Belgium

"All journeys have secret destinations of which the traveler is unaware." ~Martin Buber


I am sad to say that we are leaving Belgium and making our way to the Netherlands. It's not that I am not looking forward to what's to come and all that we still have to explore, but I really enjoyed Belgium. The people were very friendly even though we didn't speak either of their primary languages, French and Dutch. The scenery is amazing! Beautiful old homes, buildings, and churches everywhere. If I remember correctly, there are 16 catholic churches in the walls of Brugges that only has a population of 20,000. Actually, one man told us that most days there are more tourist in the walls than locals. The food was tasty too! How can you say no to sweet, chewy Belgian waffles, mouth watering chocolates, tasty beer, and fresh mussels! I had no problem staying full throughout our three days in Belgium that's for sure! 


Our Belgium adventure started Tuesday in Brussels. We took a train from London to Brussels early Tuesday morning and after talking with people and looking at prices, we had planned to just spend the afternoon there. Once we arrived we had to exchange our pounds for euro, store our bags, and find out how to travel around Brussels...oh and try to learn either French or Dutch! I will  admit that most of the people we ran into spoke English fairly well though. We found our way to the Grand Place and started our day. After walking around a bit and taking in the beauty that is the Grand Place, we sat down to enjoy a beer and sandwich on the square. I will post pictures later this summer, but google "Grand Place Brussels" and take a peek...it's beautiful! After lunch we decided to do the hop on hop off bus which I think was a great decision. The bus was a perfect way for us to see Brussels in such a short time. We rode around for about 3 hours and after found the statue Manneken Pis and the sister statue Jeaneke Pis. Strange, but kind of cute. Look those up too! It had been about 5 hours and we felt that we had seen what we needed of Brussels so I picked up a waffle with strawberries and chocolate (YUM) and we made our way back to the train station. The next train only took about an hour and we were in Brugges by dinner time.
Brussels was nice, some pretty things to look at, but in the end was just another big city much dirtier than I prefer. The buildings were old, but not the beautiful kind of old we have seen and will see in other places, but old and dirty looking.


Brugges on the other hand was fantastic! I haven't seen the movie In Brugge, but if you have you know the atmosphere of the town. Brugge is a small town surrounded by walls and canals where everything is within walking distance. Everyone (and I mean everyone) rides their bikes around town while the tourist are walking, riding horse drawn carriages, or floating through the canals in tour boats. Chris and I spent our time here visiting several museums, eating chocolates and tasty food while sipping on Belgian beer, and making new friends! In one of the city's old Catholic churches which is now a museum, The Church of our Lady, we saw the beautiful Madonna with Child by Michealangelo. I loved this museum/tour the most! The church was absolutely breathtaking and some if the old artwork and structures they house are amazing. we also hiked our way up the Belfort Tower and enjoyed the magnificent view of Brugge and the surrounding areas. I loved this part, but man was it tough to climb the very, very steep 366 stairs up and 366 back down. 


Brugges was a nice break for us. We were able to sleep in because we stayed in just a four person room as opposed to the 16 person rooms we had been sleeping in. We were also able to walk around the city without feeling rushed or pressured to fill our days from start to finish because we did have 3 days. I appreciated this because it allowed us to slightly emerge ourselves in the culture and appreciate the city rather than just passing through. I would absolutely make a trip back to Brugges if I had the opportunity, you should plan to visit if you ever make it to Belgium! 


We are spending our last full day in the mess that is Amsterdam today and head to Germany tomorrow. I'll post all about Amsterdam soon I hope! 


I miss you all and hope that everyone is staying safe and enjoying summer! 


LIVE LIFE and enjoy fine chocolates!