If you're looking for a fairytale city in Belgium that's a hidden gem, look no further than Dinant.
In Belgium's Ardennes, a lush area of rolling hills and forests that you may have heard about from
its history as a battleground during World War I and World War II.
Along the banks of the Meuse River and marked by a grand 13th century Gothic cathedral
and an imposing high cliff atop which rests the citadel, Dinant could be called European dreamy.
The small city located in French speaking, Wallonia, is worth a visit for lovers of music,
whimsy, and those who want to explore in an active way. We're visiting the home of Adolphe Sacks,
the creator of the saxophone, a museum that takes everyday objects and makes them into
whimsical musical instruments for unique gem sessions. Who creates these?
The creator is Max Vandervorst, he's a man who makes shows and music with a strange
instrument. We're going kayaking to a castle on an adventure that involves just a few
rapids and a little hail. Spot makes good people. Yeah, makes you hungry.
This episode of the Travels with Darley Podcast in Belgium.
I like to find hidden gems, places that fly under the radar or haven't even made it into the realm of
radar. And I like to try things that various travelers might want to experience when they explore,
which is why so often when I film my long-running PBS and streaming series Travels with Darley,
look for it! I like to combine adventure culture history and a whole lot of food and drinks with
locals as my guides. Someone's got to do that first-hand research, so I'm excited to give you an
introduction to a place you may have heard nothing about. Dinant Belgium. When I first came to the banks
of the Meuse River in Dinant, I was taken aback. The Meuse River cuts the city in two and looking
across the river, there's a large outcropping of rocks, a top which sits in this imposing citadel,
below the citadel a large cathedral with a unique onion dome, rises high above colorful buildings,
lining the quiet river. The citadel has been destroyed and rebuilt over the centuries,
and seen many area battles, including in the 15th century by the Duke of Burgundy,
and into World War I and World War II. Today at houses of museum worth a visit,
but your orientation may be best by getting up high on the citadel's viewing platform,
to take in panoramic views of the valley. You can climb the 16th century staircase
or take a cable car. With 408 historic stairs and us carrying our film equipment, we opt for the cable car.
Back down below, this is a walkable city for those who like music and jazz. Stroll over to 37
Rue Sachs, the birthplace of Adophe Sachs, the inventor of the Sachsophone. A small interactive museum
has been erected here, sharing information about Adolphe's birth in 1814, his later life,
and road to inventing the Saxophone in the early 1840s. Adolphe Sax grew up playing the flute
and clarinet in a musical family. He also sang. In the museum, I also learned about his family.
His father made musical instruments. The museum is free to visit, and if you're lucky,
as I was on my trip, a Sax enthusiast might be playing outside in Saxs' honor.
All around, there are tributes to Sax, including large colorful sculptures of Saxophones
lining the historic bridge that connects the two sides of the Meuse River. In a city so attuned
with music history, it's no wonder that you can find one of the most unusual places I've visited
on my travels. For lovers of music and creativity, in this multi-level space, called the House of
Pataphony, you can expand your mind making music with everyday objects and recycled materials.
This is a state of Pataphonie and we make here music with strange instruments,
like this one. We will play a little song for you if you want.
This wildly inventive place was dreamed up by instrument maker Max Vandervorst,
and it's great for adults and kids. I enter a room where two docents are using spare tires, pipes,
silverware keys, and other found goods to play music.
Hey! Awesome! Yeah, there's so many things in here, I don't even know what to try first.
I give you that, perhaps this lullaby? It's a lullaby. Yeah, it's a French one.
The two offer to play me a lullaby, with what looks like a makeshift pinball machine.
Interesting. This is so creative.
So you got a bicycle pump? Using a tire pump, a ball is shot up into a pipe and ricochets down through
old plastic bottles and pipes. To make for one of the most interesting lullabies I have heard.
I love it. It's called la melodie Who creates these? The creator is Max Vandervorst.
