Leopold Canal, Belgium

Today I got a taste (no pun intended!) of how different culturally Belgium is to England. Today was a holiday in Belgium and unlike the UK when a holiday is often a huge shopping day, all stores seem to remain shut here. This was only a problem because I was now on day 2 of my holiday and I needed food!! How I regretted not bringing my own food from England. Thankfully, I brought plenty of food for Dolly!

Apparently there WAS a food store open briefly in the morning but I missed it!  Once I realised I wouldn't find any grocery store, I decided to stop in the centre of town (Maldegem), as I'd seen some cafes and restaurants open with people sitting outside. But then I found out that they were serving drinks only, as the kitchen was closed 'for the holiday'.

In my wandering around, I did see some very pretty buildings in Maldegem, and a pleasant park which Dolly and I enjoyed walking through.  See the first Extra photo.

I'm sad to say that for the second day in a row I ended up at McDonalds for my dinner. It was the only place I found open!  And they were doing a roaring trade!  The ironic thing is that I'm litteraly only a few metres south of Holland and there was no holiday there. My Sat Nav/GPS was only programmed for Belgium and I never noticed that none of the options were from north of the border!  

We enjoyed an evening walk around the village and past the farms where we're staying, about 3 km north of Maldegem. The village is nestled between the Leopold Canal to the north and the Schipdonk Canal to the south. Just west of the village the two canals run parallel to each other for the final 20 km (12 miles) to the Belgian coast at Zeebrugge.

I love how the canals and many of the roads are lined with trees, some a double line of trees. For a few more views from our walk, see the Extra photos.

If you're interested in military history, the plaque in one of the pictures describes the 'Operation Switchback'. It reads:

Between 13th September and 5th October 1944 the soldiers of the 4th Canadian Armored Division liberated all town and villages south of the Leopold Canal. 

On the mornings of 6th and 7th October 1944 the 3rd Canadian Infantry began OPERATION SWITCHBACK with assault crossings of the Leopold Canal by the 1sr Battalions of the Regina Rifle Regiment, The Canadian Scottish Regiment and The Royal Winnipeg Rifles. 

Here, where the old Bailey bridge used to be, young and courageous men of the 1st Battalion of The Canadian Scottish Regiment crossed the canal and fought their way to Oosthoek and later to Moershoofde. 

For those who fought, suffered and died for our freedom a plaque was installed on the 10th September 1994.