Day 3 Brussels - Seaside - Oostende

We did make it to the seaside today. Happily the day started off a bit cooler than it has been for the last few days. When we arrived at Oostende, around 10 am it was about 19 degrees, and overcast. So about 15 degrees cooler than yesterday. We also experienced a few drops of rain on the drive from Brussels. The buildings along the coast are quite drab and uninteresting - even for holiday apartments. There is however, a nice long promenade. The only problem is that it is a bit hectic/chaotic/insane. Lots of people and children on bicycles, with no or little traffic sense. There is no separate of bike path from the pedestrian path. I am very surprised that I did not see any fatal accidents. I would have thought it best to separate walking pensioners from Red Bull fueled, cycling teenagers, but perhaps I am being too German about it."Ordnung muss sein" - roughly translated in English as "Let There be Order". The 11th commandment of the German Bible. Another way of looking at it: if you allow people self regulate, they actually do. And you get better social order than when you try and control people and they simply ignore your attempts. Worth thinking about in the time of the NSA,Prism, Bradley Manning and Edward Snowdon etc. etc.

We were hoping to find something to eat, so we went into a shopping centre, which proved to be a bit of a disappointment. Not sure why you would need a Media Markt - Electronics Retailer - at the seaside, with exactly the same products they have back Wiesbaden. We did manage to find something to eat, at the beach. Some really fresh falafels. The service was really excellent, as the place was under new management. After spending some time in and around the water. I played a personal game of catch the seaweed. Very intellectual, but so what. Afterwards it was time to seek shelter, as it started getting really hot again. We had some really tasty eclairs. Walking in the opposite direction to the one we had been in, we found the centre of Oostende, which was quite a bit more interesting than the Media Markt. We even found public toilets, which up until then had been completely absent. Around 5 pm we started our drive back to Brussels. I am pleased that we were able to a day at the seaside on this holiday.

Beech at Oostende

Beware the Cyclists: I had to wait about 10 mins to get this picture with out the maniacs swooping past.