Birthday weekend 2021
In less than 6 months there is another set of candles to blow out on a new birthday cake, so it is about time I take you back to this year’s birthday.
That it was going to be again a birthday celebrated in Belgium was already a given as non-essential travel was not allowed until after Easter because of Covid. However, as the numbers were getting higher again it remained still to be seen if it would be a stay-at-home one or if I could make a weekend out of it. The weather forecast was also a typical one for the time of year with March showers. So while I took a week of work I wasn’t sure yet if I was going somewhere. However, I hoped that I could escape the building noises from renovation works next door. Right at the beginning of my off period, the verdict of the government was an extra week of no school and some stricter rules for shopping, but we could still go wherever we wanted and hotels remained open. Hence I booked 3 days and 2 nights at an aparthotel in Westende. The name of the hotel changed in the meantime but if you want to check it out, this is the link https://westbayhotel.be/en/
The day before I was leaving I found out that my sister would be in Oostende for one night, that Sunday as well. We would be on the other side of the country but closer to each other than we would be if we are both at home. I left for the coast on Sunday to arrive at the hotel around 10 am. The weather was cloudy and not that warm, but it stayed dry. So I went for a beach walk and exploration of the town. After checking in I read for a while in the apartment and the only minus to the room was that I needed to make my own bed. Around 5 o’clock I went to my sister’s apartment for dinner. The kids were quite loud so a little extra beach walk with a stop at a small playground was in order to quiet them down before bed. When it was their bedtime I went back to my hotel.
I slept quite well but didn’t succeed in escaping the building noises as in front of the hotel they were constructing extra condos. So I was awake around 7. I read some more and when it was time for breakfast I went downstairs to select a birthday feast.
After breakfast, I went for a walk again. It was more or less the same loop as the day before with some extensions. There was more sun, but it was quite windy. My lunch consisted of the coco pops I grabbed at breakfast. Between 1 and 2, my sister and kids came my way. The birthday cake, one we had when we were little for my grandma and cousin’s birthday that was also celebrated at the coast, was put in the fridge and we went back to playing at the beach. Before cake, the kids gave me almost a heart attack with how they were screaming and jumping on the balcony, but they settled down and made a nice drawing. I disliked all the fruit on the cake when I was younger but now I really enjoyed it and there were enough leftovers for breakfast the next morning.
The next day I woke around the same time. Did some more reading, put my things away, and did the dishes before checking out. The weather was gorgeous, and in order to explore a different beach, I parked my car in the next town over to enjoy this beautiful spring weather. Firstly I sat down with my book, but I had quite a view as a small seal had taken up a place on the beach to rest than I walked from Middelkerke to Raversijde where I had lunch on the beach. On the way back I took the boardwalk. As it was high tide there was not that much space anymore for social distancing and it was the perfect time for what I thought to drive back home without any traffic jams. Well, that last one was a miscalculation as it took me almost 3 hours to get back. But as the sun was still out and I don’t have any outside seating space at my house I spend the last couple of hours of this weekend at my parents’ patio.
I may have only received 2 birthday cards this year, but minus a musical this was a birthday almost back to normal. So I really enjoyed it.
If you already celebrated your birthday I hope celebrations were as close to the ones you normally have and like as well.
