Around Arlon, Ardennes, Belgium

Zagan the motorhome is still attached to Belgium’s national grid, powering our fan heater which in turn is having a crack at drying my new quick drying towel (cue Jay to feel towel – still damp). That’s right folks, we had showers this morning! We are, once again, clean, and are still stationary next to les pompiers (the fire station) in Arlon, which is about as far south as Belgium goes (N49.69019 E5.81895). Hmmm, just checked the map, you could get a bit further south, but I doubt the weather would improve much.

Only one small disadvantage to being parked up next to the fire station: when it kicks off, you know about it. This morning, after we’d arisen from bed at a most late hour, it kicked off. Engine after engine roared off past us, sirens blaring. Half of Belgium was going up in smoke it seemed, which seemed odd considering the fact the sky’s been steadily watering the place? Pulling back a curtain, Ju spied the cause: nippers. The same engine was driving back and forth, each time impressing a new batch of ankle-biters with the blue lights and wailing horns. The kids in the cab looked ecstatic, and les pompiers did us a favour getting us on the move.

Local kids being entertained by Belgium’s firemen.

It’s the 1^st Feb today, and I imagined few fellow motorhomes would be daft enough to be ambling about northern Europe at this time of year. I imagined wrong. There’s space for 5 motorhomes here (with hook-up – plenty more space if you’re not after the leccy) and 8 motorhomers vied for them last night. Four of the vans appear to have put down roots mind, despite the 48 hour limit. Cheeky? Yup. We got very lucky to get a space, and we’ll vacate before our time’s up.

The roundabout next to us has a toilet on it. A gold one. Go figure.

And above the toilet? A crossbow, of course.

Ju’s gradually re-entering the land of the living, although she’s cough-powered at the moment, so we’ve made a wee tour of Arlon. The town’s a mile or so away, and would no doubt be quite a pleasant spot on a summer’s day. As with much of the Belgium I’ve seen, it’s struggling to maintain itself, it has a general air of tiredness to the passing eye. Ju found some WiFi in the town earlier and came across a comment comparing Belgium to a 3^rd world country, which made me smile. Belgium seems to be run down, as though the money to maintain it ran out a decade or two back, but 3^rd world? Nah – try as I might, I’ve not been able to spot a single rag-clad semi-starved person ploughing a field with a piece of wood tied to a skinny ox.

We had a wander about, arriving as usual at locked o’clock, peering up the streets, into cafes and checking in at the tourist info office, where Ju nearly gave the receptionist lass a heart attack by, ah, just being there? It seems unlikely the place gets a huge number of international tourists. While the rain held off, we beat a retreat back to Zagan and have an afternoon’s coffee drinking, cooking and reading ahead of us.

The Congo was a Belgian colony until 1960.

Ju’s gradually returning to normal. A bald normal anyway.

Arlon

A tank in Arlon dedicated to the US army who liberated the place towards the end of WW2

Art in Arlon

Ah, while in town we got the news that Sir Terry Wogan has passed away. Bugger it. We both loved Terry. Another message came through from a couple we met while on a previous tour letting us know the kindly gent Angus, who’d shown Ju around their fabulous Concorde motorhome, was also no longer with us. Bugger it summor. Must make the most of this here life. Tomorrow – Luxembourg. After that, hmmm, another job for this afternoon – yesterday the route swung about everywhere from the French Alps, French and Italian Riviera’s, Piedmonte, the Austrian Tyrol, the Dolomites, Bavaria, Slovakia and there was even a bit of talk of nipping into the Czech Republic to stock up on their wonderfully bodied lagers!

Spotted in Arlon. We’re on the lookout for a snowplough attachment for Zagan.

Cheers, Jay