antoinette netta antie nus
Friday, August 17, 2012
Belgium
Belgium has always been one of my favourite places and in the ten years since I first discovered it, I have been back 3 times. Not enough if you ask me, but have been very lucky to travel that much.
The ultimate road trip began at Central Station, Amsterdam where we picked up our hire car - a black Panda - and drove to Rotterdam to meet up with Frederic. Fre works in Rotterdam 4 days a week, but lives in Gent, Belgium. He was amazing and gave us the keys to his house for the next 3 days. Off we went to Puinstraat 24. Driving from Holland to Belgium was not nearly as nerve wrecking as I thought it was going to be. Joe was an amazing navigator and we got there quite quickly without any trouble. Driving on the other side of the road was also not as challenging, the only adventure was turning left :)
Fre lives in a awesome 4 story house for a couple of months and invited us into his home for a few nights. It was amazing! It literally felt like we lived there.
On arrival we immediately went to explore and went to Vrijdagmarkt Plein for beers :) We missioned around and I showed Joe the small little beautiful town. Gent is really gorgeous and just as I remembered it from last year.
On the 27th of June, Joe and I celebrated Santie's crown birthday by having our one and only shot in Europe.
The following day we packed our backpacks and went to Brussels for the morning and after a nice late lunch we went to Kortrijk to meet up with Tijs and Anja. Exactly 10 years ago I first arrived in Kortrijk at St. Amands College for a two week exchange program. That's when and where I met all my Belgian friends. It's always so nice and nostalgic to return to this little town - even though there's not much happening, it's still nice going down memory lane. I saw all my Belgian friends again, except for 2 guys - Lucas and Karel :(
Our next adventure was Rock Werchter. I have always wanted to go and finally gotten the chance. Joe and I drove to De Punte Station to leave the car there and took the train to Leuven. The station at Leuven swarmed with people with camping goods and some already drinking beer. Signs to Rock Werchter was everywhere and really got us excited for what was to come. We were really unprepared in the sense that we did not know what to expect. The festivals in South Africa that we are used to has nothing on this.
We stood in a very long line, that surprisingly moved quickly, leading us to a long row of waiting Werchter buses We boarded our bus and spend 30 minutes or so to get to the little town of Werchter. The festival takes over the town completely and I think the locals aren't such fans, but o well, it only happens once a year.
On arrival at the festival grounds, you have walk kilometres to find a camping spot. There were over 18 camp sites - all very well sign posted and well organised. We settled for camping A4, which turned out to still be a 20 minute from the actual festival grounds. We pitched our tent and immediately decided to quench our thirst with our first cold Werchter beer. The long walk to the festival gate started and 20 minutes later we were surrounded with a huge crowd trying to get into the grounds. Being 30 degrees that day, Belgians and various Europeans fainted all over the show. It was quite funny, coming from the harsh African sun. In their defence I have to say it was freaking hot!
We finally made it to the gate (missed the performance of All American Rejects) and were told that we didn't have the correct tickets. Apparently we had only the confirmations and not the actual bar coded ticket. This was sorted really quickly and we had our first (sort of) experience with the medics on site. As the Europeans were fainting and passing out all over the show we learned that there were 4 full on hospitals on site. Medicals run around all over to look after festival goers - whether drunk, dehydrated or just with sore feet.
It was overwhelming passing through the gates, we got our bracelets and were officially scanned into the festival grounds of Rock Werchter. The sight that was in front of us I will never forget. The main stage standing in all it's glory waiting to be rocked and thousands of people walking around meeting friends, lining up for beers and snacks or looking for spots of shade. It's a sight I'll never forget.
There were 3 stages in total: The Main stage, the Marquee and the Barn. Apart from the stages, there was a picnic area with free wi-fi, restaurants, more bars, games and competitions, merchandise stands all over and toilets everywhere. They even had a 'shop' where you can charge your phone. Well organised I tell you.
The first day we saw Rise Against, Blink 182, Elbow and The Cure. Unfortunately we missed Cyprus Hill, Skrillex, Garbage and the Kooks. The entire festival runs on such a tight schedule that it is difficult getting from one stage to another and still getting a nice spot to see the band.
