2009 Winter Holiday 5 : Oostende

On the way to Bruges train station, drizzling.

On the night of 16.01.09, we discussed and decided to head to another nearby town/city because we think that we have seen Bruges. So we decided to explore Oostende, a town famous of its beach and harbour. Although in the beginning I was still thinking whether I should linger in Bruges because I still miss the Pasta Presto a lot :P

Oostende Train Station

The next day, we walked to the Bruges Train Station. Never had we knew that it was so far away from our host's house. We walked and walked and to make things worse, it was drizzling. Was it then a good idea to visit Oostende which is only about 10minutes by train on a rainy day? And one thing interesting was that the train tickets will be cheaper on the weekends, especially if you are buying a return train ticket. I don't really remember the exact amount but it was only something like €3.2o during the weekends instead of the original €4.60.

"The waiting fisherman's wives "

The port stretching long across

But with God's grace, it was all sunny at the moment we stepped on the ground of Oostende. And just right in front of the train station was this "The waiting fisherman's wives ". It was said that the women were awaiting their husbands who sailed off to the ocean. Just nearby, yatches were parking and can easily be seen.

St.Petrus and St.Paulus Church

Then we headed straight to the St Petrus and St Paulus Church. Then we headed to the beach. We saw the port stretching long across. That was so beautiful. Lots of people with their fishing rod awaits for the fish to hook on. Weather was so good, wind was rather strong, the breeze forced us to leave the port somewhere like after 30 minutes.

Alive fish, still jumping

Then again, we searched for the Belgian Fries. Yummy!!! One thing was very good about Belgium --- Very very safe. The school children about 10-20 was only guided by one teacher and yet they are allowed to run free around the city. That was amazing to me. I mean in general, in Malaysia, if the same were practised, I believe the policemen would have tonnes of kidnapping cases to solve.

As we stroll along the harbour around 3-4pm, there were a lot of stalls selling seafood. The seafood cocktail is 3€ per plate. And it looks really really attractive. And they also sell bowls of mussel soup, 1.50€. I bought the cocktail and was thinking that after finishing it, I would go for a soup.

The Cocktail I bought, 3€

But YIKES!!! The cocktail was superbly lousy. I should have gone for the soup!!! The whole cocktail thing was very unfresh and tasted like those frozen seafood just rinsed once with hot water. Then after being exposed to the wind, it got so cold and the prawn was hard. Right beneath the seafood, it was like half the plate (or maybe 3 quarters of it) was filled with shredded carrots. I felt so cheated by it!!! Especially when it wasn't tasty as it seemed to be. And after the cocktail, I lost all my appetite for the soup whch I still think would be thousand times better than the cocktail.

On the way to Municipal Park

After the yucky seafood meal, we went loafing around and visited the Municipal Park and then we headed back to Bruges. Oostende is a beatiful small small town. But it doesn't really have much to offer unless you are of a beach-lover.