiting a seaside town and then Tallinn. Finally, from Tallinn we'll take a ferry to Helsinki and spend a couple of days there in Finland. We'll fly back to Brussels from Helsinki. The rest of the trip is by car, bus and ferry.

Probably in autumn, there's be a couple of days in Holland (Den Haag, Utrecht, Rotterdam) and during the Christmas holiday we'd like to go to Milan and from there to Scuol in Switzerland.

And of course there'll be some weekends in Antwerp or Brussel as well!

France - Strasbourg and Colmar

 During the autumn break, my sister and I headed to the Alsace region in France. This region, close to the German border, switched nationalities throughout the ages, once being part of the German empire, then back to France. The latest decades it forms part of the French republic.

We took a hotel in Strasbourg (Hilton, as we usually do). It was situated somewhat outside the town center and was not far away from the European Parliament building. A nice, quiet neighborhood. From the hotel a short 5-minute walk brought you to a tram station, from where you could take the C-line into the center. Easy, and not very expensive, especially when you take a 3 or 5 days pass.

Being half German and half French, Alsace brings you a mixture of both cultures. The food leans more to the German side (with some French accents) and also the buildings remind more of Germany. The most authentic houses you find in the neighborhood named Petit France.

Strasbourg is not that big, and easy to walk. Places you should certainly visit are the cathedral of St. Mary, which dates back to the 11th century and once had the highest spire of Europe. 

Also worth a visit are the musea, especially that of the Alsace region (in which the visitor gets to know how the houses of the region were being built and heated), and that of the city of Strasbourg, showing its evolution throughout the ages.

When we looked for some info on Strasbourg, we read somewhere online that the European Parliament could only be visited on request. So we headed towards it with the only intention to have a look from outside, and perhaps take a picture, but when we arrived we saw that visitors were allowed to enter - even for free! So we took our turn of going through the security and showing our Covid Free Pass, and were guided on a tour through the building. Certainly interesting, as it also has an interactive part.

When you have seen everything in Strasbourg, you can always take a train to Colmar. It takes about 40 minutes by rail. It's a little walk from the railway station to the town center, but it's easy to find. Colmar is smaller then Strasbourg and can be visited in just one day. There are interesting buildings and a variety of local restaurants, where you can eat Flamkuchen, the local speciality. Be aware: you have to be a good eater to finish everything you get on your plate! The most Instagram worthy pictures you can take in Little Venice.

When you are for a longer time in the region, there is also an opportunity of visiting Baden-Baden in Germany. By train that is equally easy to reach in a decent time. Unfortunately, we were only there for 4 days, and then you are restricted in what you can do!

France - Bordeaux

Last month, early July, we took the train to Bordeaux - at last back on the road after 18 months of corona! Bordeaux is not difficult to reach by train. You take a TGV in Brussels, and this will bring you either to Paris or Marne-la-vallée. From there there is another TGV to Bordeaux. We travelled in 1st class; a bit pricier but better in the circumstances (more space, less people, so less).

It was evening when we arrived in Bordeaux. Our hotel - Hilton Garden Inn - was luckily not far away from the railway station (10-15 minutes) and we could immediately go to our room. According to the clerk behind the desk we had the best room in the hotel - which was true, after all. It was on the top floor and had a nice terrace looking over the river Garonne.

On the first day of our stay we made a discovery walk to see the highlights of Bordeaux, accompanied by guide Michael. We find that this is always the best way to get acquainted with a new place. The tour incluced tasting, too. We had some local pastries and at the end of the tour we could partake in in wine-tasting of some quality wines. There we had for the first time orange wine, which tasted more than excellent. 

The following day we explored on our own. Helped by Michael's explanations, we discovered some quartiers we hadn't visited the day before. It was a long day of walking, so every now and then we sat down on a terrace to have a drink or enjoy lunch.

On Tuesday we had another tour booked, this one to Arcachon and the Dune de Pilat. After a ride of about an hour (the traffic was not too bad) we reached the coastal region and first visited the dune. The Dune de Pilat is the highest dune in Europe (more than 100m high) and from the top you have a nice panorama over the ocean and the inlets. 

Later on that morning, we drove to the town of Arcachon, where we had a look at both the summer and winter village, and then we had lunch in La Teste. This is the place for oysters. If you like oysters, I can recommend this! The fishermen sell the oysters at bottom price, 1€ per oyster, and you can enjoy them on the spot. We sat down for a 'light' lunch, with big plates of oysters and other seafood. Pure heaven!

On Wednesday we took a regional train (30 minutes' ride) to St. Emilion, where the famous wine is made. When you arrive in the railway station, you have to take a road to the town which brings you along the many vineyards - all of them offer tasting. The town of St. Emilion is also worth seeing. Especially the Monolith Church, which its large underground rooms. Unfortunately, taking pictures there was forbidden. But the visit, organized by the local Bureau de Tourisme, was very interesting. 

And the next day we had to return home, unfortunately! We had a great stay, though, and enjoyed it even more because we hadn't been abroad in so long a time!

South Africa - Cape Town

 Almost a year ago we made our last big trip to South Africa. We flew to Cape Town, to be precise. Had a smooth flight, arrived on time and got our luggage quite fast. Short taxi ride to the hotel: Hilton in Bo Kaap. We arrived there around noon, so first took time for lunch, and for the rest of the afternoon (it was raining) spent time unpacking, went to the swimming pool and had a cocktail there, then lounged in the excecutive and drank wine and nibbled at some tasty bites.  Went to bed early because it had been a tiring day.

The next morning we woke up with a blue sky and the sun was already out. After breakfast we took the hotel's shuttle to V&A Waterfront (a must-do in Cape Town) to do some sighseeing. Had lunch there and also did some shopping. Got myself a nice swimming suit!

The following day, Monday, we had an appointment with Luc, who was going to take us on a private tour of Cape Town. He brought us to the Castle of Good Hope, to the oldest church, to the slave lodge, etc. The tour was completed by a visit to Table Mountain.

On Tuesday we went to Signal Hill to try out paragliding. What an experience! We landed on the beach and our friendly taxi driver was already there to pick us up and bring us back to the hotel. The rest of this day we spent at the Waterfront and at the hotel's pool. It was another very warm day.

The following day we took another day trip. This time to the winelands, Stellenbosch and Franschoek. A nice and relaxing tour. We could sample some wine, saw picturesque villages and of course the vineyards. We also visited a museum and the Animal Sanctuary, the one where the painting pig lives - Pigcasso.

On Thursday we took it easy once more, and then on Friday (our last full day) we made a trip to the peninsula. We rode along the coast, took a boat to see the seals. After that, we had lunch along the waterfront, then visited a penguin colony and finally arrived at the deepest point, the Cape of Good Hope.

The next day we had to return home. I could have stayed longer here. Cape Town is a nice place to be, and we have no problem with the language Afrikaans, as we speak Flemish. Afrikaans is derived ot our language - in the 17th century people from Holland and Belgium emigrated to South Africa and of course they spoke their own language (which is au fond the language spoken in the 17th century).