.. a long weekend!

We celebrate Labor Day on May 1 and most people will have a day off from work.
Hope you will get plenty of R & R and enjoyment. 

Duinbergen

For years, this is where I got off the train when I went to the Belgian coast. Surprised to see what is left from the train station and wondering what will replace, it if anything.
Update: these photos were taken a while ago. 
And yes, something else took the place of what is gone, I am told.
Will be heading out that way soon to confirm and  share with you.

Magritte - Brel - La Mer du Nord

  Jacques Brel and René Magritte are always present at La Mer du Nord. On a sunshiny day like today and the last few days,  life tastes sweet.

De Panne

It feels as if we have been waiting for sun forever... and finally here it is shining on De Panne, a beautiful beach-town, the last one before the border with France. De Panne is known for its wide nature reserve and widest beach at our Coast, a fact which you can hardly notice on the pictures because of the high tide.
What I am not talking about though is the time it took to travel 150 km from Brussels to the coast on the highway in a hot car... I was not the only one who had the splendid idea of spending a Sunday at the coast.
http://www.depanne.be/frame.aspx?page=/Toerisme/English.aspx

Le Coq / De Haan (part 2 of 2)

Second part of my short tour of  the beautiful seaside town Le Coq / De Haan with in picture one the tram station, designed in 1902 by architect G Dhaeyer.

De Haan / Le Coq (1)

Le Coq / De Haan  (meaning rooster) is one of the prettiest towns at the Belgian coast with gorgeous villas all over the place, in the center,  near the board walk and dunes. 
What makes this town special, apart from the fact that Albert Einstein lived there in 1933 and is still honored today as its most famous visitor? Unlike in other Belgian beach towns, here the coastline has retained low-rise architecture and the Belle Epoque style houses are just absolutely stunning. The pink building shown is the town hall. 
More tomorrow, i a the picturesque tram station 
If you like to read more:
http://www.dehaan.be/vertaling_engels/Nieuws_historiek_cijfers/F_hist_dhc.htm
http://www.virtualtourist.com/travel/Europe/Belgium/Provincie_West_Vlaanderen/De_Haan-356912/Off_the_Beaten_Path-De_Haan-TG-C-1.html#tip=983732#ixzz2CK21Jm9f

The coast in November

This is what people do in November,  beach- or boardwalk walking, talk, cuistax (derived from the French word "cuisse" meaning thigh,  i.o.w.  a tricycle or quadricycle) , bike .. 
It was not until I got home and looked at the pictures of the day that I recognized the figures in picture 2.

Belgian coast

This is what it looks like in summer when the weather is bad.... wonderful empty beaches, a delight for an amateur photographer like me.

The coast

There is something special about the Belgian coast, the North sea - the air, the waves, the wind, the skies....  I love nothing more than taking zillions of photographs there. I know that photographers, locals and even tourists complain about nature not being what it was, the built up areas along the dikes, the commercialization due to tourism, the masses of people .... 

This is no doubt true but I still love the ambience, and when I am there on a cold and windy day I can even have the place more or less to myself!

I would be happy to do nothing else than photograph the water and the ever changing skies but wonder whether viewers would find it of sustaining interest.

Nonetheless, I am planning on making the Belgian coast a regularly recurring theme and hope you will bear with me!

Belgium's best barber

If you happen to spend a few days at the Belgian coast go see Steve, the best coiffeur ever. Steve has seasonal clients but also people who travel from the other side of the country just to have him do their hair.  Steve is a master who takes care of cutting, coloring, and all the things a coiffeur does.  
On the weekends and holidays Steve is helped  by his mother, a gifted artist and jewelry maker.
Studio Steve, Europaplein 3, Duinbergen, 050 515600

Knokke, Rubenssquare, statues, tiles, cars, cafés...

I received a few queries about where the previous picture "Walking in style" was taken. The square in Knokke is shown here from different perspectives. Knokke is located at the Belgian coast not far from the Dutch border.  

This square is named after Rubens and is completely covered in tiles of blue and grey shades which give it a special effect. The sculpture in photo1 is by Franz West. 

In summer kids bustle around the pedestrian part of the square in little cars and on bikes, skateboards and skates while parents watch from nearby terraces such as café-restaurant Rubens, shown here inside and outside.

The coast seen through i-phone

New York City blogger Urban Muser (http://www.urbanmuser.com) has inspired me with her fascinating iphone-shots. I particularly enjoyed her post "Culinary shadows", dated August 21. 

So, here are my first iphone attempts (no photoshopping or editing) of the Belgian coast. At the left the harbor of Zeebrugge. 

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