From port city Ostend to sea port Zeebrugge

A walk in the footsteps of GR 5A - Walking route of Flanders, which we follow between Oostende and Wenduine. With the 'complete-Belgian-coast-off' in mind, we add a little stretch from Wenduine to Zeebrugge. The plan was to walk all the way to Knokke-Heist, but storm depression 'Eunice' had other ideas.

Today we start in the West Flanders city - Oostende. Centrally located along the Belgian coast and easily reachable by train, tram, bus, car, boat, or plane. We park in one of the fringe parking lots and head toward the center of Oostende. Near the Fish Market (Vistrap), you can take the free ferry that sails from the Visserskaai to Oosteroever. A crossing that takes you back in time with its two dry docks from 1931, the 65-meter high lighthouse - Lange Nelle from 1949, and remnants of De Halve Maan and Regelbau 633, which were part of the Atlantic Wall. Further on, you’ll find another older part of this fortified town - Fort Napoleon from 1811. A city of strategic importance, which has faced several conquests and wars.

We continue along the coastline toward the Netherlands until, near Bredene, the flat seawall makes way for beautiful dunes. A municipality that is popular with campers, where you can enjoy the only nude beach on the Belgian coast in warmer weather. Now that it’s winter, you can almost have these quiet dunes to yourself, where you see the German battery - E690 peeking out. We keep following the GR5A and at the 'Royal Golf Club Oostende' golf courses (in Vosseslag - De Haan), we find an adventurous dune path at the edge of the beach and the steeper dunes. This fun trail leads us to a viewpoint in the shape of a lighthouse in Vosseslag. After enjoying the view over one of the oldest golf courses in our country and its surrounding dunes, we follow the pedestrian bridge that takes us to the Dune forests of De Haan. This nature reserve of 152 ha, primarily consisting of black pine, offers us the path to the next beautiful seaside resort - De Haan.

With a ban on high-rise buildings, this municipality has retained its charm and is listed among the most beautiful villages in Flanders. I can well believe why Albert Einstein stayed here for 6 months before he had to pack his bags for America. We leave the center of De Haan to take a second part of the Dune forests, heading toward the end of GR5A. From here, this GR route heads towards Bruges, and we leave this marked route to continue walking along our coastline toward the Netherlands.

As we almost leave this unique nature reserve of Duinenbos, we arrive at the second highest dune in Belgium with its white pavilion 'Spioenkop'. This dune provides a stunning view of the 'Princess of Seaside Towns' - Wenduine. A medieval fishing village that hunted porpoises with harpoons up until the 16th century - the coat of arms of Wenduine. A village with little prosperity until the construction of a paved road to Blankenberge with its coastal tram. The rural village developed into the well-known seaside resort with hotels and apartments. As we step onto the dike and beach in Wenduine, the wind gradually picks up. The swirling sand and the wild sea, which provide beautiful images and enough tailwind, still give us the courage to brave this bad weather.

In the distance, we see the Belgium Pier appearing, rising like an oasis in the desert and marking our next seaside resort on our route - Blankenberge. The main seaside resort of Belgium in terms of tourists, which has developed from a fishing village into a seaside resort since 1723. The fishing port has made way for a marina, which we need to walk to in winter without a ferry. The wind howling through the many masts and the yachts all entering the harbor is a sign that we should soon wrap up our hike before 'Eunice'.

We decide to keep walking for a bit longer and approach the Pier of Blankenberge or the 'Belgium Pier'. A pier that was completely restored a few years ago and extends 350 meters into the North Sea. It was the first on an Atlantic coast of the European mainland and still has very few worthy candidates in this category. It’s a pity that stormy weather and some time constraints force us to move on toward the final stretch. We reluctantly pass on this rather spectacular pier, which I will definitely visit again.

Before we reach the seaport of Zeebrugge, we choose the nature reserve 'De Fonteintjes' instead of the open coastal plain. This low-lying area of 20 ha is considered vulnerable and is home to the growth of wild orchids, right next to the seaport of Zeebrugge. This marks the end of a windy walking day for us. Finally, we finish with a taxi ride instead of the tram to De Panne, as Eunice still throws a spanner in the works.