In Bruges (Day 54)

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Bruges is a well preserved town up in Flanders that used to be much more prosperous than it is today and the place gives off that feel quite a good deal. Now it's really just a big tourist destination but as some might put it, the city absorbs it quite well which I agreed with. It kind of reminds of me of Amsterdam Lite (yeh, I am writing this four days late). There are a bunch of small canals that weave through the town with cafes, chocolate and waffle shops and fry stands all over the place. Spent my afternoon there just wandering around with nothing to see in particular yet enjoying everything I saw. I also wanted to make a point of eating all the stuff they say you should eat in Belgium even if it is all aimed at tourists. Got my fries with sauce and a waffle with choclate covered strawberries. I was pretty happy with myself. It had been drizzling all day which I really didn't mind but it started to pour so I ducked into a nearby cafe/bar which I was going to do anyways for the Argentina-Germany game. All this meant was I could try an extra Belgian beer so that wasn't really a problem. The beer here really does live up to the hype. Even the cheap stuff which you can find anywhere is pretty good. Usually a pretty solid Blonde beer at worst. From there you can really go in any direction. They've got something for everyone and it's no more expensive than anywhere else.

Had a good time here watching the game with some Brits and talking to the barkeep. I think he may be the only Belgian person I talked to in Belgium and my favorite part of this is that he hates his own country ha. Says people are never happy even though they have everything they need. Interesting take. Went out tonight to some pretty cool cellar bar and had a few more beers with the usual crowd here before heading home where we played that game from Inglorious Bastards (guess the name of the celeb on the paper stuck to your forehead) till the early morning. Good times. I think today is pretty much the end of my Belgian experience. Tomorrow is America's day and after that it's on to Holland.

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Photos

ms
main square

church
church across the canal

canal
one of the many picturesque canals

penis
who wants belgian chocolate? haha

tower
tower from the main square

Comments

[Jan]

Bruges
Bruges is a must-see but a tourist trap nonetheless. I recognise the words of the Belgian who said people are never happy even though they have everything they need, though if he hates his country, he should perhaps travel around a bit ... "From Belgium with love", Jan.