[2019]
[2019]
OUR FAMILY HOLIDAYS
9287 Ostend Holiday, 1975
Our second holiday was somewhat more adventurous, if it was equally cheap. We went just across the Channel to Ostend. Once more we took a ferry across the channel – though this time the port at the other end was Ostend itself. Fortunately the journey there was quite calm, though I had booked a cabin just to be on the safe side.
In Ostend we stayed at a small hotel. The hotel was basic, but we had the room next to the children and were, once more, able to communicate with them across the airshaft. So, it was just about bearable, especially where we spent most of the time on tours to other places. It was mainly memorable because every meal seemed to consist of potatoes in one form or another. Having said that the soups and stews were quite delicious, so - although they must have been very cheap - they were filling and quite enjoyable.
We spent quite a lot of time exploring Ostend itself. Surprisingly, where most British people just pass through and think it's a rather an dingy place, it is actually very high-class. Indeed, it turned out to be a very stylish and sophisticated resort. It had a beautiful beach, though it faced the North Sea and the water was too cold for bathing, and behind it was a very stylish and well maintained promenade; along which the children rode two person bikes.
In addition, Ostend had some beautiful, and expensive, shops and we spent quite a bit of time window shopping.
The main reason for choosing it as the base for our holiday, though, was that we were able to take a range of coach tours from there. The first of these was to Bruges. This is a lovely little town, which is surprisingly full of canals. Accordingly we did our tour there mainly on the water. It was very pleasant, very relaxing and the buildings were beautiful
The second was to Brussels, which I have always found disappointing. Thus, apart from the central square – surrounded by mediaeval buildings – there is little else to see. There is, of course, the statue of little boy peeing into a pool, which everyone has to see - but it is scarcely a major work of art. Equally the atomium, left over from the world fair, is rather shabby and really doesn't amount to much; though there is a reasonable view from the top of it.
The next tour was much longer, to Amsterdam. There we had most of the day to look around. Of course, we took the obligatory boat trip around its canals, and did the tour of Anne Frank’s house; which was very poignant – especially as the film had been released not long before. We also went to the Rejksmuseum, to see Rembrandt’s ‘Night Watch’, though I wasn’t much impressed by its size even though I liked his other works. Maybe I would think differently now, since my taste has matured, perhaps even improved -- although it's rather arrogant to claim as much. At night we went to the red light district, the children were fascinated by the ladies of the night sitting in the shop windows. I think we probably exposed the children to the perverse sides of the world far too young in their life.
The final tour was longer still, to Paris. Even though it was along the motorways it literally took the best part of 24 hours, starting very early in the morning and arriving back early the following morning. Fortunately the children managed to sleep on the coach. As usual, I didn’t! But we did have the best part of a day in Paris, and we took the children to see all the various sights including the Eifel Tower and Montmartre. We even went on a bateau mouche. What we didn't have time for was any of the art galleries. This is always problem of such a long tours. You never have time to seek out the galleries and museums.
But Paris, in a day, inevitably had to be a very brief introduction for the children.
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