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Europe
FOR
FESTIVE
FUN |
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"If
it's Tuesday it must be Brussels"
If you want to
'do Europe' quickly, visiting from
the UK it is easy to sample a range of
cross border cultures. Belgium, Luxembourg, Holland, France,
Germany are all within easy reach.
There
are over sixty car ferries operating around the
coast of the U.K. but
if like me you live in the north,
it’s the
The
P&O North Sea car ferry from Hull
that cuts out the long drive to the Channel ports. 
They have introduced new ships.
The Pride of Hull
and her sister ship
Pride
of Rotterdam and they are the largest cruise ferries in the world.
With a length of 215 metres and a width of 31.5 metres, each is
capable of carrying 1,360 passengers. A plus point is a
dedicated car deck for 250 vehicles and three freight decks which can
carry 400 freight units separately. The ship has a total capacity of
4.5 running kilometers.
Flower
Power
One of the main attractions in the  Netherlands
this year is
The Floriade, a world class horticultural exhibition.
The Floriade is held once every ten years - the event in 2002 will be
the fifth.
Floriade 2002 runs from 6 April until 20 October and is located
in the district of Haarlemmermeer, close to Amsterdam Airport Schiphol
and tourist centres like Amsterdam and Haarlem.
Floriade 2002 is is the world horticultural
exhibition and they expect to attract three
million people from all over the world
you
can find out more on their web site: http://www.floriade.com/
Entry costs:17.00 euro, with Children 4-12 years
8.50 euro.
P&O North Sea Ferries offer a mini-cruise package that
includes a visit to the Floriade with prices from £69.
Sailings are on Tuesdays and selected Wednesdays in April and May. Tel
0870 129 6003 www.ponsf.com
Other
festive days in Holland include Queens Day on 30th
April when most towns celebrate with with markets parades,
entertainment, fireworks and music. The Flower Parade
Rijnsburg on 17th August and on the same day in Amsterdam
the Prinsengracht Concert with classical music from the canal
sides, bridges and boats. http://www2.holland.com/uk/
Taking the P&O ferry over from Hull and travelling overnight
can gives all the comfort of a mini cruise. For
those who don’t want to drive there are daily direct coach services
and on
the other side bus connections are available
to Rotterdam, Amsterdam
and Bruge.
Two
ferries leave Hull at about the same time,
so in addition to the service to Rotterdam we also tried
out the one to Zeebrugge in Belgium. After watching the sun set on a sea that was calm as a mill pond we had a
good meal and a drink in the 'piano bar' before snoozing the night away in
a cabin with en-suite shower.
Multilingual announcements woke us the
next morning, fresh and ready to drive off and explore some bits of
Belgium.
We headed first along the coast checking out resorts like
Middelkerke, (Beer Week-end 18-20 June,) and Ostend where we watched the sand yachts.
The wind whipped into their sails
and they
zoomed along a broad expanse of
beach.
 The sea seemed far distant across the
sand and we
enjoyed a coffee in the sun while a girl busied her self setting up a
kite.
Flying them seemed to be popular, and 7 - 8 July is a good time to watch.
That’s when they hold
‘Lotto Kites
International’ and kites, in all sizes and colours take to the sky.
The
E40 is a fast motorway that could have taken us straight to Brussels
but we reckoned it would have been silly not to stop off and visit the
medieval towns of Gent and Bruges (Procession of the Holy
Blood 9th May)
These are ancient towns where you
park the car and walk into history.
Both have impressive pageants.
Brussels
claims to have the finest Market Square in the world and about a
hundred museums.
Heading
south from the city we sought out the quieter roads and amid hills and
forests before driving down into Luxembourg.
You
see a sign and almost before you realise it, you are in another
country.
We
passed a border customs post.
It seemed dusty, empty and but
for one solitary uniformed lady sitting in her cubicle, was almost
disused
The
sign had announced "The
Grand Duchy of Luxembourg” and certainly some of the older buildings
still retained a grand air.
The little towns were fascinating. In one
we found a square with café and tables outside. It look liked a set
for the
Merry Widow. We were still in the Ardennes countryside, where
in the town of Wiltz each May they celebrate the Broom Flower
festival.
It
has been happening each Whit Weekend for over fifty years.
On the
Saturday they have the Coronation of the
"Queen of the
Broom".
On Whit Monday there are Folk dances and music at the
Flea market and a Broom Flower parade with national and international
Folk groups. The floats that are brightly decorated with the
yellow broom flowers that grow all over the Ardennes.
Just over thirty miles
further south we came to the City of Luxembourg
and as the sunset and we looked down on the River Alzette we wondered just which direction we might take
in the morning
As it turned out we headed into France, where they really do celebrate
my birthday in style.
The 14th of July is
'Bastille Day'
and
amid the patriotic bunting, town bands parade and play
(often
with more enthusiasm than skill) The atmosphere that is unique.
With
France serendipity comes into play and most weekends
during the summer you will find fetes or events
that will add a sparkle to your holiday.
In
Europe there are too many festivals and activities to mention,
but one good web site that will give you a flavour of some of
the more exotic is run by the Lonely Planet guide people. They tell of
a rather unusual one in which a guy can win the weight of his
wife in beer.
It is the Wife Carrying festival at Sonkajärvi in
Finland.
If you want to brush up on the rules look up http://www.lonelyplanet.com/theme/festivals/festivals_wife.htm
Of
course in these politically correct days I suppose the roles should
also be reversed, but since my lady drinks only vodka that would
really entail a staggering prize.
La Bandera de la Concha
To
end, I must mention one to the most exciting maritime
festivals. It takes place at San Sebastian, just over the Spanish
border.
It
is the racing of the 'traineras.' These are boats from the
villages along the Basque coast and are manned by teams of thirteen
oarsmen, It's held at the beginning of September and involves a three
mile sea race which is followed by an armada of spectators.
People seem to pack into everything that floats. Our boat
was crowded with musicians. It can be no easy task playing a saxophone
or a trumpet on a heaving deck, but play they did, while
we scoffed our ham rolls and drank red wine. 
Excitement mounted as the crews pulled round the the great flag at
the seaward end of the course.
They were then followed home by the entire flotilla of boats.
Throttles
opened and the sea became a boiling cauldron.
A cheer went up as the team from Doninankeo, clad in pink, surged over
the finishing line and we all crowded around the Lord Mayor's boat to
watch him present the prize to the victors.
So
"been there, done that" now I wonder where the car will take
us this year?
Report
by Allan Rogers
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