Along the Scheldt near Dendermonde

Park the car in Dendermonde at junction 91, just across the Scheldt. Dendermonde is world famous as the Ros Carillon City with a history dating back to the 15th century. Once every 10 years, the steed with the four local children on its back passes through the streets of the city. When you are ready, the adventure can begin and you climb onto your own steel steed. You keep the river on your left and in one of the meanders you suddenly find yourself in a wonderfully quiet green oasis. It is the Vlassenbroek polder also called Baasrode Broek. The quiet artists' village of Vlassenbroek is located in this diked area. The Romanesque-Gothic church, the Scheldt dike, the art galleries and the terraces are loved by many passers-by. Characteristics of this piece of polder and pants are the areas inside and outside the dikes with many creeks and ditches, meadows lined with Canada poplars, the unique freshwater marshes with reed fields and willow thickets, and the former swamp area also called wheels. Due to the diversity of structure and biotopes, you will also encounter different animals. Typical bird species in this nature reserve are the Little Reed Warbler, Wood Warbler and also the rarer Bluethroat and Reed Bunting. If you listen carefully, you will hear the call of the Cuckoo and if you really go deeper into the polder, you can also spot a Kingfisher or a Blue Heron skimming above the treetops. The rarer Oriole and Lesser Spotted Woodpecker also occur in the polder. Dendermonde has a beautiful market square in the center, but the St. Peter & Paul Abbey is also worth seeing, which you can cycle past. The original Capuchin monastery from 1625 was refounded as a Benedictine abbey after the First World War. In 1939, the church of St. Peter and Paul Abbey was elevated to a basilica. The abbey is only open to the public on Pentecost Monday. The liturgical center of the Benedictines can be visited all year round.