Day 13: Étape 3

Calais to Ypres (70km)

With the bike back in my possession, it was time to leave Dover and begin stage 3, the 900km cycle to Donaueschingen (as a legal requirement in mainland Europe, I will now be switching to km). I was booked on the 8am ferry and having witnessed the queues of traffic trying to board the ferries for the last month, I gave myself plenty of time. Loretta and Geoff very kindly came to wave me off, offering some final advice and gave me a fake phone should someone ask for mine once I venture onto the continent. In a strange way, I was sad to leave Dover, while not all my memories will be great ones, it was still an enjoyable month here. I boarded the ferry and sped off towards France, a darn sight faster than my last attempt.

I arrived in France and immediately began planning my exit. Thankfully the internet on my phone started working as soon as I landed, I would again be totally reliant on it for guidance (and translation). My aim for the day was the city of Ypres, which despite being told a few times, I still have absolutely no idea how to pronounce it correctly. Ypres is in Belgium, which would mean a first visit to the country that briefly employed me. It was a nice warm day and cycling was good. My first impression of France and then Belgium was the quality of the roads, specifically cycling quality. Even on larger, busy roads, there was a huge cycle lane, occasionally the cycle lane would exceed the actual road in size. Very impressed, I continued on through France and then into Belgium. Ypres is not very far into Belgium, therefore the signs for the city began on the French side of the border. Worryingly, once I crossed the border, the signs seemed to cease, instead frequently advertising a place called Ieper, this turned out to be the Belgian spelling of Ypres and my fears were alleviated.

I arrived in the early afternoon and was warmly welcomed by my host Isabelle, who I had contacted through warmshowers, a fantastic website that is similar to coach surfing but specifically for cyclists. Isabelle had to work, so I headed into Ypres to explore the city. Ypres is in Flanders which means that it is the Dutch speaking half of Belgium. It was upon entering a café for something to eat that I realised that I didn’t even know the word for hello in Dutch. Fortunately, almost everyone in the town spoke excellent English (something I am going to have to rely on for the next couple of months). This region was of particular importance during World War 1, it became the host to many of the larger battles. As a result, Ypres is now the home of an excellent museum about the war and particularly about the wars impact on the local region. In the last few days, I’ve been to Dover castle, spent a whole day in Canterbury and now been to a museum in Ypres, considering this is not a sightseeing trip, it is very much turning into a sightseeing trip.

After the disappointment of the swim, getting back into cycling might take some time, but today was a nice gentle reintroduction to it and hopefully the roads continue to be as cycle friendly. It’s goodbye to rainy Britain and Hallo (that turned out to be the Dutch for hello) to the sun blessed roads of mainland Europe.