Cycling is 50% suffering and 50% the stories about the suffering. Few races spark the imagination as the Ronde Van Vlaanderen, one of The Five Monuments. Every year, somewhere between late March – early April, this race storms across Flanders as the grand finale of Holy (cycling) Week, and it has fired up the dreams (and nightmares for some) of generations.

From Merckx’s epic 70km solo in 1969, to De Vlaeminck’s cunning, to Vanderaerdens mudfest victory and the hattricks of Museeuw and Boonen. It’s Belgian legends who have conquered the mythical cobbles and sharp hills to claim their place in the pantheon of cycling. The Ronde is where heroes are made, suffering is immortalized, and every pedal stroke can become a legend retold for years to come.

One of those legends speaks even more the the imagination than all others, if only because its mystery keeps fans arguing in café corners even a decade later. And this time, it wasn’t Belgian heroics at the finish.

In 2010, wifey and I decided to go watch the race, watching on the legendary Muur van Geraardsbergen, and a show we got. On the Molenberg Swiss rider Fabian “Spartacus” Cancellara, and local god Tom Boonen broke away and built a significant gap on a trailing group. By the foot of the Muur, they remained clear by about 1 minute. On the steepest section, right beneath our noses, Cancellara accelerated while still seated, using his time trial power to ride Boonen off his wheel. Or did he?

No sooner had the finish line been crossed than cycling started buzzing. A video surfaced seemingly showing Cancellera fiddling with mysterious buttons mid-race. Fans pointed out he swapped bikes up to two times, with no obvious mechanical issues. Whispers of “mechnical doping” and hidden motors all abound! No proof ever came, but neither did the rumours die. By the official ceremony, Cancellara’s race bike had, somehow, vanished from sight, giving conspiracy theorists full license to speculate.

At first, Boonen himself didn’t comment too much on the conspiracy, but during a Podcast of Stamcafé Koers (the brilliant cycling podcast from Het Nieuwsblad and Bahamontes), he couldn’t help but quip about the whole thing and if anything, only kept the rumours alive…

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Now, 15 years later, the opportunity finally arose for us to ride the race ourselves. Epic it was.

Tre Cime di Lavaredo: Chasing Merckx, Losing to Gravity
The year is 1968, on a day where the weather turned the Dolomites apocalyptic with snow, hail, and freezing rain,Eddy Merckx starts the stage stage nearly nine minutes behind a breakaway full of top climbers. Just 22 at the time, Merckx wasn’t yet the all-conquering Cannibal.

Instead of cracking, Merckx unleashed a now mythical assault, catching up not just to the break but dropping them all, riding as though untouched by the misery and cold that saw many rivals walking or pushed up the slopes. He crossed the finish line solo, over four minutes ahead of anyone else, draped in a blanket, as Italian reporters wrote that “men cried” watching him. That day, Merckx took the maglia rosa and never let it go, clinching his first Grand Tour and launching his status as the greatest cyclist ever. Unless Pogacar will change that status.

The year is 2024, and yours truly tries to follow in the Cannibals footsteps. Riding Tre Cime, you still feel his ghost. Every switchback is haunted by Merckx’s superhuman grit, and the mountain remembers. Even Merckx later said it was his finest day in the mountains.

If Merckx had seen me, he might have offered a pat on the back, or a defibrillator. Still, I made it to the top. Just don’t ask how long it took.

Stelvio: De Gendt Did It Better
2012, the Breakaway King Thomas De Gendt faces a stage with 219km and two brutal climbs (the Mortirolo and the snow-capped Stelvio). Famous for his audacity, De Gendt attacks on the Mortirolo, flies past the breakaway. By the base of the Stelvio, snow was lining the roads. He dropped all challengers on the upper slopes, racing through hairpin after hairpin with only Italian TV helicopters, gaping fans, and the faintest hope of an upset following behind.
At the summit finish, De Gendt took the win by almost a minute. His legendary effort rocketed him to 4th overall, and a day later, after the time trial, he stood on the third step of the Giro podium.

Just like Merckx exploit on Tre Cime, the 2012 Stelvio stage remains a treasured Belgian cycling memory: how one attack, at the tail end of a Grand Tour, with snow falling turned De Gendt from a breakaway specialist into a Giro icon.

My own effort was less impressive, the scenery on the other hand made it all worth it. Altitude sickness? Almost. 48 switchbacks? Counted every cursed one.
Reality: no breakaways, but a close to break-down halfway up. Still, Belgian stubbornness is a performance enhancer, is what they told me.

Belgian DNA, Budget Legs
Tre Cime and Stelvio are carved into Belgian cycling history, riding them myself is living history. Will be back for more.

Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker delivering the 2023 class an interesting commencement address at Northwestern University. Focusing here on his statements on idiots.

