Westhoek: weekend away with friends
On Saturday the day was organised by a company called “Rondje Westhoek”. They offer several tours and you can pick your program based on your interests. The drivers are friendly and helpful to make sure you have a great day.
All day long we were transported by old Volkswagen busses. One of the busses was of 1972 and 47 years old. Perfectly restored with eye for detail. Plenty of people were looking to us when we were passing by from destination to destination.
Nicely picked up in the morning at our vacation stay and dropped in the evening in front of our restaurant in the city center of Ypres.
If you are around in this area and looking for a fun day, make sure to get in touch with Rondje Westhoek.
From our vacantion stay we went with our Volkswagen bu to cafe Mystery to enjoy a royal breakfast. Everything was present to have a great start of the day, ranging from different kinds of bread, pastries, juices, meat, bacon and egg, and many more.
The enterior theme are witches and in the back of the bar there is a location to play folk games. A couple of years ago we were also in this place and had a great time. Now our visit was limited to have breakfast (on reservation).
In Flanders Fields there are numerous World War monuments and we were brought to Lijssenthoek Military Cemetery, a Commonwealth War Graves Commission burial ground for the dead of the First World War in the Ypres Salient on the Western Front.
The site is the last resting place of +11.000 victims amongst the famous staff nurse Nellie Spindler. Next to the graves there is also a visitor center where you can learn more about World War I.
As you can read in this post I’m a big fan of Sint Bernardus Abt 12 beer. I was then also very exited to bring this place a visit and in more particular the new rooftop bar where you have endless 360° views. There is a small seating area to enjoy some drinks, but the main part is reserved for restaurant. We were lucky and had a window seat to overlook the area. We did not visit the brewery itself, but we were able to taste 2 new beers they are creating. My favorite stays the Abt 12 🙂
In the area of the Black and Red Mountain there is a famous older cable car. In Belgium this cable car became hot after the cable car was extensively shown in the first episode of Eigen Kweek. When I’m around in this area it’s mostly with my bike and I don’t take the time to enjoy a ride. Now that we were exploring this region I was pleased to take a ride. The views from the cable car are magnificient while you cross the vineyards below. The ride is open for children, which can sit behind the pole, but adults should also pay attention. The only safety is a smaller cord. But if you are just sitting normally in your chair, all is safe. The return ride takes about 5 – 10 minutes. When around and the weather is good, don’t doubt and head to Cordoba Cable Car.
Ypres by night
After our day tour in the Westhoek we were dropped at 18:00 at Brasserie Kazematten for our dinner. We had our aperitief and main course here and left at 19:30 for the last post, just round the corner. When this was done we went back to the Kazematten to enjoy our dessert.
The first week of December the Chrismas market opened and we visited it to finish of the day while enjoying some apres ski muziek and a beer. A rehershall for the upcoming ski trip 🙂
Varia
On Saturdayafternoon we also had a coffee break in Wijtschate were a but provided coffee and a piece of cake called “Shit of mouse cake” which is legendary from the TV serie “Eigen kweek”. This was the only dissapointment of the weekend. The pub was smelly, the owner not very friendly and the cake was not very tasteful. I would not advise to add this to your day trip.
We ended our afternoon by drinking a Picon in a small pub operated by a 85 year old lady. The recipe of the Picon is a secret but people come from miles to enjoy it. Although I don’t really like Picon, this one was acceptible.
On Sunday we headed after a nice brunch to the city center to explore the city by foot. Sunday City Walk: Strava track
Idyllic located at the shores of Zillebekevijver you can find this vacation stay next to the B&B. It has really everythnig you need. 10 rooms with ensuite bathroom (2 suited for disabled), Fully equiped kitchen, cosy sitting area, sauna, jacuzi and many more. Everything is present to have a great weekend (or longer) away with a bigger group of friends.
Around 5 to 6 rooms have view on the pond which give unique views in the morning. Mainly on Saturday we were blessed with heavenly weather and below you can see the view we had from our bed. Unforgettable to start the day like this.
