http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Belgium/West-Flanders/ Travel adventures in journals and photos from Europe , Belgium , West Flanders en-us Mon, 07 Dec 09 01:42:50 +0000 Mon, 07 Dec 09 01:42:50 +0000 This weekend we decided to go to BelgiumWe left early Zaterdag morning with a car that we hired. Along the way we stopped of at a place called Damme. Mum couldn't stop saying how spectacular it looked. There we got icecreams and had a look at a town hall that was built in 1316 We got to Brugge in time for lunch.Mum and Dad remembered Brugge as 'a quiet little village' but it was packed with http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Belgium/West-Flanders/Brugge/blog-438402.html Dias 22 a 24 Em um mesmo dia acordei na Inglaterra passei boa parte do dia na Frana e dormi na Blgica. No apenas cruzei trs pases mas trs lnguas distintas ingls francs e holands ou flamengo como preferem alguns belgas. Entretanto mais fcil se comunicar na Blgica onde se fala uma lngua completamente diferente mas quase todos falam ingls do que na Frana um pas de ln http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Belgium/West-Flanders/Brugge/blog-437173.html Belgium and namesJust realised that I missed a few photos of oddities in Belgique in particular a shop which at first glance appeared to be a translation issue one of those were in Dutch or Flemish the name sounded good then someone decided to put it up in English the give away came in the picture on the door it seems to be a high class boutique clothes store with the picture on the door....w http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Belgium/West-Flanders/Bruges/blog-431657.html Due to popular demand I am writing my first blog before I have actually started my travels. So the trip to Bruges was amazing I thought I would indulge myself in luxury accommodation fine beer fine chocolate and the real french frie before I set off for 7 months of complete budget living. The trip to Bruges was ruined by the ever so handy UK police who decided to close the road into the port http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Belgium/West-Flanders/Bruges/blog-431115.html While I'm on a roll I might as well get up to date.From Paris we got the train to Bruges which is a beautiful place thanks Fi for that tip. We spent a day and a half there doing all things Belgian. Or at least drinking beer and eating waffles. Around this consumption of Belgian finery we did find time to see the sights. We did a canal tour walked around town wandered through the two main squ http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Belgium/West-Flanders/Bruges/blog-427033.html Brugges for a day.We have caught up with a friend we met on our Kumuka journey through the middle east to stay with him at Den Haag Netherlands for a little while. So why not jump across the border to Belgium and visit Brugges as we have decided due to time restraints that we would have to drop Belgium altogether. So a 3 12 hour train trip each way we headed to Brugges for a Beer and Chocolate http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Belgium/West-Flanders/Brugge/blog-425825.html Before leaving Antwerp Riet and I packed up my beer glasses and went to the post office to send them off to the US. There they told us that they couldnt send glass. I persisted and they said they could send the package but there was a good chance some glasses would break. So we went around the corner from the PO and found another cardboard box to wrap around the other box for padding and ret http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Belgium/West-Flanders/Brugge/blog-423034.html Getting to Bruges this morning was a challenge. I packed my bags while everyone in my dorm room was still sleeping and headed over to the Gare du Nord train station about a fifteen minute walk. Probably would have been less if I wasn't wearing 25kg of luggage but anyway... Bought a ticket for the train and went to the track to wait for it. I had about a halfhour wait. The train didn't http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Belgium/West-Flanders/Bruges/blog-421812.html Our little tour of Europe continue today to the north. We woke up in rainy Luxembourg and drove three hours through the rain to Brugge. I wanted to stop in LouvainlaNeuve the University town where I studied...but the rain was too much for Ma'ri and I to give it a proper stop.LouvainlaNeuve is a new city established in 1968 form the departure of french speaking students of the city of Leuven http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Belgium/West-Flanders/Brugge/blog-421775.html Today we were up at the crack of dawn to the sound of the falling rain not great when you have a day packed full of sights to go and see. Anyway we had our breakfast definitely nothing to write about and got on the walking shoes to go and see