Knokke-Heist: one of Belgium's best-kept secrets

Belgium is a small country. But it has an even smaller coastline. This means very popular and crowded seaside resorts in the summer, when all Belgians decide they want some sand and sun. The best known resort is Ostende, from where the ferry leaves for England. I'll take you to Ostende in a few days, but today I would like to write about our favourite coastal find... Knokke-Heist, a very elegant resort with some very expensive villas and shops and restaurants to go along with them. And if you need another parking space...they start at 55,000 euros...On the beach many of the visitors have their own 'cabanas' which are generally painted white, although I would expect that in time to come, they may be decorated. I'm not sure what they cost, but in other countries we have visited they can be the same price as a small house in Winnipeg.The waterfront is a very lively place, with a parade of dense 'wall-to-wall' highrise buildings, lots of bicycles and colourful public art. There are also some very colourful people, such as this elegant dandy, dressed in pink who I saw strutting along the waterfront. Later on, I found a shop where he might buy some of his clothes....I also discovered something quite unusual here, compared to other parts of Belgium. The houses match one another! Not everywhere, but certainly in one very nice part of town where it would appear that a zoning provision mandates that all of the buildings must be painted white. The result is a very attractive neighbourhood effect.Wandering around this resort, one could feel the sophistication and economic strength of this small country which enjoys a very good quality of life and standard of living. Belgium is not a country one normally thinks of as a place for a vacation, but based on what we have seen so far, we feel it was a very wise choice for a three week European holiday. Although I'm not yet prepared to pay 185 euros for these shirts! (Gary Pooni probably would!)