The tiny village of Zennegat lies in a strange damp region of marshes and tidal rivers that is virtually uninhabitable because of the risk of flooding. Almost no one knows about this remote settlement, yet it is only five kilometres by bike from Mechelen.
When you get there, you find a row of modest houses and an old café squeezed onto a narrow spit of land where three waterways meet. It feels cut off from civilisation although you can hear the sound of the motorway not far away.
The village was a hangout for hippies and dropouts in the 1960s. Locals couldn’t believe their eyes when they saw young people jumping naked into the lock. It still has a rebellious, alternative feel.
The Cafe Zennegat 13 is a friendly, relaxed place furnished with old wooden tables, oil paintings and piles of books. People cycle out here to drink a beer and eat the local dish paling in het groen.
Derek Blyth’s hidden secret of the day: Derek Blyth is the author of the bestselling “The 500 Hidden Secrets of Belgium”. He picks out one of his favourite hidden secrets for The Brussels Times every day.
