30th April it was time to cast off our lines and take a much traveled route from Brugge to Ghent, with our final destination, somewhere in France.

Before we set sail, we met up with James and Tony, who had paused just long enough to move Tony’s boat, Archangel, out of the port. The harbour master has a firm rule that anyone spending the winter in Coupure needs to head off by 10th May if they want to keep their berth for next season—so no hanging around. As Tony is getting ready to sell his trusty craft, it was time for Archangel to move on. Rules aside, we were very happy to invite them to join us for dinner and drinks on Bistro Joie de Vivre for a proper catch‑up.

While the boys were off messing about with boats, I took myself to a much‑praised Dalí exhibition. It was called An Immersive Journey into a Genius Mind, which already sounds quite grand, doesn’t it? There were two very different rooms: in one, you sat (very carefully) on a stool while visual poetry swirled all around you; in the other, you wandered through a dreamscape using digital headsets—though I just call them goggles. I was very grateful for the rail to hold onto in that room. It left me feeling more than a little giddy!

This first image above is a Dali impression created by AI. I think Dali did a better job! Do you?

Just remember it is spring in Europe and the flowers are abundant.

Although I love Brugge, it is almost our second home, it is good to be on the move. First stop this year, and has been virtually every year, was Ghent. Great place to restock the fridge and add to the library. This year we were there in time for the Floralien. This flower and plant festival is held at the beginning of May for 10 days every 4 years. If you want to experience the very best from international florists and landscape architects put this one I in you diary for 2030. https://www.floralien.be

Our next adventure was a trip down the tidal Schelde to the Brussel Charleroi canal and then to the Brussels Royal Yacht Club. We successfully caught the ebbing tide on the Schelde that carried us all the way to the entrance of the canal. Then we had to wait for 2 hours as the lock was busy with commercial barges. It’s a bit difficult to keep the boat in one position for such a long time, but Peter always manages it very well. Finally through the first lock we waited another hour at the next, arriving at the yacht club just as twilight descended. A long, stressful 10 hour day!

The main purpose of our journey ti Brussels was to have our new induction cooktop installed. Peter made the decision over summer to remove the gas from the boat. Not only is it a fire risk, but during the hot weather cooking with gas adds extra heat into the cabin, defeating the energy that we use to cool the boat via the air conditioner. Additionally, now we have a reliable electrical system, we might as well go all electric. Is an electric motor the next addition? I don’t think so…..

The weather in Brussels was not conducive to sight seeing, an icy cold wind and rain. We only managed the trip by tram into central Brussels twice, once to visit an art nouveau house and another to have lunch.

Art Nouveau

The Art Nouveau movement of architecture and design first appeared in Brussel in the 1890’s and was based on the innovative use of new materials such as iron and glass, with themes inspired by plants and other natural forms. We visited the Hannon House which was constructed between 1903-1904 for an engineer who worked for a major chemicals company near Nancy in France ( another well known art nouveau city). The house was occupied by the family until 1965, when it was abandoned and the vandals moved in. It was threatened with demolition but luckily the Art Nouveau enthusiasts from the Horta museum moved in and it was renovated in 2022.

Continuing south

We left Brussel on the 14th May, cruising down the canal (but up in the locks). 7 locks, (including the deepest lock in Belgium) 2 lifting bridges and 35kms bought us to the Ronquieres Incline Plane.

This structure is 1,432 meters long and lifts boats through 67 meters, replacing the now defunct 14 lock route. We have previously been held up at this point as the incline plane requires continual maintenance, but this year we went straight through

Up we go! (tap twice). The actual trip takes about 40 minutes!

The view from the top (tap twice)

We elected to spend the night here and continued our journey the next day.

As we reached the end of the Brussels Charleroi Canal, it was decision time—cue dramatic music and intense staring at the map. Would we swing left and glide towards the Meuse and into France, or veer right and potter up the Sambre? After a highly scientific process involving curiosity (and possibly a coin toss), the Sambre won the day, mainly because we’d never tried it before. Adventure beckoned… but you’ll have to wait until next time to hear how it went.