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Dark Skies
Main Market Square We were greeted in Bruges by a layer of dark clouds and the heaviest rain we had experienced on the entire trip. This time Rob had the directions all written up for us and the hostel was supposedly only a ten minute walk from the station. Due to the lack of street signs and confusing instructions, ten minutes quickly turned into twenty. Just as we realized that we were slightly lost, it started raining even more.
With our clothes soaking wet and backs aching we finally managed to find our hostel. We checked in, climbed the three flights of treacherously narrow and winding stairs, and collapsed on our bed. Since we had a late night the night before from partying with Colin and Liam, we were both feeling quite tired and exhausted. After a few minutes of rest, we grabbed our rain jackets and decided to explore Bruges. Just our luck, we walked outside, the rain was gone, and the sun was shining through.
We decided our first stop would be the Market Square to try to find something to eat. As we browsed through the different restaurants, we soon realized that Bruges was not the prime location for
Traditional Bruges Buildings
What everyone pictures when they think of Bruges a couple of poor Canadians backpackers. Also, as with many of the European countries we've visited, most of the menus consisted of meat. Luckily, many years ago, the Belgians came up a brilliant dish that has become a staple food in our traveling diet: pommes frites. Otherwise known as french fries. (We're still not quite sure they are called "french" fries since they are not from France.)
There are two frites stands side-by-side in the square that have supposedly been competing for the title of "best frites" since 1896. Since we had eaten a fair amount of fries since the start of our trip, we figured we'd be pretty good judges. We decided to go with the stand on the right first and excitedly ordered our fries with high expectations. Our initial reaction was not too bad, but we quickly realized that we simply wanted them to be the best damn fries we had ever had. After a few more bites, our honest reactions emerged - mediocre, at best. We left feeling unsatisfied and still hungry. Sidenote: the next day we tried the stand on the left and it was much better, but Amsterdam still does it the best!
Clock Tower
Main Square We headed towards the only other place in Bruges we can afford, "Pasta in a Cup". It has a real name, but we prefer this as that is what they serve. Once again, Bruges lets us down and it was not very good, but at least we were full. We went out in search of a reasonably priced pub, but all were completely full. With our heads hanging low and still sober, we headed back to the hostel, where we could order beer. First they served us warm beer, and in the land of beer that is absolutely blasphemous! Then to top off the evening they kicked everyone out of the common room at 11pm. From this point on, the hostel did nothing but disappoint. The beds were so loud that if anyone rolled over the entire room would wake up, the walls were paper thin, the "pillows" were more like a bag of rocks and the sink in our room kept making loud gurggling noises.
After having several large men that snore louder than a sleeping bear share our room, we were quite pleased to see that our new roommates for the night were a young, thin
Way Too Many Stairs
The hike up to our hostel room couple. The first thing he said, "I hope my snoring doesn't keep you awake" and she said, "oh it will!" It looked like another night with ear plugs for us. After a terrible sleep, we awoke to another day of grey skies. Rob and I decided to brave the weather and do some more wandering. That day was a Saturday, and the elderly tourists were out in full force. The narrow sidewalks were almost slowed to a halt by the hordes of white-haired foreigners. Walking anywhere within a reasonable amount of time was impossible and just added to the ever growing frustrations in Bruges.
During our stay we should also mention the waffels, which we paid way too much for, were fantastic and the Belgian chocolate definately exceeded our expectations! We're no experts, but there is something about hand-made Belgian chocolate that really do make them the best. Even with the delicious chocolate and waffels, our highlight was a locally owned pub, called 't Brugs Beertje, that serves over 300 different types of Belgian beer. Over the next couple of days we tried many different types of beer at our new hot spot. Belgium also is one of the
Cheers!
To our first Belgian beer only countries that still has beer made by monks, the traditional way, without any machinery. Many of the trappist (monk) beers have an alcohol content upwards of 10-12%. We won't go into too much detail about all the beers, but trust us, the Belgians, like the Germans, know their beer.
That sums up our short trip to Bruges. We're currently in Paris with a moment to finally relax and post this blog. Thanks again for reading our blogs! We love and miss you all!
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Lyndsay
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SEE YOU IN A COUPLE DAYS!! love you both!