For the first time, we visit Belgium. The country has about the same population as Sweden, but in an area like Småland. Which you can not believe when you walk on Zeebrugge’s main street on a regular Tuesday.

There is not much to write about the city. It feels declined and is sandwiched between the harbor and giant parking spaces with cars. Zeebrugge is one of Europe’s largest import and export ports for cars.

But we find a fantastic store, Paul de Grande, a well-known Belgian antique dealer, has a large showroom of 1600 sqm in the harbor. Here are a lot of things, even old opened perfume bottles. From very well-known perfume houses of course. We also saw a couple of original dragon chairs, maybe something for GoT fans.

The next day we have to get up early and leave the boat until 07.30. Along a jetty near us is a Russian submarine from the 60s, which has been a tourist attraction here for the past 27 years. But with poor maintenance, it is now dangerous to visit and will be moved and later scrapped. It will be today’s event here in town. Despite the pouring rain, many want to see how it is welded loose and how, when the high tide comes, is towed away.

The next day they came back and picked up the pillars that the submarine has been moored in. They attached some kind of hydraulic machine that shook the pillar and with the help of the crane they lifted up the post and put it on the deck.

We have discovered that two lock washers are in the wrong place on the engine mounts. A small thing, but it can have major consequences if the screws shake loose. We can not fix it ourselves because the engine needs to be lifted a few cm. Now it’s nice to have to deal with a yard like Hallberg-Rassy who takes responsibility for the mistakes they have made. They contact their agent in Holland who sends an engine installer to us in Belgium. Quickly fixed and on Friday afternoon everything is ready.