Having moved back to Belgium at the end of 2017, I have started to rediscover the country I call home. In April (2019) my parents took my boyfriend and I on a day trip to Bouillon and the surrounding area in the south of Belgium. An excellent opportunity to show my other half that we do actually have hills in Belgium, and some beautiful countryside.
It took us a good two hours by car from just north of Brussels to Bouillon. We drove through the town and continued to the nearby village of Corbion. This was the starting point of a 10k walk my parents had mapped out. In the village we left the car and found the starting point for the route by the church.
The walk took us to a nice viewpoint over the river and the valley, and then through the woods towards the river. Down by the river near Frahan we found ourselves a nice little spot to have our packed lunches. We continued and made a stop at a little place called Un p’tit coin à screute for some hot drinks. At that point we saw some very threathening-looking black clouds creeping into view, so we decided to up the ante and try to make it back to the car before the rain hit. To do that however we had to climb up a very steep path, dragging our feet up to all the way back to Corbion. We got so lucky, because 2 minutes after getting into the car the heavens opened.
One thing my stepdad had told us about which we really wanted to see was the Giant’s Tomb. It’s a hill with a river draped around it, surrounded by more hills. The picture above make it quite clear I think where it gets its name from. It was still raining when we got there, but thankfully not as hard as before. In a way I think that made it even better, because the rain and the fog gave it all a bit of a magical feel, and we were the only ones there to enjoy the view.
We then set off on our way back to Bouillon and parked up at the medieval castle. We visited the different rooms and then attended the birds of prey show – which I was a lot more impressed by than I anticipated!
But with the rain and sitting outside to watch the birds we were quite cold. So it was time to warm up a bit and have some dinner! We had a look at a few different restaurants in town, but some seemed to already be closing for the day. We opted for the Windsor, which filled up quickly not long after we had sat down at our table. We really enjoyed the hot food and then set off for the drive back, after a lovely day spent walking and admiring the area.
What’s your favourite part of Belgium?
Annelies Explores 