Tag: Belgie

AS Adventure hike heather forest Moerbeke

The days are getting shorter, and the weather is getting cooler. Which means it is time to hike more again. I love to go out for hikes on Sunday mornings, when the air is still crisp after a cold night and the grass is still wet. Early morning hikes are the best way to start a Sunday in my opinion. A couple of weekends ago we headed out for our first fall hike in Moerbeke, Belgium. We headed out to the heather forest in Moerbeke (het heidebos).

There are multiple parking lots at the forest, but we always park our car at parking lot 1, which is located at Keizershoek, Moerbeke. From here you can start 4 hiking trails, varying in length from 2,1 kilometer up to 6,4 kilometer. Since we didn’t bring our dog Indy on this hike, we decided on the AS Adventure route of 5 kilometer, which dogs aren’t allowed on.

Unfortunately we decided to hike counterclockwise, which isn’t the smartest thing, as the signs are set up to hike clockwise. It is a well marked route, so even having to look back for the right signs, it was easy to follow the route. The route is unpaved, and takes you through the forest, as well as through the heather fields, where cows roam free. We didn’t encounter any on our hike this time, but due to the cows, dogs aren’t allowed in this area.

The first signs of fall were already starting to show in the forest, with leaves starting to turn color and fungi popping up along the trail. You can take some time to rest at multiple places with benches. The perfect spot to just take in the beauty of this forest.

It is just a short, but beautiful hike. You can combine this loop with the longer yellow one for a longer hike.

Let me know in the comments if you will visit this beautiful forest in the future.

A night at the Forest, Belgium

I am always looking for unique places to stay close to home. I have been following The Forest for a while now on Instagram and this winter I could snatch up a last minute night at this beautiful cabin.

A private domain

The cabin is situated on a private domain, which is completely fenced off. You arrive along a beautiful tree lane from which you can already spot the cabin. The cabin is next to a small pond, where a kingfisher has taken up his residence. While we were staying at the cabin, we watched him fly his rounds along the pond from the bed in the morning. A beautiful sight.

A forest getaway
Since the cabin is situated on a private domain, it feels like you are in the middle of the forest. On the other side of the main road you can hike in the Troostembergbos. Which makes this cabin the ideal getaway for forest lovers like me.

The cabin
The cabin is equipped for two people. Keep in mind though that there isn’t a shower in the cabin, only a bath tub.

You do have the possibility of using their barbecue or grill on an open fire in the fire pits that are provided at the cabin.

One of the things I loved the most about this cabin is the canoe that is available for your use the entire stay. Even though it was freezing when we stayed there, I took the canoe out for a little tour of the pond.

Afterwards I could warm up next to the cozy fire place, which heats up the cabin in winter. The owners will start the fire place before your arrival, so the cabin is nice and toasty when you get there.

A day hike in Nisramont, Belgium

The Belgium Ardennes had been on my list to visit for ages. And even though it is close by (about a 2/3 hour drive) for some reason we have never made it out there. So I thought it was time to finally explore this beautiful region of Belgium. So I invited one of my friends to go on a day hike.

We headed out early in the morning, around 4 am, because we wanted to make it in time for the sunrise. Unfortunately it took us longer then we expected to reach our final destination, so we missed out on the sunrise.

Our final destination was Nisramont. There the river the Ourthe passes through the forest and it is the start of a 13 km hiking trail.

We parked our car at the big parking lot near the little restaurant which is situated at the head of the trail. After a quick coffee we headed out onto the trail.

You can enter the trail by walking past the restaurant on the left side, where you will find the sign of the start of the trail. You will follow the red markers along the trail. The trail is marker really well, so a map isn’t quite nescessary. We hiked about 5 hours, but we did make lots of stops to shoot. Especially the first couple of kilometers.

Our never ending Wanderlust Nisramont-8882Along the trail there are a couple of look outs, which will give you an incredible overview over the river the Ourthe and the surrounding forest. Beside the lookouts there are several places where you can sit and enjoy the river. Which is incredible especially on summer days.

If you hike this trail in the fall make sure to bring a hiking stick, because this trail can become really slippery. There are two steep climbs at the end of the trail, which will be quite challenging in wet conditions.

We did the hike during the heat of summer, so when we ended our hike we took a dive into the river. Which was incredible. There are a lot of spots at the river where you can enjoy a relaxing afternoon at the river. You can also rent kayaks and stand up paddle boards at the restaurant to explore the river from the water.

For me the best moment of this hike was jumping in the lake after finishing our hike, because it had become 36 degrees by the time we finished the trail.

I can’t wait to come back to the Ardennes in the fall and explore more of this beautiful region.

Have you visited the Ardennes in Belgium before? What is your go to hike?

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The Hallerforest

The Hallerforest is famous for the bluebell, they usually bloom during the month of April.

Since I had never been there before I decided to go there at the end of March, of course the bluebells weren’t blooming yet. Even without the bluebells I absolutely loved this forest. I could wander around this forest for hours on end.

