Some photos from our holiday

[Comet]

Great weather, great food and drink and a week just wasn't long enough!


Heist beach scene.


Zeebrugge ships viewed from Heist.


Dunes and looking towards the sea at Heist.


The pedestrian bridge at Heist.


Looking towards Heist and Duinbergen from the bridge.


Looking towards Zeebrugge from bridge.


I think this is an old lighthouse in Heist.


"T'awd stoptrein" waits in Brugge.


A cat has a wash on top of a car near Zeebrugge Dorp station.


Some of the displays in the Beaufort04 festival, Zeebrugge.


Zeebrugge's dunes.


Zeebrugge's beach hut library gets a makeover.


Fishers' Cross and port crane, Zeebrugge.


Cruise ship, Zeebrugge.


Another Beaufort04 thing in Zeebrugge. This is three shipping containers stacked up with the middle one having bits of furniture stuck to it.


Old fishing boat, Zeebrugge.


Blankenberge Pier.


Blankenberge Beaufort04 thing.


Park in Oostende, looking towards "T'awd watter tower".


Train to Liege.


Fish in Liege Aquarium. This is a fantastic place, with several aquariums and a superb natural history museum, the best I have been in for a long time and better than the ones in London. Everyone who has a serious interest in natural history should visit this place.


Fish.


Display of stuffed birds. The front one is a Shoebill Stork.


Part of the museum wall display.


Wall display.


Seal skeleton.


My favourite birds of all, would love to see some in the wild. These are Hawfinches and those beaks crack cherry stones.


De Roos, where we had dinner in Nieuwpoort, we ate here last year as well. It is very good.


Kusttram approaches Nieuwpoort Stad.


'Searching for Utopia' at Nieuwpoort. An entry in the original Beaufort in 2003.


Boats sailing out of Nieuwpoort.


Hoogstraten Kiwibes - very nice!


The most unusual looking bars in Oostende!


Safari Bar in our hotel.


Safari Bar again.

[regi]

hello,
hereby some additions:
1. you missed your free meal on my account because you didn't contact me. OK, next year. PM me. I take care.
2. 2 pictures at the Zeebruges fishing port but you missed the Russian submarine !
http://www.seafront.be/NL/foxtrot.asp
3. indeed the famous lighthouse of Heist, see http://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hoge_vuurtoren_van_Heist

(recently restored landmark despite many objections, mainly from the side of project devellopers who wanted to build up the entire area - as usual)

[Comet]

Thanks regi.

We'd gone right to the far end in Zeebrugge, near to the cross, I wanted to get a better look at the cruise ship but I don't know which one it was. It was a bit disappointing though because no ships were being loaded up so there was not much to photograph We also called in at a cafe for a Hoegaarden while we were there (very welcome drink in an iced glass as it was a hot day!) I must get the Russian sub next time.

I had wanted to get a look at the lighthouse for ages, I'd been past in the tram a few times but this was my first visit to Heist. It is a lovely lighthouse, it was good that it wasn't demolished, too many things are ruined in the name of "development" - Oostende's once-superb railway station is now a serious mess and I dread to think what Oostende beach will end up like when they've finished doing whatever they're doing there, it's been a building site for the past couple of years.