by Travis Gill
After a short break to avoid a few days of rain, we returned to the border of Netherland and Belgium to start the next portion of the TET – Belgium! Just a few days before we completed riding the Netherland TET and were looking forward to more offroad excitement.
The Trans Euro Trail continues heading southwest, starting at the Netherland border and winding through a beautiful countryside and rich history of the country of Belgium.
Day 1 – 5 Apr 2019
Belgium 🇧🇪 Kit Kat! I enjoy trying different foods in a country – especially candy so I was surprised that this Olé bar was the same thing as an American Kit Kat bar.
Klankenbos
We started our morning with a unique experience called the Klankenbos (Dutch for Sound Forest). It’s a park where you use your senses to explore the different exhibits – expecially the sense of hearing.
The visitors center has a map and a short explanation of what Klankenbos is all about. Check out the unique architecture of the building with a center section of transparent glass making the top section seem to float magically.
One exhibit features a walk-in bird cage with the recorder and natural sounds of canaries.
My favorite exhibit was these 24 birch trees spaced perfectly apart. They center podium provides instructions on how to make the trees come alive. Basically you call a number from the phone and then select via the keypad what kinds of motion pattern you want the tree to display. Each of the 24 trees has a motor that spins and shakes the tree to your selected pattern. It was a lot of fun to see, hear, and feel the different pattens.
A unique slide for the kids – or for us. The top one is quite long and fun! This is definitely a great place to bring children.
A large “OK” symbol has multiple meanings. I grew up playing the “circle game” as a kid so if your looking at this and the screen is below your waste I get to punch you!
This symbol has also, sadly, been associated with white supremecy. This symbol gained US media attention in Dec 2019 when some Midshipman and Cadets jokingly used this symbol during the yearly Army-Navy football game. An investigation showed they were just goofing around and playing the age old circle game.
A nearby petting park with art work painted on the walls.
The petting zoo had some chickens…
… and this funny guy who looks like he got rammed in the head by his buddies a bit too much!?!
The Klankenbos was a nice morning surprise and definitely a worthwhile stop – especially for kids.
We continued on our way exploring the backcountry of Belgium via the Trans Euro Trail (TET).
The lion is everywhere here; after all, it is the national symbol of Belgium.
Within an hour we ran across this mess! I know enough about mud that it’s best to avoid it!! There was just one little path on the right but there were two trees that make it difficult to get the handlebars and side-bags around. Together we got both mules though!!
I love how obvious the picture on this sign is!
We stopped in the town of Geel to grab a bite to eat and noticed a large inflatable yellow submarine had surfaced in the middle of the town center!
When in Belgium 🇧🇪 eat Belgium waffles!
St.-Amandskerk church stands above the town center. A large central church is common in most western European towns and cities.
And just like that (snapping of fingers) we are in French speaking Belgium 🇧🇪 – Bonjour!!
We ended up riding just before dark and still hadn’t found a campsite so we just pulled over in a quite forested spot and camped for the night. Until tomorrow…
Continue the adventure on Page 2