In March the forest was still completely deserted at sunrise. For me it is the absolute perfect time to head into the forest. I love to wander around a forest that is just waking up.


You will find two trails in the Hallerforest, a short and a longer trail, but you can also just wander around the forest. There are a lot of signs, so it is quite easy to get around.


While I was shooting, a deer crossed the trail, unfortunately I didn’t see him, but my friend that tagged along did. He even saw the deer twice, but apparently I need new glasses, because I really didn’t see him.

We decided to not hike a trail, but just wander around the forest. Which in this forest is a perfect option, because the forest holds so many beautiful lanes.

Have you ever visited the Hallerforest?


 

The month of February

I can’t believe it is already March! Time has flown by in February. Since my review of January was a success, I decided to keep going with my monthly reviews.

So what did we do in February?

The first weekend of February we stayed home and recharged the battery, because we we were in need of a lazy weekend after January. But after the first weekend we went out again and took some fun trips.

Staatsbosbeheer Instameet

I went to the Staatsbosbeheer Instameet at the Grevelingen in The Netherlands. It is the only place in the Netherlands where you will find flamingos in the wild. The flamingos stay in The Netherlands during the winter, because it is a salt water lake and it won’t freeze over during the winter. The Grevelingen is actually the biggest salt water lake in Europe. So on an early February morning I drove out there to watch the  flamingos and the sunrise. It was cold, but defenitly worth it!


Forest trips

Ofcourse we also went to the forest. Belgium is home to one of my favorite forests, so we took some early morning trips there to shoot and hike. We were lucky and we got to witness some incredible sunrays again. February had some perfect conditions for sunrays.

Puppy shoot

Besides traveling I absolutely love photography and I am always trying to improve my skills. So when I had the chance to photograph this cute little german shepherd pup I just couldn’t say no.  I just love to shoot potraits and animals next to my forest landscapes.

The beach

During the winter months I love to go to the beach, because there will be days when you have the beach all to yourself. So when we finally had a sunny day in February we decided to go to the beach for a walk. Ofcourse I couldn’t leave my camera at home and I am glad I didn’t, because just look at this. Isn’t this perfect?

Our never ending wanderlust Zeeland-6973
Hike
Ofcourse we also went hiking during February. We bought a map of the area we live in, because it is so easy to keep hiking the same routes. We decided to step out of our comfort zone and find some new ones close to home. We are planning on doing more of these hikes in the next couple of months.

Our neverending wanderlust-7819

We don’t have anything special planned yet for March, so we will see what this month will bring!

 

 

Brewery the Halve maan in Bruges

If you follow me on instagram and you watch my instastories, you know I occasionally like to drink a beer. You might even have seen the Brugse Zot make an appearance in my instastories.

We have been to Bruges quite often, since we live closeby. We try to do something different everytime we go to the city. So this time we decided to visit the brewery for the very first time.

The brewery is situated in the city centre of Bruges at the Walplein, where the Maes family has been brewing beer for centuries. If you can smell the brewing process you know you are close. That is how I stumbled across it the last time I was in Bruges and didn’t realize I was closeby.

We decided to do a tour of the brewery, since we were curious about the brewing process. There are two different tours they offer at the brewery.

There is a basic tour which last 45 minutes and the tour starts every hour. At the end of the tour you can get a degustation of a Brugse Zot at their inhouse bar. The basic tour is 10 euros per person, but when you get your tickets online you will get a discount.

Besides the basic tour you can also do an XL tour which cost 19 euros per person and comes with a professional beer tasting at the end of the tour. This tour is 90 minutes and organized in smaller groups. They offer this tour only once a day at 2.15 pm.

We did the basic tour of 45 minutes and we had a terrific tour guide which told us all about the brewing process and the history of the brewery. Did you know that they transport the beer under the streets of Bruges to their second location, where it is now days bottled?

They took the pipeline in service in 2016 and they payed for the project with crowdfunding. I wish I had known about this crowdfunding before, who doesn’t want to get a liter bottle of beer every year for his birthday? Or if you donated enough you would get a free beer every day for the rest of your life, who wouldn’t want that?

Unfortunately we visited the brewery on a Saturday, so they weren’t actually brewing. They only brew beer on weekdays, so I guess we have to go back to take another tour when they are brewing during the week.

During the tour you will get to go to the roof of the brewery as part of the tour. The roof will give you an incredible view of the city of Bruges.

Our neverending Wanderlust De Halve Maan-6752

At the end of the tour we got a free Brugse Zot at the bar in the brewery. The beer that is served here isn’t filtered and comes straight ouf the brewery. So it is the only place in the world you can try an unfiltered Brugse Zot from the tap. If you ever happen to be in Bruges it is one of the things you absolutely can’t miss.

You can also have lunch at the brewery, but I would say make a reservation beforehand. When we were there the place was crowded and you couldn’t even find an indoor table to sit to drink your beer.  The lunch did look delicious though, so I will have to go back to have lunch at the brewery another time.

Have you ever visited a brewery? If you did which brewery did you visit?