Cycling is sexy again!
Limburg is a province in Belgium. Is one of the five Dutch-speaking provinces that together forms the province of Flanders. The province of Limburg takes up an area of 2,414 km² and containing 44 municipalities. Among these municipalities are the capital, and the star of our bike-trip, Hasselt.
It’s impossible talk about Hasselt or Limburg, without talking about bikes. And one of the most important things that allow talking about bikes is the bicycle network.
The bicycle network of numbered junctions consists of routes which are created by connecting a series of numbered junctions. You cycle from junction to junction, following the blue signs. At each sign it is clearly indicated to which other junction you can cycle. You’ll find sign boards between the junctions which indicate the direction and the number of the junction where you are heading. This allow you to cycle throw many countries! And even you have to catch a ferry you can continue with your route!
This bicycle network have 390 numbered junctions along the province and you can create your route combining the numbers. In this case our numbers were 97 > 98 > 91 > 95 > 96 > 97, starting and ending from PXL. Seems easy! So let’s start the adventure!
Our adventure stars, as I said, in the university of PXL in the center of Hasselt. The weather was perfect, a little bit cold, but the sun was shining all the day to did the trip more comfortable!
Obviously there’s lots of interesting points to stop and visit during our trip. At the first stop, you can find the Japanese Garden. This is the biggest authentic Japanese garden in all Europe with 2,5 hectares. There’s a Teagarden with teahouse, carps, and lots of trees and plants from Japan. This is the ideal place for contemplation and meditation. But our trip just getting started. So we continued move on!
The second stop, is near to Albert Canal. This is the most important economic waterway. So helps to develop the economy of Limburg. Transports 40 tons of cargo every year. And also is a junction between Antwerp (Harbour) and Liège, between rivers Meuse and Scheldt. The only problem that the canal have is because the bridges have to be more hide. It not have the best interest part for the cycling people. I think is the less nice part of the trip, but I understand that is a important economic point, so is interesting too. In the views of this part of the trip, you can, also see the Water lock & Cable-stayed Brigde Godsheide, that is 10 meters height difference. And it’s a awesome man construction. From this point everything is going toward better and better.
Between one stop and the other, we go through a typical urbanization of the outskirts of Hasselt, and it’s nice to contemplate the architecture of the this houses. Furthermore there are some bars and restaurants in the way, where you can stop and take a break, go to bathroom, drink something, and also tune the bike if it’s necessary.
After a beautiful road throw the fields, watching horses, goats and cows. We enter the vegetation to find the third stop, is in the Provincial domain of Bokrijk. Bokrijk is park and museum complex near the city of Genk in the Province of Limburg, Belgium. It is known for its open-air museum which displays a large collection of historical buildings from across Flanders, presenting the history of rural life in Belgium. The domain is 5.5 square kilometres in area and hosts an important botanical garden (arboretum) and Flanders’ largest open-air playground.
Definitely the best and awesome part is ‘cycling thought the water’. If you want to feeling like Moses, you have to visit this place. Just for this ‘architecture’ and it is worth it to do the whole trip. It’s the best combination of nature and building. And you can feel free, smelling the water, watching the animals, and touching the water while you’re cycling. A unique sensation in the world. This piece of magic, is 212 m long and 3 m width, between the ponds.
It’s hard to leave this spectacular place, but we’re excited to see what comes now. So we continue riding.
We passed through Children’s Farm Kiwit. A 19th century villa with farmhouses, with lots of different animals, children’s playground. And most importantly, free admission. Although we do not stop, it’s good to see the animals like cows, and feel the vegetation. It’s a perfect bucolic place to get lost.
But we can’t get lost, our trip is clear, the signals are all the way, in blue, showing us the way, and we’re closer to the end. So we continue, of course, enjoying every pedal stroke.
The vegetation is more and more present. We’re in the Wijers. For me, the second best stop to our trip. This place is the biggest pond area in Belgium. There’s more than 1000 ponds over 700 ha surface. In the origins in 13 th Century it was using for peat and iron extraction. Nowadays it’s using for fish farming by monks of the nearby abbeys. Fish farming is still the major activity. You can find in the ponds lots of species of fish, like carp, catfish e.a. Also, if you have enough patience, you can see the habitat birds (bittern, osprey, egret) and amphibian like the tree frog.
This is our last stop. After this we continue riding, without stop, up to PXL. We star leaving the vegetation to enter again in the city. I feel like I was spending my three last hours, in a dream, calm and relax dream. If I was in love with Hasselt, the surroundings have finished steal my heart. This unique place will be in my mind forever.