Villa Oksza, a beautiful example of the typical Zakopane style. Designed & built in the late 19th century, long before endless traffic jams & massa-tourism spoilt some of the Tatra-fun.

A photo posted by Jeroen Fossaert (@jfossaert) on Jan 28, 2017 at 11:19am PST

Century old kaplica next to Zakopane

A photo posted by Jeroen Fossaert (@jfossaert) on Oct 8, 2016 at 3:51am PDT

Krakow is a city of contrasts, it’s well off  population versus the homeless in the parks, the clean(ed) streets versus the omnipresent air-pollution, its cruel past versus its peaceful party life today, the old rundown buildings versus the beautiful renovated, and finally, its rich historical patrimonium versus the hyper-modern project developments, so stimulated these days.

In next weeks, months we try to visit (and document) some of the historically significant placges. Places where you feel, you breath history. One of the more appreciated is ‘kawiarnia’ Europejska. Competing with neighbour Hawełka for title of oldest restaurant on Krakóws market square, it features the interior of an English bar, a breakfast inviting to read the daily papers and a solid Polish lunch / dinner menu. Comes recommended.

Father Bernateks bridge, in Krakow better known as the ‘Lovers Bridge’ thanks to its impressionant collection of love locks, is since recently the decor of an open air exposition by the sculptor Jerzy Kędziora.  Some nine sculptures of acrobats defy the laws of gravity and amaze you while crossing the bridge on foot.

De sympathieke Britten van Bear’s Den brachten een intieme cover van The Boss! Check http://t.co/AXfzItv8Js pic.twitter.com/VwpABVIdJX

— Studio Brussel (@stubru) October 14, 2015

Well, CNN thinks so, the Guardian does, and did already, the Urban Travel Blog described, the Unesco protected the old town and awarded it the city of literature title.

Once the political, economic and cultural hub of the Polish Kingdom, Kraków’s never fails to wow visitors. At its centre is the great Market Square (Rynek Glowny), the largest of its kind in all of Europe, and a veritable hub of local life that teems with flower sellers, crafts shops and sprawling café terraces.

Things to do during your stay:

• Strolling around the old town, follow the green belt and run into the great Barbican fortress;
• Follow the Royal Road from the market square to the majestic heights of the Wawel Castle on the hill;
• Go underground. Literally.
• Visit Oskar Schindlers factory;
• Check out the buildings of the Jagiellonian University (founded in 1364, more than 50 years before Leuven);
• You will find lots of banners for organised tours to the marvelous Wieliczka Salt Mine (with a church carved out in the salt) and the most infamous of the extermination camps: Auschwitz-Birkenau, now a memorial and museum, in the town of Oświęcim. We visited both and highly recommend, however we never took the busses so can’t comment on those. Will try to get info on those.
• Visit Kazimierz. The old Jewish district and walled ghetto during WWII is today the place to be for the wackiest, most stylish independent stores, art galleries, bars and clubs in Krakow. Small, beautiful streets with lovely cafés and restaurants, Lonely Planet recommends Miejsce & Mleczarnia bars, our favourite is Eszeweria. For a visit back in time you go to the market square, in front of the Old Synagogue (worth a visit) and have a coffee at Dawnu Temu. We did check out the renewed Galicja Jewish museum and appreciated.
• For an overview of the city museums, check out their website;
• Ah, and of course you should see the Mariacki church. If you spend a few hours in Krakow, you will for sure get enchanted by the beauty of its uneven towers, be triggered by a trumpeter performing a five-note anthem, or heard rumours of Veit Stoss’ magnificent altarpiece.

Food

There’s an excellent article on Culture.pl which gives a comprehensive introduction to the Polish kitchen. A kitchen with a very rich tradition, however crippled by the ‘somehow more limited possibilities’ during communism. You will find most interesting restaurants situated in Kazimierz. We are personally rather enthousiast about Zazie (reservation recommended), but you might also want to check out Old Town or Starka.  For hummus you go to Hamsa. If all of them are booked, Tripadvisor offers some alternatives.

In the center we often pay a visit to Dynia, and for a good version of the traditional Pierogi, Barszcz or Zurek, we do appreciate Smakołyki.

Off the beaten track

If you are looking for alternative city guide, (with offline map & audio) and you happen to be an iphone / ipad-user, do check out the Infamous Cracow App.  There is also a Facebook page, which includes links to stories in English about the tales in the app.

Well, it looks like he intends to keep his promise. Up to yesterday his twitterfeed read almost exclusively Polish, and then we got this one.

Veni, vidi… and we’ll see, what happens. Brussels, here I come!

— Donald Tusk (@donaldtusk) November 29, 2014

The day before, he had the brand new YouTube account “European Council President” uploading this interview.