We found the hotel without incident. Parked and went in to reception. Steven, one of the brothers who own the hotel, greeted us and gave us coffee, tea and a quick overview of the city. We are close to the train station, and about a 30 minute walk from the historic district. We can take a tram into town as well, for 1.3o Euros and we can buy tickets directly from Steven – so that is an option. His information is incredibly helpful and informative.
We took all his collateral, went up to the huge, well equipped rooms, got organized, and then went out walking to the old town. We asked for restaurant recommendations, and the other brother (ok, we never got his name, our bad!) gave us two – and told us to walk up the river, instead of on the main street which was not so scenic. Ok. We can do that.
The walk takes about 45 minutes, and was very pretty along the river, then into the central historic district. It really helped get the kinks out from driving. But, even though we were prepared, it is way farther than we thought. We finally get to the historic district and we are parched – the buildings are lovely – and they are lit in a special way – all across the city – that won them the International City-People-Light award. It is truly wonderful to see.
There are plenty of cafes and restaurants all around, and we wandered the square a bit looking for somewhere to share a beverage. Sigis stumbled on this fantastic café for drinks – Het Spijker - you had to walk down 3 steps to enter – sort of Rathskeller-like. Great atmosphere, all wood, brick with candles. And cheap beer and wine. Ed decides to keep trying Gueuze because he is convinced he will like it. And this time it’s a hit – Lindemans is much, much better than the Cantillon.
After drinks, we headed back toward the hotel to find one of 2 recommended restaurants. We walked back down the river, which was beautiful. Fabulous lighting (the award, you know!), lovely stroll through the cold night.
We found Café Rene, right along the river. Great choice. The dinner was incredible – and so reasonable. Ed continued his Gueuze spree, this time with Belle Vue with we all liked – more sweet and sour than Lindemans. For dinner, I had a goat cheese salad with bacon and apples – perfectly light, and the goat cheese is so different from what we have at home – great taste, almost a combination of goat cheese and feta. Gaby had the fish special, 3 types of fish in a shrimp sauce and the guys both had steak with garlic butter. We are not having any issues with meals – that is for certain!
Being stuffed, we decided to walk back home. We knew the trams wouldn’t be as frequent at night, and as it turned out it was a good decision – the tram never came! There is a strike scheduled for tomorrow – so maybe they started early? No matter, even though it was cold, it was nice to walk off dinner. However, Sigis was not so pleased – all the way home – during our 30 minute walk, he repeated this phrase: “I am driver, not walker.” We are still staying that 5 days later!
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