Nomadic Tales My perception of small countries is that the chances of finding a secluded spot to pitch a tent without being seen are very low. The land tends to be expensive and fully utilized, and I imagined that landowners wouldn’t appreciate tents on property they’ve paid dearly for. I resisted the temptation to try even a single night of wild camping in Switzerland, fearing a hefty fine. However, I did camp in Luxembourg, not one, but two nights. In Kehl, Germany, just across the river from Strasbourg, I managed one night of wild camping, but it was far from comfortable. Two men walking in the distance kept watching me for about half an hour. Despite my green tent blending into the grassy ground with a forested backdrop, and being 400 meters from the road, they appeared suspicious, stepping left and right, perhaps trying to get a better view. Since wild camping is generally frowned upon in Germany, I usually avoid it, but I wanted to try anyway. I had spent a full week near ...
Nomadic Tales
The main reason I hesitated was that I still had a strong desire to explore the Benelux area and wasn’t ready to wrap things up before I satisfied that curiosity. The secondary reason? Well, that’s just how I am. More than once, I’ve added things to a shopping cart only to abandon them without buying.
A few days before the flight, I went to scout two campgrounds, checking them out in order of proximity to the airport. The first one was a disaster. I was mainly after a shower and access to a washing machine. Otherwise, I’m pretty sick of campgrounds at this point. I arrived around noon and accidentally entered through the small gate by the canal promenade, rather than the main gate.
One of the few campers left there gave me a quick overview: the owner, now a widow, didn’t have the energy to maintain the place and had decided to shut down by the end of the year. Since the closure was imminent, she hadn’t bothered fixing the broken boiler, which had been out of order for a while. Yep, she was still accepting guests, offering only cold water, and had no plans to change that before December. On top of that, she was charging for showers. Back when the boiler worked, a hot shower cost €2. Now? €1 for cold water. In October.
The man I spoke to told me I could take a shower but to keep it quiet. The owner would come by later in the evening, and he warned me not to mention it, or she would start shouting “money, money, money!” demanding that absurd €1 for a freezing rinse. I took a shower and quickly decided this place was definitely not an option, so I left.
The next campground had better conditions and a working washing machine. I told them I’d be back Monday (it was Friday then). I left to grab some food just before the supermarket closed and, with the sun setting, headed out of town and set up my tent in a field, less than 2 km from that last campground where I planned to stay the night before my flight.
Why Do I Avoid Campgrounds?
Honestly, they’re often more trouble than they’re worth: barking dogs near the tent, roosters crowing at the crack of dawn, loud lawnmowers, bright streetlights that make it feel like daytime, traffic noise, noisy neighbors, lukewarm or cold showers (happened more than once), and of course, the price. Especially in Western Europe, where campgrounds are neatly divided up, the fee is usually for two people, one car, and a tent. And I have to bear the whole cost alone. Plus, the distance a car can cover in a day is equivalent to at least a week, maybe two, of cycling. Over the span of an 8-month trip, those costs add up.
Wild camping has its own set of challenges, but overall, the quality of sleep tends to be better.
Belgium, Oct 2023
Unforgettable Sights & Hidden Gems
The Canal du Centre - 7 km of Remarkable Industrial Heritage
While Belgium is best known for its charming cities and medieval towns, one of the most unexpected and impressive highlights lies off the typical tourist path: the Historic Canal du Centre and its extraordinary boat lifts, recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
A stunning example of late 19th- and early 20th-century engineering, these are the only hydraulic boat lifts in the world still operating with their original technology. Designed to use almost no energy beyond the force of gravity, the system relies on two massive water chambers, called caissons, that move in perfect balance to raise and lower boats over a 15-meter level rise.
Thanks to Archimedes’ principle, the weight of each caisson remains constant, no matter the size of the boat inside, since a vessel always displaces its own weight in water. To initiate movement, just one extra meter of water is added to the upper caisson, creating a weight difference of several tons that powers the lift downward, pushing the opposite caisson up.
The 7 kilometers long canal is dotted with historic bridges, locks, and four original boat lifts, providing a total elevation gain of 66.2 meters and linking the Meuse and Scheldt river basins.
Nearby, you'll also find the Strépy-Thieu boat lift, a modern engineering marvel and one of the tallest of its kind in the world at 73 meters.
Roadside Hacks
The classic black pouch solar camping shower isn’t very practical for bike touring either. First, it needs to be hung overhead and not every tree has a suitable branch, especially when the undergrowth is thick and unwelcoming for a naked shower. Second, it requires a lot of water, meaning extra weight you'd have to haul for long distances. And if you expect to find water at the end of the day, chances are you might not. Bike touring often means embracing the unknown.
A compact hand-pump pulverizer works well because it’s small and conserves water. The only drawback is that it requires constant manual pumping. A pressurized pulverizer, although a bit larger, offers a much better experience. Unlike a traditional shower, where much of the water just runs off unused, the controlled spray from a pulverizer directs water exactly where you need it, saving you the hassle of carrying large amounts of water.
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