Day two we met up with the Belgians and watched: Mastadon, Wiz Khalifa, Gossip, Jack White, Lana Del Rey, Deus, Pearl Jam and Deadmau5. My favourites for the day was definitely Pearl Jam and off course Deadmau5. The festival grounds exploded and it was a great party!
We weren't as lucky as morning number 2. On the third morning the sun came up really early and we soon baked out of our little tent. We actually got sun burnt on day two - but don't tell anyone we got burnt in Belgium :)
Day three was just as exciting as we watched: Wolfmother, Kasabian, Mumford and Sons, The xx and Incubus. Day three was certainly my favourite day. I ran into a girl that use to study with me and we instantly connected again and spent the whole day together. Mumford and Sons were out of this world and if I wasn't a fan before, I certainly am now! I fell in love with them. Off course Incubus was also a big highlight of the day and the holiday. I've been a huge fan since school and felt very lucky to see them live. To be honest, it was quite surreal.
We were super tired by the time it got to Day 4, but still counted ourselves lucky to be part of such an amazing experience and made us feel like the ultimate festival goers. By this time we have seen amazing bands, met awesome people, cued for 2 showers, drank litres of beer and had copious amounts of friet and mayo.
Last but not least, we saw: The vaccines, Drop Kick Murphy's, Die Antwoord, Noel Gallagher, Florence and the Machine, Snow Patrol and Red Hot Chilli Peppers. I must say I think my highlight for the day was Drop Kick Murphy's. I didn't know their stuff at all, but danced like I've always loved their stuff. I can really recommend their tunes. All in all it was an amazing festival - spending time with great friends and tanning in the Belgian sun :)
I have never seen an event as well organised and planned as this one. They had about 140 000 people per day and more than 350 000 tickets sold all in all. You never wait for beer, the beer is always cold and they never run out of beer. The festival grounds are clean - they get cleaned every night. You are scanned in and out every day. There were enough toilets and believe it or not but I never went into a dirty toilet - they were always clean and always had toilet paper. If you ask me, I'd say that's pretty well done.
I can seriously recommend going to that festival and I'm strongly considering going again next year. If interested the link is: www.rockwerchter.be
Go check it out, first bands should be announced around December/January. Stay tuned for photo's xx
The ultimate road trip began at Central Station, Amsterdam where we picked up our hire car - a black Panda - and drove to Rotterdam to meet up with Frederic. Fre works in Rotterdam 4 days a week, but lives in Gent, Belgium. He was amazing and gave us the keys to his house for the next 3 days. Off we went to Puinstraat 24. Driving from Holland to Belgium was not nearly as nerve wrecking as I thought it was going to be. Joe was an amazing navigator and we got there quite quickly without any trouble. Driving on the other side of the road was also not as challenging, the only adventure was turning left :)
Fre lives in a awesome 4 story house for a couple of months and invited us into his home for a few nights. It was amazing! It literally felt like we lived there.
On arrival we immediately went to explore and went to Vrijdagmarkt Plein for beers :) We missioned around and I showed Joe the small little beautiful town. Gent is really gorgeous and just as I remembered it from last year.
On the 27th of June, Joe and I celebrated Santie's crown birthday by having our one and only shot in Europe.
The following day we packed our backpacks and went to Brussels for the morning and after a nice late lunch we went to Kortrijk to meet up with Tijs and Anja. Exactly 10 years ago I first arrived in Kortrijk at St. Amands College for a two week exchange program. That's when and where I met all my Belgian friends. It's always so nice and nostalgic to return to this little town - even though there's not much happening, it's still nice going down memory lane. I saw all my Belgian friends again, except for 2 guys - Lucas and Karel :(
Our next adventure was Rock Werchter. I have always wanted to go and finally gotten the chance. Joe and I drove to De Punte Station to leave the car there and took the train to Leuven. The station at Leuven swarmed with people with camping goods and some already drinking beer. Signs to Rock Werchter was everywhere and really got us excited for what was to come. We were really unprepared in the sense that we did not know what to expect. The festivals in South Africa that we are used to has nothing on this.
We stood in a very long line, that surprisingly moved quickly, leading us to a long row of waiting Werchter buses We boarded our bus and spend 30 minutes or so to get to the little town of Werchter. The festival takes over the town completely and I think the locals aren't such fans, but o well, it only happens once a year.
