16 May – Cross to Calais – Holland and Victory’s WOF

At 8am we’re on our way to Calais via the Sea France ferries; thankful we’d made a booking in NZ before we left, as the ferries are in great demand with the airports closed. The crossing for the camper and three adults was only 30 Euros! 1½ hours later we are driving off at Calais with a sense of ‘de ja vu’. The familiar flat farmlands and large Belgium blue cattle, clusters of buildings with orange roof tiles and the endless, immense skies.

We stop at Ypres, located in the Flemish province of West Flanders. During the 1st World War Ypres was the centre of some intense battles between Germany and the Allied forces. 4 years of fighting left its mark with more than 300,000 solders killed and the medieval town flattened. Now rebuilt using money paid by Germany in reparation. We stop at the arched Menin Gate built to commemorate those soldiers who fell during the war.

Next is Bruges, and though the clouds block the sun it still holds its magic charm. In the little alleys horses clip clop along with their tourists who strain their necks to look up at the many medieval towers that rise into the sky. We pass the protected swans, busy building their nests along the canal and on down the cobbled streets lined with antique stalls, over the stone bridges and under archways ending up at the ‘Grand Place’ where we each sketch our chosen corner of the magnificent square in the last of the sunlight, savouring the atmosphere.

Holland greets us with its green fields, crisscrossed by waterways where cows and sheep graze and windmills dot the landscape. We catch up with friends and do some necessary repairs to the camper. Firstly, two new tyres fitted, one to replace a puncture and the second tyre simply worn out over the miles. Then there’s the electrical work to fix the fridge, which has shorted out, and new wheel bearings to get our warrant of fitness.

While the camper is undergoing repairs we are given a curtsey car, a Renault with no key to start it. Instead it has an immobilizer card you carry with you which automatically locks and unlocks the doors as you near the car with a push button ignition to start. We drive to nearby Bunschoten-Spakenburg a 15th century historic fishing and shipbuilding village on the Zuiderzee. Most of the women here still wear the traditional dress. We sketch the men at work crafting the old boats. Most of the land around this district has been reclaimed from the sea, as has 1/3rd of all land in Holland. We return to the garage around mid-day to find Victory waiting in the yard for us now with her new WOF.