Dinant et… la vie est belle !

Some playful butterflies in my stomach warned me that Dinant was going to be one of the highlights of my trip through Russia, which started in Belgium [I know it sounds funny to fly West when your business is somewhere in the East…].

One’s gut feeling is never wrong! After changing trains in Namur, getting the industrial feel of Charleroi replaced by green – in large amounts, that is – and starting to spot glimpses of the Meuse reassured me that the choice was right.

A small train station, symbols of the musical instrument that labels the town found from the very start [and Adolphe Sax credited throughout as its inventor]!

A long(ish) bridge connecting the two banks, full of colours, flags, and – of course – saxophones!

You cannot but stop, admire the view from both sides, feel impressed: what next?

Go up, by foot or by cable car.

A citadel that should not be missed, especially when the sun shines unusually bright for the end of May and you enjoy every gust of wind and patch of shade.

A river that you should go back to kayak, the way the locals do and cool themselves; you itch to do it.

Time is short, though.

You lock the beautiful vista inside your heart and realise your tummy has suffered.

The closest you could get to the water – and no, you don’t care about the reconstruction works underway! – is on a neon chair of a beautiful terrace where you have your beer and your salty caramel waffles and feel happy and free. Like you’d never leave.

You can no longer stand the heat, even in the shaded bike parking that faces your train track. The cute dog sharing your carriage on the way back to Charleroi seems to agree.