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Published: September 8th 2011
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UGHHHH
On the Train, 5:30 am Hi Everyone!
Sorry the blog posts have been super delayed! It's tough because we get back from work around 7, so once you eat and clean up it's like 8:30 - 9, so there's not much time! But I have to update everyone about my incredible trip to Belgium this past weekend!!
So Kaitlyn, Gorana, Cresence and I left at 5:30 am (ugh.) and took the train from Arras to Lille, then Lille to Brussels, and then Brussels to Bruges, and we were there before 9:30! Not bad for stopovers and such. Then we beelined in for food so we didn't get too grumpy. I discovered that Europeans seemed to have an obsession with uncooked ground beef. My hamburger was done only medium when I went to Paris and I ordered a "Boeuf Basilic" sandwhich in Belgium and it just came out with completely raw meat. Like straight from the package. Very different.
After food we checked into our hostel, St. Christophers. It was a really cool atmosphere and they gave you a ton of discount cards and free stuff for staying there, so I was super happy about that. Next we went and did a canal boat tour.
Very pretty to see the city from this view. Bruges looked like it went through a time machine! It's supposed to be a medieval city and every road is cobblestone and it is absolutely gorgeous. The tour guide was also a Bon Question so that helped things as well 😊
After our boat tour we climbed the Belfry, In the words of Bon Question: There are 366 stairs to the top, there is no elevator, good luck." 366 stairs later we made it to the top and had a really great view of all of Bruges. We decided after all those stairs we had earned ourselves a beer, so we indulged in some Belgium Beer. First we tried the cheapest (Jupiler) which was actually really good! And then we tried the Cherry Beer. Even Christina Bryson would love this one, it's so wonderful and sweet. Definitely a sipping beer though, I bet you would have a wicked hangover the next day otherwise!
After our mid-afternoon pickmeup, we went and visited the Cathedral that has Jesus's blood. Then we went and visited another Cathedral that has the Michelangelo Scupture "Madonna and Child" in it which apparently is one of the few
sculptures to leave Italy. They also had 14th and 15th century artifacts and royal crypts and tombs on display which was really neat. We also had a chance to look around the Markt and the Burg.
After some Belgian chocolate shopping we made our way back to the hostel, and stopped in a few shops along the way.
We made it just in time for HAPPY HOUR! Our hostel has a bar just next door, so we went and ate dinner there during happy hour, 1 euro for a pint of beer. We each bought a round in that hour, and then we stayed in the bar all night talking to people! There are definitely pros and cons about staying in hostels, but a major pro is all the amazing people you meet. Everyone is travelling, sometimes with only a few people or just themselves so they are so nice and friendly! And you meet people from all over the world! We met four people from Australia, a guy from LA, Turkey and all sorts of places. We had a great time hanging out in the bar.
Downsides to hostels: SNORING!!! BUT thankfully I poured over my travel books before
going and I brought earplugs which really helped 😊
After an early morning and free breakfast, we head for the train station again. Along the way we stopped in the yarn store so Cres could buy some yarn and needles so she could knit her first scarf. So far she's doing real good 😊!!!
We caught a train just in time to Brussels. First off we got some food again, then we took a look at the tourist stuff. Brussels is kind of an odd city because the city part is very much like it is at home, but the tourist part looks similar to Bruges with the cobblestone roads and fancy grand place. We went to see the Grand Place and Manneken Pis (See Below for different legends). Manneken Pis is a statue of a little kid peeing. Normally he's naked but there were parades and things when we were there and he was in a suit haha. After Manneken Pis we went shopping. I would have liked to have seen other museums and sites but unfortunately majority rules, so I went shopping with the other girls. I did get a nice new skirt and sweater dress from naf
naf (they had one in Belgium too!!) After that we went and got Belgian Waffles in the Grand Place, and mine had strawberries, whipped cream, and caramel sauce 😊 Then we made our way back to the train station.
We took the train out from Brussels to Lille and we were super tempted to stay on the train because the next stop was Arras. I should explain there are 2 train systems in France, TGV and TER. If you take the TER it costs less but takes you longer to get places because it stops in all the small towns. TGV goes directly between major cities. So we were on the TGV from Brusssels to Lille but were taking the TER from Lille to Arras. Unfortunately when we got off the train we soon learned that TER was on strike ( they strike all the time I guess... they wanted to lower their full time work week to 34 hours per week) This meant though that we could get our of Arras until 11:30 and after all the detours we werent' home until after 1. So that part wasn't too much fun, but we were lucky with trains otherwise.
Street in Bruges
Cobblestone streets and Old Buildings SOOO I should really get to bed. I still have to make another entry about my visit to M. Sheitquatte's farm and horseback riding. I'm going to Paris Sunday for a Ballet and to tour around the city.
LEGEND OF MANNEKEN PIS (taken from Wikipedia)
There are several legends behind this statue, but the most famous is the one about Duke Godfrey III of Leuven. In 1142, the troops of this two-year-old lord were battling against the troops of the Berthouts, the lords of Grimbergen, in Ransbeke (now Neder-over-Heembeek). The troops put the infant lord in a basket and hung the basket in a tree to encourage them. From there, the boy urinated on the troops of the Berthouts, who eventually lost the battle.
Another legend states that in the 14th century, Brussels was under siege by a foreign power. The city had held its ground for some time, so the attackers conceived of a plan to place explosive charges at the city walls. A little boy named Julianske happened to be spying on them as they were preparing. He urinated on the burning fuse and thus saved the city. There was at the time
(middle of the 15th century, perhaps as early as 1388) a similar statue made of stone. The statue was stolen several times. In 1619 it was replaced by the current bronze statue, created by Franco-Flemish Baroque sculptor Jerome Duquesnoy, father of the more famous François of the same last name.
Another story (told often to tourists) tells of a wealthy merchant who, during a visit to the city with his family, had his beloved young son go missing. The merchant hastily formed a search party that scoured all corners of the city until the boy was found happily urinating in a small garden. The merchant, as a gift of gratitude to the locals who helped out during the search, had the fountain built.
Another legend was that a small boy went missing from his mother when shopping in the centre of the city. The woman, panic-stricken by the loss of her child, called upon everyone she came across, including the mayor of the city. A city-wide search began and when at last the child was found, he was urinating on the corner of a small street. The story was passed down over time and the statue erected as
tribute to the well known fable.
Another legend tells of the young boy who was awoken by a fire and was able to put out the fire with his urine, in the end this helped stop the king's castle from burning down.
Another story tells of a dam protecting the city from floods. The young boy happened to walk by and noticed a hole in the dam, he blocked it up by sticking his private area into the hole. Thus the city was saved and people quickly came to the help of the young boy, by quickly taking him out and sealing the hole.
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Nanny
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Travels
Trish, we are so enjoying your travels. Such interesting places and history and folk lorn. Hugs Nan