We were up early to escape the ashtray that was and is the Etap Düren West. The idea was to stop at the first services on the motorway and have coffee and maybe a croissant.
We happily sailed past the one at Aachen Ost as there was another signed at 14kms. Sadly we turned on to another autobahn and missed it.
Finally 75 minutes later and after crossing the Netherlands we arrived in Belgium, and after a false stop at a weekday only services (one with no petrol) we arrived at one where we could sit outside in the sun with the wasps and eat!!
As usual the monument to moronic driving and poor planning that is also known as Antwerp arrived in front of us. Solid traffic and lane swapping all make for tense driving.
I was glad of another calming stop before we got stuck again in a huge tailback. No reason to be seen and no information available, but traffic as far as the horizon. My detour via the cobbles of Gent and the N9 might not have saved time but is was certainly more scenic although probably as frustrating. At least we bought lunch and stopped at Jabbeke to eat it.
The last bit of the trip to the port went swimmingly well until we got into the traffic after turning off the A16. After almost an hour and we got to passport control and ticket check-in, only to then be told, after we sat in the burning sun, that Seafrance was running thirty minutes late. We'll see.
We are supposed to be off at 1745, revised to 1815......
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