Day 294 – EU – Belgium [Tienen to Huy]

23/01/21

43km

  From Tienen (Belgium) to Huy (Belgium)

Europe

Heading south against the wind, back to the Meuse river – and meeting friends in Huy

The sky was bright and clear as I headed out this morning. There was a mild south wind blowing my way which kept the temperatures reasonably warm (5 Celsius). Though I was glad about the clear sky and relatively warm temperatures, it meant I would have to run into the wind the whole way. It was a bit tiring at times!

I enjoyed a cycling lane for half of the run until the town of Hannut. I was in Flandres, a region of Belgium where roads almost all have a cycling lane. When I crossed in the Walloon region after Hannut, that cycling lane disappeared. I ended up on the road, with the traffic. That, plus the headwind, made for a tiring experience.

I arrived in Huy, a town by the river Meuse. I was quite excited as I knew I was gonna get two visits. First one from Marie & Fred, along with their 3 children, whom I know from Singapore and who returned to Belgium over a year ago. Then from Donald and Moraig, along with their 2 children. I know Donald & Moraig from back in 1999 in Scotland! Donald and I were working our first job in the same company in Edinburgh. Along with Moraig he had traveled many places around the world and eventually settled in Singapore. When I settled in Singapore in 2012, they had me stay at their place until I found a flat. They now live near Brussels.

How strange that all the people I meet in Belgium have a connection to my life in Singapore! With Marie & Fred (picture) we stayed indoors and removed our masks as they have all caught the virus recently and therefore cannot carry nor catch the virus at the moment. When Donald & Moraig arrived, we went around the Fort of Huy and walked the streets of the old town till dusk. What a great joy to meet friends on my way and get to catch up with everyone. And yet there’s never enough time!

Check my daily run GPS data on or

Here is the map of today’s run: