On a cool, blustery, wet day, I traveled by train to the northern coast where Belgium meets the North Sea, to a town called Oostende. When I arrived, it was pouring down rain, so I stayed in the station awhile to wait the storm out...
First impressions of Oostende... boats... LOTS of them! (And water for them too! :-)
I spy an American flag! Do you?
The next observation was the smell... fishy! Yes, I was definitely at the sea!
And for a few of the drier moments, in between wind gusts, I admired the beautiful, churning North Sea and the powerful sound of it's waves beating on the shores of Belgium, and the sea gulls flying and screeching around me. Interestingly, there were not the sounds of tourists and crowds... I wonder why?
Perhaps this was why? Approximately every 15 minutes or so, while walking on the "brickwalk" along the coast, another Oostende deluge would strike, with "hurricane" winds and pouring rain. I would take cover in a shop doorway 'til the worst of the rain had passed, and then step back out to walk another half mile or so before the next deluge would hit. :-)
A few poor tourists following my example, broken umbrellas and all!
On my way back to the train station, after a very "refreshing" and exciting walk along the North Sea, I came across this awesome church, The Sint Petrus-en-Pauluskerk (Church of St. Peter and St. Paul). Built in 1905. Some interesting information about the church: The "West Front" of the church faces east, so that the church points its most impressive face towards travelers arriving to the port. All the original stained glass windows were destroyed in the World Wars. The current glass windows depict Belgian kings and queens and Saints Peter and Paul.
The rose window of the church, at the entrance (just below it are the amazing organ pipes!)
The altar area of the church... also very beautiful!
A unique painting I found in the church.
Then, it was back to the train station to head back towards Brussels... with a stop in Brugge first!
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