Goede avond from Brugge! We are absolutely thrilled to be on the Continent and beginning the next phase of our adventures.
This morning in Oxford, we attempted for the first time to put all the stuff we'd accumulated over two years into our little car. It was no mean feat and was accomplished almost entirely by the physical and mental dexterity of David. It was a very, very tight fit and we sometimes wondered if the doors might suddenly pop open as we drove down the road. But happily, we made it all the way with no incidents.
It took about two hours to drive from Oxford to our ferry port at Dover on the southeast coast. We liked the looks of Dover. It didn't have much ambience, being a huge port, but in addition to its famous white cliffs it has a big castle and church on a big hill overlooking the sea, plus signs pointing to a "Bronze Age Boat" and "Roman Painted House." We hope to have more time to visit in the future.
As I write this I still feel like I'm on the ferry boat - the floor seems to be moving and I honestly haven't been drinking! The effect started after I rode the elevator up after dinner, which is interesting. But neither of us felt sick on the ferry, even though the Channel was very choppy.
The boat was the nicest one we've been on, and not very full at all. It was with a smallish company called Norfolk Line, which sails only from Dover to Dunkerque (France). Dunkerque is much smaller and less busy than nearby Calais, and more handy for our Belgian destination. It took just under two hours. Highly recommended, should you ever find yourself crossing the Channel and then heading east.
Waiting at the Dover port. The "GB" magnet is a new addition. It's required to drive a UK car in the Continent. It warns other drivers that our steering wheel is on the wrong side and we might be inclined to drive on the left!
Docked at Dover
Leaving the UK behind! Quite sad.
The White Cliffs of Dover
Kids of all ages watch the docking procedure at Dunkerque with interest.
Then we returned to our cars and the real adventure began. David now had to remember to drive on the right side of the road, with the steering wheel on the wrong side and a fully-stuffed car, through an unknown foreign country, in the dark. But he did a marvelous job.
Navigating roundabouts was especially confusing at first, since we now drive them counter-clockwise instead of clockwise, and it took a moment to remember which side was the fast lane on the freeway. David said having the steering wheel on the wrong side was the hardest part, as he felt neither like he was in the UK nor in Europe. When he has a car that matches, he's been able to adapt almost effortlessly to the other side.
So we will probably keep driving to a minimum until we get a European car, although David pretty much has it down now so he may well decide otherwise. In any case, tomorrow all we have to do is get to the center of Bruges.
We are so happy to be in the same place for the next six nights with no major plans. Our hotel suits our needs perfectly - it's a business hotel, so it may not have "character" but the room is big enough to hold all our luggage and it has free, fast wireless internet! Hooray! And we got a great deal on the room through Hotels.com because we are staying so long.
Our home for the next six nights - the Apollo Arthotel Brugge.
The hotel is over a mile outside the city and we didn't arrive until about 6pm, so we're not doing any exploring tonight. After unloading our car (no small job), we had a delicious fish dinner in the hotel restaurant. We never really suffered from the famed bad food of the UK, but I think we are going to eat very well in Europe!
We are really looking forward to exploring Bruges tomorrow, which is said to be one of the prettiest in these parts. It also means going back to "work," as there are a lot of churches to photograph!