He's a man who makes shows and music with a strange instruments like this one.
This museum is really to get you thinking in a different way. Yeah, and hearing some different sounds
to see different instruments, you know, we can try to play. We want to play something. Sure, yeah, yeah, why not?
My guides continue to serenade me with a song before letting me play along too.
It's like jazz, you're like, we kind of try to jive in and out together. It's improvisation.
So what do we get to name our band? Oh, apparently the amazing pataphonie.
But you guys already have a band, so I don't know if I'm up to joining just yet, but you know,
give me a little more time here. Yeah, okay. And you have another horseback riding, mountain biking,
climbing and kayaking are all popular activities in the Ardennes. Not far from the city center,
I'm taking to the water on the nearby Lesse with Olivier Pitance who runs an adventure company
which was started as small family business by his parents and has grown. I'm not an expert kayaker,
but Olivier is going to join us for this trip. I do a lot of adventure activities, I'm always
explicit about my level of fitness. And I usually downgrade my abilities when we're filming because
it's kind of difficult to film and also do an activity. We've been filming this series for a while,
but we know once we get out on a water activity, sometimes there's no turning back, especially when
you're heading down a river. But I'm assured by Olivier that this activity will be tame. So we're going
out in kayaks and Greg and my camera assistant, they'll be in their own canoe. Pateling was some very
expensive film equipment that we don't want to submerge in water. This can make filming a bit of
a challenge, especially when none of us are experts, but most especially when the weather takes a turn.
We're heading down this gorgeous, less river. It's quiet, it's peaceful. Most of the trip
we're relaxing, floating, chatting, trying to get the filming in, but then we have the misfortune
of being caught in a hailstorm. Well, you can certainly have all four seasons in one day here.
Fourcing us to paddle hard to find temporary shelter. Got a little white water down here.
It's very natural river. So then you can be right and if it's raining, the level of the water can
be higher of one meter. Is there anywhere I should avoid? That should I avoid that? You have to pedal
right to go left. Okay, our goal had been to reach this Gothic revival castle. Walzon castle. It's
one of the largest castles in Belgium and it's been made famous in the past by drawings by Victor Hugo.
After braving the elements and waiting for a bit of time along the side of the river and getting
cold and wet, being pummeled by hail, it's a bit of a lot to continue down, but we make it
and from the distance I can see this 13th century castle. It's dramatically perched atop a large
rocky outcropping alongside the river. It's a little bit of a game of thrones feel here.
I'm surprised at this point that my camera crew still hasn't turned over in the water because they've
had a few instances and the tensions are running a little bit high with our crew. But Greg, my director
of photography, he's quite balanced. He's been skiing with limpy and johnny moseley and filmed
walskiing backwards. He's been on horseback in the Canadian Rockies with a camera and brave glaciers
in Iceland. But this next challenge on the river here in Belgium, where two dams collided the
base of the castle. Spot makes good people. Yeah, makes you hungry.
It gets a little hairy for a saw.
And the same place than me. Oh, we're going down there.
But we push on from the final challenge, because we kind of have to at this point,
we're going down an area of rapids which sends my kayak sideways and I almost paddle, paddle,
over, but I stay afloat. Not for beginners.
You're testing me out today, Olivia. My baseball cap shields me from the mist and the sprinkles of
more rain. And I look up to see one of the prettiest castles I've ever seen.
Now this is a castle that's hard to see other ways because it is privately owned. So being on the
river is one of the best ways to see it. And I would recommend this adventure. It's definitely worth it.
All right. It's just another adventure. I'm glad to share going off the beaten path to discover
inspiration in an area not so well known to so many travelers. But one that can expand your mind
and your muscles. It's the Travels with Darley Podcasts and TV series. And if you haven't already,
please also follow me here and on social media @DarleyNewman on all the platforms and @travelswithdarley on
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with this podcast in my TV series. And if you have somewhere you want to learn about out there in the
world, please let me know because I want to discover it too.