On arrival at the festival grounds, you have walk kilometres to find a camping spot. There were over 18 camp sites - all very well sign posted and well organised. We settled for camping A4, which turned out to still be a 20 minute from the actual festival grounds. We pitched our tent and immediately decided to quench our thirst with our first cold Werchter beer. The long walk to the festival gate started and 20 minutes later we were surrounded with a huge crowd trying to get into the grounds. Being 30 degrees that day, Belgians and various Europeans fainted all over the show. It was quite funny, coming from the harsh African sun. In their defence I have to say it was freaking hot!
We finally made it to the gate (missed the performance of All American Rejects) and were told that we didn't have the correct tickets. Apparently we had only the confirmations and not the actual bar coded ticket. This was sorted really quickly and we had our first (sort of) experience with the medics on site. As the Europeans were fainting and passing out all over the show we learned that there were 4 full on hospitals on site. Medicals run around all over to look after festival goers - whether drunk, dehydrated or just with sore feet.
It was overwhelming passing through the gates, we got our bracelets and were officially scanned into the festival grounds of Rock Werchter. The sight that was in front of us I will never forget. The main stage standing in all it's glory waiting to be rocked and thousands of people walking around meeting friends, lining up for beers and snacks or looking for spots of shade. It's a sight I'll never forget.
There were 3 stages in total: The Main stage, the Marquee and the Barn. Apart from the stages, there was a picnic area with free wi-fi, restaurants, more bars, games and competitions, merchandise stands all over and toilets everywhere. They even had a 'shop' where you can charge your phone. Well organised I tell you.
The first day we saw Rise Against, Blink 182, Elbow and The Cure. Unfortunately we missed Cyprus Hill, Skrillex, Garbage and the Kooks. The entire festival runs on such a tight schedule that it is difficult getting from one stage to another and still getting a nice spot to see the band.
Day two we met up with the Belgians and watched: Mastadon, Wiz Khalifa, Gossip, Jack White, Lana Del Rey, Deus, Pearl Jam and Deadmau5. My favourites for the day was definitely Pearl Jam and off course Deadmau5. The festival grounds exploded and it was a great party!
We weren't as lucky as morning number 2. On the third morning the sun came up really early and we soon baked out of our little tent. We actually got sun burnt on day two - but don't tell anyone we got burnt in Belgium :)
Day three was just as exciting as we watched: Wolfmother, Kasabian, Mumford and Sons, The xx and Incubus. Day three was certainly my favourite day. I ran into a girl that use to study with me and we instantly connected again and spent the whole day together. Mumford and Sons were out of this world and if I wasn't a fan before, I certainly am now! I fell in love with them. Off course Incubus was also a big highlight of the day and the holiday. I've been a huge fan since school and felt very lucky to see them live. To be honest, it was quite surreal.
We were super tired by the time it got to Day 4, but still counted ourselves lucky to be part of such an amazing experience and made us feel like the ultimate festival goers. By this time we have seen amazing bands, met awesome people, cued for 2 showers, drank litres of beer and had copious amounts of friet and mayo.
Last but not least, we saw: The vaccines, Drop Kick Murphy's, Die Antwoord, Noel Gallagher, Florence and the Machine, Snow Patrol and Red Hot Chilli Peppers. I must say I think my highlight for the day was Drop Kick Murphy's. I didn't know their stuff at all, but danced like I've always loved their stuff. I can really recommend their tunes. All in all it was an amazing festival - spending time with great friends and tanning in the Belgian sun :)
I have never seen an event as well organised and planned as this one. They had about 140 000 people per day and more than 350 000 tickets sold all in all. You never wait for beer, the beer is always cold and they never run out of beer. The festival grounds are clean - they get cleaned every night. You are scanned in and out every day. There were enough toilets and believe it or not but I never went into a dirty toilet - they were always clean and always had toilet paper. If you ask me, I'd say that's pretty well done.
I can seriously recommend going to that festival and I'm strongly considering going again next year. If interested the link is: www.rockwerchter.be
Go check it out, first bands should be announced around December/January. Stay tuned for photo's xx
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