2026 04 In Bruges @OnTheRoadAgainTJ

Week 2, Part 4 2–3 September 2026 Dunkirk – Bruges In Bruges The drive from Dunkirk to Bruges was only about 90km, which was ideal for our first experience of driving the Elgrand on the other side of the road. We arrived at P&R Waggelwater on the outskirts of Bruges, where we planned to stay for two nights. It was roughly a 25-minute walk into the centre. We took our first walk into Bruges and back, then discreetly put our two chairs behind the Elgrand and settled down for the evening. Trains thundered past on the high bank above us. But for once there was no dead battery, no thunderstorm, no emergency Halfords visit and nowhere we needed to be. We had made it to Europe. The next morning we discovered that the very modern-looking and well-equipped hospital nearby was extremely useful for its public facilities. We also noticed something that seemed very Bruges. Instead of an enormous expensive staff car park full of cars, there was a huge secure covered area filled with bicycles. Bruges is most definitely a city of bikes. Fast bikes. Lots of fast bikes. You have to pay attention every second. We walked into the centre again, had a beer and spent a lovely afternoon people-watching. At one point a nearby school seemed to empty into the centre of town – pupils of all ages and their teachers, smartly dressed without uniforms and confidently cycling very fast, weaving their way through groups of slightly bewildered tourists. The whole city seemed extraordinarily comfortable with getting around on two wheels. We even started looking up what teachers earn in Belgium and wondering whether I’d chosen the wrong country to teach in. Eventually we wandered back to the Elgrand. And there was only one appropriate choice for the evening’s entertainment. We watched ‘In Bruges’. In Bruges and with the occasional rumble of a fast train passing on the high bank above us. #OnTheRoadAgainTJ #VanLife #EuropeanVanLife