Day 40: Cobblestones and Parties
Today we used the Knooppunt system to navigate from Antwerp to Ghent. You basically follow a graph of numbered nodes from one number to the next, stringing the numbers together for which ever path you want.
The trip started out great. Everything was well signed and the route took us through neighborhoods, towns, cities, and suburbs. It was a really nice way to see the country.
The only problem is that Belgium seems to really love their cobblestone and our bikes just do not absorb that much vibration. We probably did 5kms of cobblestone on total.
Trouble only occurred when the next number in the sequence was just unaccessible due to a bridge being out. After exploring we discovered a poorly marked detour but where never able to find the path after that and so instead followed a highway into Ghent.
After weaving our way through Ghent we arrived at our campsite, which was bumping with many young people getting ready for a night on the town. Ghent is having there yearly city celebration which is a 10 day long party. It's the third largest festival in Europe (Octoberfest being number one).
We arrived around 1 and then set out to see the city. Unfortunate we left our phones to charge and so no photos from today.
Ghent looks really awesome, with lots of cool spires and old cathedrals. They have a least 4 stages for the concerts and they all have really prime locations near some historic buildings. I really wish we had pictures.
After exploring and stopping for a beer in the city we set out to find a grocery store.
At this point, Matt would like to go on a side tangent. The store had all their price displays on e-ink displays (think Kindle screens)! This is technology Matt had worked with and an idea his professor was talking about just a couple months ago. Turns out already a thing.
Back in camp we cooked dinner and talked to an Australian who was also bike touring. He used to have the bikes we have but complained they were too heavy and switched to a lighter bike.
Tomorrow we head to Zeeland in the Netherlands to spend a day or two on the beach! We're looking forward to that (even if it maybe a little rainy and cold).