After our two days in Rotterdam, Zeebrugge for Blankenberge was our last visit on this Christmas markets. Our plan for the day was to stay in Blankenberge and do some exploring.
Day 7: Friday 15th December 2024: Zeebrugge, Belgium
We had a late breakfast in the Horizon buffet before we went through the terminal to catch the shuttle bus to Blankenberg.
The P&O drop-off was in the usual place at the side of the church. The familiar walk around the church and across the wide road junction took us to the small Christmas market. This was now closed until noon.
Blankenberge
We walked up Kerkstraat towards the sea.
The “warehouse shop” was now a full on Christmas shop. Once inside we joined the throng of people wandering around the displays.
Coffee and warm up time
Further up the street we went into a bar for a coffee. This is a new place to us to visit for us in Blankenberge.
There were only a handful of people in there as we walked in. In front of us were steep steps that led onto a higher level with even more tables and the bar itself.
These are the photographs that were decorating the walls. The place was dark and reminded me of some of the London classic pubs that I visited before. Everyone was friendly and we sat and enjoyed our coffees while we warmed up away from the cold outside.
The market
After our rest, we decided to explore a different part of Blankenberge. We turned left onto Molenstraat. This street took us to a large square that had a market. We looked at the stalls, especially the ones with their goods laid out on large e trestle tables.
The stalls were selling everything from underwear, pegs, pencils, books etc. There was a large trailer selling farm produce including meat and lots of cheeses. The smaller stalls were selling vegetables. I even found a wallet at a very reasonable price on one of the small stalls.
Blankenberge Promenade
From the square and the market we walked directly up to the promenade.
Along the promenade was a monument that celebrated Belgium’s colonial past. This wasn’t the original as the Germans had taken that away in World War I to be melted down.
Walking towards the pier, we passed the steps down to Kerkstrat and the Crawling Babies on the walls of the casino.
Below us the beach bars and huts were all closed. The cafes on the other side of the promenade were also closed as well. Some of these were gutted and having a complete revamp before the next season.
The Belgium Pier
The pier was now fully opened and we walked the full length to the café building.
When we were at the end out on the pier the wind very strong and was chilling.
At the back of the building we watched fisherman casting into the sea. They weren’t too impressed when I raised my camera up…
On the opposite side of the building I went into a smaller gallery that had a couple of pieces on display.
At a closer look they were mosaics of music cassette boxes. Through the gallery I had a look at what could be the ballroom or large dining room of the building.
We watched taxis delivering their fares to the building as we made their way off the pier. Now we were walking the large concrete parts of the pier that we had seen on our visit before.
The pier is made entirely of concrete and that clearly allows cars to drive up and down it easily.
This plaque at the end of the pier, celebrates the leader of the raid on the U-Boat base at Zeebrugge in World War 1.
Rather than walk back along the promenade, we walk down to the road that ran parallel and was away from the cold wind. Above we had apartments and the occasional shop at the side of the pavement.
There were more decorations in this plaza outside the entrance to the casino.
On Kerkstraat
After the casino we turned right on Kerkstraat headed down to the Terminus Bar for some lunch.
The Terminus Bar
The bar was busy and this visit we sat close to the bar. After our lunch food we went to the small Christmas market next door thankfully there were no Covid checks,
Blankenberge Christmas Market
After food and the beer we went to the small Christmas market next door and thankfully there were no Covid checks.
Nothing much had changed since our last visit with food stalls around the ice rink. The large beer hall was now very busy so we gave it a miss.
Once out of the market we headed back to the church to catch a coach back to Zeebrugge and Iona.
Zeebrugge
As the coach near the port area, I could see this mural of a polar bear on the side of a building.
The terminal building at the port is not connected to the ship in dock. We had to leave the coach, queue for security and then get on another shuttle bus to take us to Iona.
As we had missed the beer hall in Blankenberg, we were happy to go to the Glasshouse for a sit and have a restful drink after a lot of walking around Blankenberg.
Back in our cabin we packed and later we had our last meal with our friends.
Day 8: Saturday 16th December 2024: Southampton
As usual our car was parked at the furthest side of the car park.
