Trélon to Chimay

We crossed the border from France to Belgium a couple of days ago while we were walking from Trélon (famous for its glass-making) to Chimay (famous for its Trappist beer).

Trélon glass museum:

trélon glass museum

Chimay roundabout:

chimay roundabout with beer paraphernalia

Crossing the border

The thing about crossing the border was that it wasn’t really a thing. No checkpoint. Not even a sign saying we were leaving France or entering Belgium. We were a bit disappointed by the lack of ceremony but really struck by how:

  • strict the English border is by comparison
  • Europe feels like much more of a single unit when you don’t make a big deal about moving between countries

Nismes

In other news, we’re now in Nismes and it’s delightful. After 2 big walks in a row, it’s a lovely place to take a rest day and recover.

There’s an excellent park where you can play with kinetic water sculpture things.

Tom jumping on a water sculpture:

Tom swaying on a water sculpture:

And the hotel we’re staying in is great too. The owner collects everything from tea strainers to toilet roll.

Tea strainer collection:

hotel tea strainer collection

Toilet roll collection:

hotel toilet roll collection

Nismes was only meant to be a stopover but it’s turned out to be a surprise treat. That’s been one of the great things about walking. A lot of the best stuff happens in between the places we plan to visit.