the city centre. We spent an hour or so having a red bull to wake up and some internet browsing and then got going. We stopped at the town hall and took so http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Belgium/West-Flanders/Bruges/blog-418183.html Today started off worst than any of the days we have had so far. Gail woke up with bites from head to toe no idea what they were from when we woke up but as the day moved on we found out something we didnrsquot want to know. After an hour of debating what to do with the hotel manager we ended up at the pharmacy down the road and thank goodness after much FrenchEnglish deciphering got the stuff http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Belgium/West-Flanders/Bruges/blog-418182.html Hi EveryoneYesterday I rented a bicycle and rode down from Bruges to the coast. I had a bottle of Diet Coke my mp3 player was playing Twilight the audio book and it was a beautiful sunny day. A moment of pure bliss. Along the way I rode through a small town called Damme. It was quite adorable and had 3 used bookstores though the only English books I found were the Harry Potter books. I hung o http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Belgium/West-Flanders/Bruges/blog-412214.html Hi EveryoneToday was another fun filled day in fantasy land...I mean Bruges This city is almost like being in Disneyland. It seems like it was created and maintained solely for the sake of the visitors. And everyone here seems to be a visitor. The streets are filled with people snapping pictures and buying postcards. Strangely enough I don't hear much English. I guess Bruges is one of those http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Belgium/West-Flanders/Bruges/blog-411531.html I arrived in Bruges around 11am. I took the 10am train from Brussels. They didn't check my ticket at all. I just walked on to the train and then off again in Bruges and I could have been completly without a ticket. I am told that is an honor system there are occasional spot checks and huge fines if you are caught cheating. The funny thing is that my ticket is valid between certain dates so http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Belgium/West-Flanders/Bruges/blog-411160.html Wow Bruges is such a cool city I highly recommend adding it to your itinerary when you're in Europe.I slept so good last night. It wasn't the best weather today but the sun came out after all. I started out on a selfguided walk that I had in my tour book. I'm glad I did because I got to see lots of Bruges. I went in this church that supposedly has a vial of Christ's dried blood. The museum was http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Belgium/West-Flanders/Bruges/blog-410847.html If I never ride a bustrainplane again in my life I might be okay with that. My hostel was so loud last night and I was paranoid of sleeping past my 4am alarm that I got about 2 hours of sleep. I caught a bus to the airport plane to brussels hour and a half bus to train station hour train to Bruges bus to city center. I had originally planned to stay in Brussels but on the train ride I chang http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Belgium/West-Flanders/Bruges/blog-410539.html Travelling from the UK to the Continent overland has been a dream of ours since we first arrived in England. European friends in Australia would amaze us with tales of travelling to another country without getting on a plane but until now we hadnrsquot found an opportunity to do so well not across the channel anyway.So when we found bargain Eurostar tickets available for the second May long w http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Belgium/West-Flanders/Bruges/blog-408402.html BRUGGE we got here and slept for 15 hours and woke up at 7 the next morning and are about to leave for paris cause there is not much stuff to do here because this town is for lovers.it seems really cool but paris is going to be a lot of fun too. off to pictures in belgium and wine in parisclarkalexmeetch http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Belgium/West-Flanders/Brugge/blog-407132.html lastminute I decided to go and visit my brother in Belgium. He went there for erasmus so I thought it could be nice trip and it was worth of it... lastminute http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Belgium/West-Flanders/Bruges/blog-406968.html HalloI got up at the crack of dawn after socializing the night before at the outdoor party at Montgomery in order for me to arrive in Ypres in time to catch my tour. I got my first taste of Belgian wildlife on the way there as I saw rabbits quails and a pheasant from my train window.I donrsquot usually do tours but Ypres is special. You see Ypres was one of the major sites of conflict during http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Belgium/West-Flanders/Ypres/blog-406800.html