At the beach in Zeebrugge

We've done some nice travel over the last 12 months so this month we stick around in Belgium for a nice staycation.  While we spent most of our free time with the children in the east of Belgium we also spent a bit of time at the Belgian coast.  "our real vacation" according to Beertje.  I understand that sleeping in an unknown bed adds the real vacation factor. 

For one week we stayed in Zeebrugge for the first time. It's not Belgium's most famous coastal city and I understand why: It's fantastically quiet.  It is probably a disadvantage for many, but to me, it's a real bonus. 

During this summer's hottest day, we installed ourselves on the big beach of Zeebrugge and while the news was full of images of the very crowded beaches a bit further in Blankenberge & Oostende, we enjoyed a lot of space (especially if you didn't install yourself at the water line itself).  Seriously, this beach stretch is huge: it takes 15 min to walk from the dike to the water line!  

That day and some of the other days in the week we enjoyed hours of lazy time in the sand of doing nothing while the children were quite busy with 

- Building sand castles 

- Fishing in the water puddles

- Jump

- Play in an artwork

- Carry water to and from the sea

- harrass seagulls

- Read from the beach library which was totally convenient and fun

And at the end of a fruitfull day at the beach we left the great scenery behind and walked home with a lot of new memories and ...sand everywhere.