2020 - Day 1: Dover to Genk

The summation of today is that Covid be damned; we will enjoy this holiday!

So after a late night arrival into Dover last night (or should that be this morning) we awoke to the potential news that Belgium is once again looking likely to join the quarantine list.  This does not affect our plans for today as it will be over 14 days before we return but will have a large effect on the return journey.  We always knew this was a possibility and have some contingency plans up our sleeves but it was a disappointing start to the holiday.

However, there is nothing we can do until we know what the rules are going to be on transiting or if other countries will be added so off we go… 

As some of you may remember from last year’s blog our kids and boats do not necessarily mix well together and a chorus of whining “why are we not moving?” followed by “why are those cars moving before us?” was not a great start.  Once on board though the sight of the sea and the excitement of the departure soon engaged the kids and an unexpected free English breakfast helped to kill a bit of time meaning before long we were back in the car and off to Belgium (which at this time was as yet not on the unadvised list!).

The white cliffs of Dover.

We had debated many places to stop off on this journey (including Antwerp at one point which would have been even more of a disaster) but eventually decided to stop just outside of Brussels near the Atomium.  The kids love going to Bekonscot Model Village near us and so when we saw there was a Mini-Europe version we knew it would be a hit.  After an abandoned picnic in the park due to being dive bombed by multiple wasps obviously tempted by the Marks and Spencers' treats from the UK we headed in for our pre-booked time slot.  The website had said that we would need to follow a one way route round at a regulated speed with social distance maintained and no overtaking.  This was unnecessary.  The place was incredibly quiet in our mind which meant (whilst we followed the one-way route) we could take it at our own speed.  

Looks like their Brexit negotiations went smoother than the real ones are.

He's back! Cub the Travelling Bear couldn't miss out on the chance of another roadtrip.

The kids loved pressing all the buttons to set off the national anthems and move various animatronics within the scenes and after the fiftieth time of telling them they just had to wave at the buttons and not actually touch them I gave up. I mean when you have a child that earlier was licking sugar granules off the restaurant table you have no chance of convincing them to stop touching the buttons.

The trains weren't as impressive as Bekonscot, but Forrest liked the Thalys.

Forrest and the Atomium.

The weather was really hot today and so by the end of the route round we were more than happy to stop and have an ice lolly before heading back on the road and to our overnight stop in Genk.  We decided to finish off the rest of the picnic rather than eat out and then we battled the kids into their bed.

The S-Max and the Atomium.

So how do I feel about my first day of holiday in relation to Covid.... Well I am disappointed that it looks like we will need to cancel the Draisines (unless France gets added to the list as well in which case we have no avoidance route and so a 14 day quarantine it will be!) but otherwise everything has been fine.  Lots of nice well-behaved socially distanced queues.  Facemasks worn inside might be a bit uncomfortable in the heat but not a major issue.  Lots of hand sanitising stations which the kids bizarrely love doing.  An online hotel check-in with a whats-app supplied car-park access and electronic phone app as an alternative to a key for the room (you swipe on your phone to unlock the door!).  People seem to be more conscious (or maybe compliant) of the need to socially distance here than in the UK and it hasn't ever felt uncomfortable or unnatural.

A remote hotel room key on your phone.

With the kids I feel at times today I have turned into Boris Johnson churning out the three word mantras "Stay with us!", "No unnecessary touching!" and they are just about as effective on my kids as his are on the people of the UK. As long as they are regularly washing their hands and ideally not licking tables though, I think they will be okay!!

Blogged by Amber.