European Adventure Day 12–Escaping France to Wallonia

Saturday morning arrived and we were ready to leave Paris.  Sure it’s a great city, but not so much for backpackers, particularly in the midst of tourist season.  Susan and I had hopes of a metro ride across to the Gare du Nord (main train station) and a late morning train to Belgium.  Instead we were met with the slowest line EVER to get reservations on the speed trains for Eurail Pass holders.  It was like Paris was trying to trap us.  The amazing thing was the line wasn’t terribly long, only about 10-15 groups ahead of Susan and me, but each person seemed to spend 10-30 minutes at the window and the staff only operated between 1 and 2 windows at a time.  Finally, after 2 hours of waiting, we got our ticket for the 12:55 train to Brussels.  Already being 12:15 by that point we just grabbed lunch at a station deli and hopped on our train.

Our view all morning

The speed train had us zipping through the countryside very quickly and we covered the distance from Paris to Brussels in just under an hour and a half.  We weren’t done travelling yet though since the goal for the next couple days is to get away from the urban areas.  After waiting another half hour in the much calmer Brussels station, we boarded a regional (another with no reservation fees) and were on our way south. 

Getting out of France (left) and getting into Belgium (right)

About an hour and a half train ride south of Brussels, just past the city of Namur, is a small town called Dinant.  After doing some research in Paris we decided this is where we’d spend our next couple days.  It’s in the heart of Wallonia (the French influenced portion of Belgium) and sits in a valley carved out by the Meuse river.  The town is large enough to have a train station, but small enough to be entirely walkable.  What makes this town unique from some others in the region is the old Citadel that sits on the cliff top above the main streets of town. 

Off the train, we checked into our Hostel (actually a Bed & Breakfast) at around 5pm.  The hostel is in a large old building, maybe either an old school or dormitory of some sort that sits on the hillside above the train station.  It is almost directly across the river from the Citadel and Collegiate Church.  Our hosts upgraded our room to a private since they had rooms free and gave us tips on dinner and a scenic walk to take to get familiar with the area.  The female host(ess) has been living in Belgium for 15 years but is originally from Michigan and her best friend works at the Yoga Bar in Cincinnati…small world.

The view from our room

After settling in we took the host’s advice and took a walk…it’s what we do best.  The walk took us on a nature path through the hills south of the hostel and past some residential areas before leading us to the river where we continued around a bend in Meuse and were met with some locks.  Here we were able to cross the river via an island (Ile L’Amour or Island of Love according to our hostess) and make our way back to the town on the riverside path along the opposite bank.  Back in town we dined outside near the water as the sun went down.  I enjoyed a regional Belgian beer and the food was good.  This made for a nice relaxing evening. 

Jeff with the Citadel

Views on our walk
 
Finding our way through narrow paths and spikey plants

On the Island of love.. aww..

Lots of geese and ducks arounds

Susan with the cliff

Us by the river

Once dinner was done we wandered back across the bridge and to our hostel again to call it a day.  There are a variety of sights to see in the area along with outdoor activities so we should have a packed day tomorrow. 

Views of our side of the river (the hostel on the hillside in the background, middle/right of the right picture)

Jeff and the shamrock saxophone – Dinant is the home of Adolphe Sax