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Published: June 29th 2012
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Well, we finally made it to Brussels after a 8 1/2 hr coach ride - which included a ferry ride from Dover, England to Belgium. Now, I usually don't mind buses, but this bus...well, it stunk. And after several hours of restless "sleep" and stinky fumes, we were glad to be able to get out on the ferry (aka cruise ship) for about 2 hrs! We have ferries in Washington. In Europe, ferries are cruise ships. They have 6 or 7 levels for cars, buses, trucks, etc, a food court and lounge/sleep area, and a floor dedicated to a casino. Whattttt?! Why don't ferries back home have sleeping areas?
Well, once we got into Brussels, we definitely had a bit of a shock trying to find where it was we needed to go. Also, at that time we didn't have a place to stay, but luckily we called one hostel and they had availability. The hostel we stayed at Jacques Brel Hostel, is pretty nice. Having a breakfast that consists of toast with 3 different kinds of cheese (gouda yummmmm), and boiled eggs and orange slices is such a nice change from just toast and jam for the last two
weeks haha.
After passing out as soon as we got to the hostel (which was about mid-afternoon), we woke up, grabbed some dinner, and just stayed in and slept. The next day Thursday we went to Bruges! I was way excited to visit after seeing the movie
In Bruges (Colin Farrell, Ralph Fiennes, Brendan Gleeson). It was completely shot in the city rather than bits and pieces of it. Here is a little bit of history on the city as quoted from Bruges Facts:
Walking around the almost perfectly preserved city of Bruges (Brugge) is like taking a step back in time. From its 13th-century origins as a cloth-manufacturing town to its current incarnation as a tourism mecca, Bruges seems to have changed little. As in a fairy tale, swans glide down the winding canals and the stone houses look like they're made of gingerbread. Even though glass-fronted stores have taken over the ground floors of ancient buildings, and the swans scatter before tour boats chugging along the canals, Bruges has made the transition from medieval to modern with remarkable grace. The town seems revitalized rather than crushed by the tremendous influx of tourists. In the Middle Ages, Bruges was among the wealthiest cities of Europe. Unlike so many European cities that have had their hearts torn out by war, Bruges has remained unravaged, its glorious monumental buildings intact. UNESCO has recognized the cultural importance of the historic center by awarding it World Heritage status. The city (pop. 115,000, of whom 25,000 live in the old center) is the capital town of West-Vlaanderen (West Flanders) province and the pride and joy of all Flanders. Around four million visitors a year agree that it's the place to see. Medieval Gothic architecture is the big deal here. Sure, there's a layer of Romanesque; a touch of Renaissance, baroque, and rococo; a dab of neoclassical and neo-Gothic; and a smidgen of Art Nouveau and Art Deco. But Gothic is what Bruges provides, in quantities that come near to numbing the senses -- and likely would do so if it weren't for the distraction of the city's contemporary animation. Perhaps the most astonishing thing about Bruges is the consistently warm welcome its residents provide to the swarms of visitors. The basis for this is more than mere economics -- those who live in Bruges love their city and can well appreciate that others want to experience it.
As far as locations we went to, we saw quite a bit that was also featured in the film
http://www.inbruges.info/in-bruges-film-locations/ We went to the Groeninge Museum, Belfort Tower, Bishop's Palace, Markt Square, Prinsenhof, and many other locations. I really think that Bruges is my favorite place we've been to so far, with exception to the day tour we had in Ireland that went to the Cliffs, a working farm, and other landmarks.
http://brugesbelgium.ca/attractions/landmarks.html We also took a lovely canal ride in the Dijver Canal that runs through the center of town. I already knew that I would like Bruges from seeing it in the film, but Sasha was pleasantly surprised with
the town and all of it's sites and museums. We were hoping to see Michelangelo's Madonna statue - that was in one of the local churches, but unfortunately our time in the museum ate up most of the day, and the church was closed. It is the only sculpture of Michelangelo's that made it out of Italy.
The weather definitely held up on our excursion out to Bruges - it had to have been in the high 70s with humidity. While it was nice to see the sun, I could not stop sweating! My Seattle body temperature needs to get used to hot weather, it's only going to get more and more hot. Our hostel room was practically a sauna. Our beds were on the second floor in the room, and there was no breeze to go thru to push out the hot air. I woke up this morning (our second night) at who knows what time and sat down by the window for almost an hour before I could head back to sleep.
Today, we woke up and had to check out at noon, but we're able to leave our stuff here at the hostel. We walked
around town a bit and checked out the prince's palace, parliment building, town center, market, and also enjoyed a belgian waffle with whipped creme. I couldn't finish mine - way to sugary, so Sasha gladly took it 😊
Currently we're just passing time until the hostel starts their music concert and bbq before we have to head to the coach station around 10. Not really looking forward to a 10 hr coach ride from Brussels to Berlin, but at least we'll have a free night, even if it is on a bus!
Will add some pictures to the London entry now - was able to get some facebook uploads to post on here. Now my email on my phone isn't sending outbound messages, and there is still no camera card slots anywhere 😞 Almost at 1300 photos already! Hoping to send a package home as well while we're in Germany. My bag is starting to get a big bulky.
We're staying two nights at a hostel called Helter Skelter, as recommended to by an old classmate who stayed there. Hoping to do some more couchsurfing, but we're just waiting to hear back from some people for Berlin,
Fussen, and Barcelona. Looking forward to getting to Spain after Germany and hopefully convincing our friend Sandy to join us!
Hope everyone is well back home! I'm also hoping to call tomorrow (Sat) 3-6pm Seattle time which is midnight - 3am my time to say hello to everyone. Need to go buy some credit though...
Ta ta for now!
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Haha I thought that picture of Colin Farrell was one you actually took lol. Also, that Belgium waffle looks..so..good...it's probably because I'm hungry right now. (well, that and it's a waffle).