Brussels and Luxembourg City

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Entering The Netherlands

After a pleasant weekend exploring the Old Towns of both Nuremberg and Munich, it was time to finish the Letter E once and for all. To achieve our goal, we would head north to Hanover before firing up the GPS tracker. Katy and I would then push on to The Netherlands, Brussels and Luxembourg City…

Top Section of the Letter E

The journey up into Northern Germany was smooth and event-free thanks to the infamous Autobahn. With the van performing well, it wasn’t long before we were swinging around Hanover and had set our sights on the Dutch border.
 

Swinging around Hanover…

As night fell, we crossed into The Netherlands and found a place to camp in The Biesbosch National Park. Waking early thanks to a prolonged thunderous downpour, Katy and I threw on our waterproofs and set about exploring. Recognised as one of the last extensive areas of freshwater tidal wetlands in Northwestern Europe, the network of rivers and islands are certainly worth a visit if you’re in the area…

Biesbosch National Park

Brussels

With the weather deteriorating, we chose to crack on with the journey and head straight for Brussels. This was a poignant moment on our epic tour of Europe. As the de facto capital of the European Union, we considered it a symbolic stop and were excited to get there.

Entering Rainy Belgium

1.5 hours after leaving Biesbosch National Park the van was navigating the streets of Brussels. Passing countless EU institutions in the ‘European Quarter’, we headed straight for Grand Place.

The European Commission

The Future is Europe

This central square was absolutely stunning. It’s easy to see why Grand Place has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1998… As the sun finally revealed itself, we wandered the streets, nibbled on Belgian chocolate and admired the architecture.

Luxembourg City

All Brusseled-out, Katy, Betty and I hopped back into the van and headed for the outskirts of Bastogne where we set up camp for the night.
 
We loved this place. The site we chose was incredibly green and peaceful and allowed us to recharge before heading into Luxembourg City.
 

Our camp in Bastogne 

Slightly regretting having to leave our peaceful spot, we packed the van for the umpteenth time and continued south. The distance remaining to Luxembourg City was just under 80 km. 

Remaining distance to Luxembourg City

As we crossed the Belgium-Luxembourg border and entered the City, Katy and I celebrated having made it to our 25th country of the tour!
 
We found a beautiful place to park overlooking the Adolphe Bridge and settled down with a couple of beers to enjoy the sunset.

The Adolphe Bridge

After 2199 km on the road, we’d finally drawn the Letter E. Next stop, France.