Dinant | Belgium | felicia change

Don’t feel uneducated if you haven’t heard of Dinant. I’ve never heard of Dinant or even stumbled across it on a map. If it wasn't our lunch break stop on our way to Luxembourg I still wouldn’t have known about it. Luckily now I know and so do you. Dinant is situated n Wallonia, the French-speaking region in Belgium’s Southern part. Dinant also happens to be the birthplace of Adolphe Sax (1846) who developed the first ever saxophone.

The citadel, church and river are the three most prominent parts in Dinant. The church has one of the largest gothic stained windows and a spectacular interior and exterior. The citadel was on a hill, overlooking the city, river and church. I wanted to take the scenic route up to the top which meant 408 stairs. At first we didn't know it was so many and didn’t think there were because we only saw some part of the stairs. It soon became clear that we didn't choose the best option, seeing as we tired. We also only had an hour and a half to see and do everything we had to in Dinant.

The scenic view of the city was beautiful from all the angels of the stairs, even if it was a bit painful. We had a quick look around and enjoyed the view some more. Across the river was a green field with sheep which looked more like big rocks that caught my eye, as well as some interesting buildings and a bridge in the distance. it was so peaceful and different from the Flanders part of Belgium. This region had more nature hills which I really appreciated.

We decided to take the cable cart down to save energy and time. Once we were safely on the ground we headed to a bakery where we bought some pastries and rock-hard cookies called Couques de Dinant . These cookies come in all shape and sizes, but can’t be bitten into. Don’t even try, unless you want to lose a tooth. Apparently you need to break them into pieces and let them melt in the mouth - which will take quite some time. I still have some left and will try when I have patience again.

Dinant was a lovely place to see. I would go back if I have the opportunity, but hopefully not on a Sunday, because most of the shops were closed. There also wasn’t enough time to cross the river and see the famous saxophone sculptures, so I have something to look forward to for next time.