Givet

Our journey today took us from Belgium to France. The temperatures, though, were of a similar kind - not surprising, as we only travelled 20km! Again, the Belgium roads left a lot to be desired.  

Leaving Dinant we passed the Rocher Bayard but not through the narrow side on this occasion - much to the relief of the onboard navigator! 

We followed the Meuse River towards Givet, which is just across the border in France. Some of the views across the water at this time of day were well worth photographing.

A scenic lookout over the Meuse Valley gave us a good view of Château de Freÿr on the other side of the river.  A beautiful renaissance Château on a forested  bend in the Meuse with narrow cliffs jutting from the river.  The Château has been in the one family for the past 20 generations- since 1410! Over time some very important treaties have been negotiated here - including the boundary treaty when France took over the administration in 1772. A very impressive Château and garden. 

Harvest was well underway giving us a picturesque view of rural Belgium. 

And we passed the first of the Napoleon tree-lined roads we knew we crossed into France - just to give his soldiers shade while marching off to war (so the story goes!). 

Our arrival in Givet coincided with the dramatic increase in the temperature. The town immediately struck us as a “beau village” with the ancient Charlemont Citadel dominating the river and the town... 

... and Hilton! The building of the citadel was commenced in 1555 and altered consistently over the next 450 years until its bombardment in 1914. The Germans occupied the town in 1940 until the Americans retook the town in September 1944, accommodating 11,000 troops in the citadel before the Battle of the Ardennes in that year. 

Many motorhomes were parked up along the Meuse in full sunshine- this wasn’t going to be our plan at this stage so a shaded area was found around the corner! From here we could explore the surrounds. 

Later we did move position to be on the banks of the Meuse with the other vans 21 of them - and a slight breeze off the water helped to keep things cool...ish -  34deg.

We delayed our town walk until after our evening meal when the sun had set behind the old town. Many others had left it to this time of the day to stretch their legs too.

Our neighbours!

Centre Ville

Being another town stretched along the riverfront every sound travels its full length- the incessant trail bikes buzzed the town well into the night.  Where were the Gendarme when you need them! 

As the sun set the lights of the town were switched on and made quite a picture from our position from across the river. I can understand now why this is a very popular town for motorhomers to visit. The sight across the river is quite mesmerising. We sat out well after sunset to see the changing colours of the town opposite. 

Dinant

Today we travelled a little further north into Belgium and stopped in the quaint town of Dinant situated on the Meuse River, the birth place of,  Adolphe Sax, the inventor of the saxophone, and the Abbey de Leffe beer! 

Our day started with a cooler outlook this morning with cloud cover and we even thought that there may be some rain, but not to be! 

After taking on water etc, we drove on to Dinant, arriving shortly after midday. The roads and highways in Belgium have quite a way to go to meet the standards of the roads in Germany.

Our entrance to Dinant was through the rock outcrop, Rocher Bayard, with a breadth of 2.5 metres - a narrow squeeze for our van! The town is stretched along both sides of the Meuse, and protected on both sides by towering cliffs - perhaps a great place to build a citadel! We found a shady parking spot from where we could visit the town. 

We set out on our walk along the banks of the Meuse but were not that impressed with what we saw, not a lot of care had been taken within the town. The further we went however, and as we entered into the town proper,  we quickly changed our minds. The surrounds became cleaner and tidier, and the scenic area of the town opened up. 

And, surprise, surprise, there was a citadel! A very famous citadel, in fact. The strategic location of the town has been recognised over the centuries, with the citadel being built as the guardian of the Meuse Valley. Many battles have been fought over the centuries because of this position. 

The Dinant’s other main attraction is the landmark Church of Notre Dame de Dinant.  It was rebuilt in Gothic style on its old foundations after falling rocks from the cliff above partially destroyed the former Romanesque style church in 1227. Plans for a pair of towers on the west end were completed before the project was abandoned in favour of the present central tower with the famous onion dome.The large stained glass window was particularly impressive. 

A walk across the bridge  opened up a most delightful scenic view of Dinant. The Bridge was lined with colourful arty saxophones from all parts of the world. 

The story of the invention/development of the saxophone by Adolphe Sax, a native of Dinant, was well told in a museum dedicated to his life and the development of the Saxophone.  The issues he faced around this plagued him for the rest of his life, sadly dying a pauper in Paris in 1894!  

A culinary tradition in Dinant is the couque de Dinant,  Europe's hardest biscuit, made from equal amounts of wheat flour and honey that is pressed into a carved wooden mould before baking.

We later returned to the van just as the day started to warm up late in the afternoon. We decided not to move on to Givet but to stay the night in Divant. 

Other things that caught our attention around Divant: 

A simple but attractive home front. 

A memorial for the victims of  an atrocity in 1914. 

The martyrs memorial. 

The Battle of Dinant in 1914 saw Lt Charles de Gaulle wounded - now a statue of him stands on the Meuse in his honour. 

Germany to Belgium

Last day in Germany! 

The weather has been the great talking point for the past fortnight- everywhere folk are doing what they can to minimise the effects of the heatwave here in Germany. And, the sun keeps shining!   

The shutters were kept closed on the van early this morning in an  effort to keep the heat out - nevertheless, it didn’t take long to warm up. We had breakfast, did some jobs and then sadly said our farewells to our camping buddies, Brigitte,Dirk and Butch.

Indeed a very special part of our time in Europe was spending time with them.

We were on our way to Arlon in Belgium, but first we needed to take in supplies so a stop at the supermarket, and for some LPG, at Wittlich was our first target. Found some shade there and contemplated staying the day, but the show must go on!

The maze looked under stress - not many cobs,  nor any of a good size - definitely due to lack of rain. 

Not long after this we were near the old northern Roman capital of Trier - tempted to stop but too hot, and, we had visited there a couple of years ago. 

We crossed the Moselle on a number of occasions. 

Now we were only half an hour from the Luxembourg border. As we approached the border the biggest petrol station you could image was just on the other side - we’re told the cheapest petrol in Europe - and it was crowded. At €1.10 per litre, that still puts it around $1.75 per litre in Aus$. 

Cheapest petrol in Europe - so we are told!

We arrived in Arlon and parked with other motorhomes at a very warm aire de camping! Not many places to beat the heat here. 

Arlon is part of the Walloon municipality of Belgium. It was once a Roman settlement and now houses a well thought of museum of Roman sculptures and funerary (funeral) art. It’s main industrial employer is Ferrero Rocher chocolate. 

We settled down for the afternoon and evening attempting to dodge any sunshine that might come our way. Eventually the cool of the evening gave us some respite! 

An interesting building we passed on the way today. 

Some flowers have survived the heat where others have struggled.