Adventures in Europe: Bouillon and the Ardennes, Belgium

This morning after breakfast in the veranda of my hostel, with the view of the castle and town below almost entirely obscured in the mist, I drove uphill further and into the Ardennes forest in search of a lookout tower I had read about.

The tower proved harder to find than I had hoped, and I had given up and drove down into town to wait for the castle to open at 10:00.  But from the streets of the town I finally spotted the tower, and managed to find it on my map.  I headed back uphill into the forest and followed the road that I expected to lead me to the tower.

Eventually the road went from pavement to stones covered in wet, orange and red and brown leaves, and finally, the car could not take it any more and the engine screamed at me for trying.  But now I had myself in a predicament, because I was heading steeply uphill on a very narrow road, and the car refused to go forward anymore.  Moreover, the smell of burning clutch was overwhelming, so I was not eager to try some complicated turn around maneuver.  I was not even entirely confident the emergency brake would hold me given the hill's steepness and slickness.  Instead I simply put the car in neutral and let it roll backwards.  The car has a rearview camera and numerous sensors, and the road was thankfully deserted, so this ended up working fine.  But it was certainly a nerve wracking 100 metres or so.  Once the road widened I turned around and parked the car half in the ditch.  The smell was awful when I opened the door, and I felt a strange feeling of sympathy and guilt for this car that I apparently am becoming attached to.

Anyway, I left her to settle down and walked up the road on foot.

The tower was probably another kilometre at least past the furthest point I had gotten to with the car.  The road passed a pasture with cattle, who looked at me indifferently;

a field where reforestation attempts were evident;

and then passed through the forest itself, with incredibly high trees, that were mostly just trunk for the majority of the way up.

Eventually I came through the forest and into the clearing where the tower was.

I was quite impressed with it.

It is four stories tall, and has lookouts on each level.

I climbed one by one.  Obviously it was built to look out over Bouillon, and it does offer an amazing view of the town and the castle, although mist or fog still obscured the view.

But it also provided a great view of the entire valley, and the forest behind it, as well.

After enjoying the tower, I walked back down to the car, and drove to the castle.

It was about 10:30 when I got there, and I was the first visitor of the day, so I had it completely to myself for about twenty minutes.

The castle has number signs spread out throughout to guide you through the castle and ensure you see everything.

It's quite well done.

The castle has clearly been restored, because it is in incredible shape, and I could go almost everywhere, including up on the walls and in the towers and down in the basement.

I was planning to hurry because I wanted to get going to Luxembourg, but I spent almost an hour in the castle--even though the sign said a visit takes 45 minutes!

Unfortunately, they do a falconry display multiple times daily in the summer, but not in the "winter."

I could hear the falcons though, and they sounded like they wanted to be displayed . . .

Adventures in Europe: Bouillon, Belgium

From Vimy I headed west back into Belgium, to a place called Bouillon, about a three hour drive away.  I am now roughly halfway back towards Frankfurt, with three nights to go on the road. 

Bouillon is a little place, tucked into a valley with a castle dominating the townscape.  It is quite an incredible sight, and my hostel is on a hill high above the castle and the town, allowing for a really great view.

Right now, after dark, the castle is lit up against the dark hillside behind it, and it looks quite spectacular.  Unfortunately my camera is completely inadequate to do this scene justice.

I arrived in Bouillon too early to check into the hostel, so I decided I would try to tour the castle, even though there was not much daylight left.  I drove down the hill into the town, only to realize that in Bouillon, Armistice Day is a HUGE deal, and people were everywhere, and parking was not going to happen, no matter how confident I was.  Eventually I parked up the hill and walked down, but it was now after 16:00, and it made little sense to pay to tour the castle in the twilight.  I decided I will try to go tomorrow morning before I leave.  I did scamper around parts of it that do not require an entrance fee, however, and I walked around the town.

There was a huge street market with all types of vendors and buskers, and even a brass band.  By the way, today is also St. Martin's Day, which is a big deal in Belgium, so I assume some of the festivities were related to that.  Anyway, it was somewhat overwhelming, but I fought my way through the crowds and tried to take it all in.

I bought a coffee and a delicious apricot pastry and sat on a bench by the river for awhile.

And then bought a plate of some food that looked delicious, even though I was not entirely sure what it was.  I took a picture, which does not make it look as delicious as it was, but anyway I enjoyed it thoroughly. 

Now I am enjoying some locally brewed beers.  Belgium is not only famous for its beers, Belgians seem very proud of them, and also very keen on serving them in special glasses.