In Bruges

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This is way long overdue, but I'm home sick today, so I'm gonna sit and write this.

My favorite city in Europe is Bruges. There. I said it. I can probably never afford to go back there again because it's the most expensive city ever in this world (that I've been to), but it's all kinds of amazing.

We left Cologne, Germany at 4:30 and drove to Belgium. 3 countries in 1 day. Awesome. Naturally, I navigated again. The drive was...dark. Exciting, I know. We passed Brussels, which we could only tell because it was a really big city with lots of lights. Adam drove, and I was awake, and we said, "look! Brussels!" but Darcy and Noah were passed out in the back seat. Really excited moment for all four of us.

Anyway, we got into Bruges, woke up Darcy and Noah, and decided that we were way to hungry to do anything but eat. We parked somewhere in the city, got out, and looked around for a place that was relatively inexpensive. Spoiler alert: that's not real in Bruges. Everywhere had meals for about 14 euros per entree at the cheapest. No thanks. After walking around forever, we walked into a pub that looked cheap only to find out that they don't serve food. We asked if there was anything cheap. Gyros. Always. So we went and got gyros. The man at the gyro place spoke...not English, so it was really fun ordering food. He was watching what we eventually discovered was a Turkish soap opera on TV. It was AMAZINGly horribly acted. While waiting for the meal, Noah and I dubbed for the actors in English. Our food took forever because the one many in the gyro place was so invested in this show that I don't think he started cooking our food until it was over. He kept bursting out laughing, which made my and Noah's rendition of the show even better.

We got our food and it was...crappy Turkish food. What did we expect? Then we went back over to the pub for BELGIAN BEERS. I got Triple Karmeliet, and it was the best thing I've ever tasted in my life. We sat around drinking our beers and playing hearts for a bit. Then we got in the car to go to the hotel.

A few weeks earlier, Darcy had found an IBIS Budget hotel for 3 people for $77. Not bad. It came with a double bed and a single bed. Either two of us would be squished on the single bed, or one person on the floor. Manageable. We planned to sneak the fourth person into the room. It's a hotel room, so not that difficult. No problems, cheap hotel.

Here's what really happened:

First, we went to the wrong hotel. The guy at the front desk of Ibis basically looked at us and told us we were looking for the Budget hotel. He gave us good directions and a map, and sent us off. We parked, and Darcy and I went to the front desk to check in while the boys waited by the car. The guy at the front desk "clarified" that it was for 2 people, and Darcy said yes. The room cost $61. The check-in guy gave us the code to our room. Darcy went up, while I went to tell the boys. When I got to the room...wait. When the boys came up to the room about 5 minutes after me, Adam said the words that sum up the experience perfectly: "Oh, Darcy. What happened.

The room had one double bed. The toilet had a door. The shower was IN the room, but the glass was opaque in all the "right" places. Except from my vantage point where I slept on the floor. Needless to say, none of us showered in Belgium. Next to the "shower" was a column. On one side was a tiny desk like the ones you have in college but smaller. On the other was the sink. THE END. Darcy and Adam took the bed, Noah took the floor next to the window, and I made a mattress out of coats and slept in my sleep sack. We made Darcy get us an endless amount of pillows.

The next morning we woke up at 8:00, and the sun still hadn't risen. We walked into the city and found out that nowhere really opens for breakfast until 9:00. I was super cranky because of the lack of sleep and coffee, so I wasn't able to fully appreciate the city yet. We eventually found a place (right around the corner from the opening shot in the movie In Bruges, if anyone's keeping tabs) that served waffles. For breakfast, I had two Belgian waffles. In Belgium. And coffee, thank god. They were honestly the best waffles I've ever had in my life. I don't know what they put in the waffles, but I think it might be crack. So so good. By the time we left, things were opening and people were coming out.

We walked around a bit and then saw this candy shop where people seemed to be making candy inside. It was early enough that we were the only people there watching, so the four of us gathered around and watched people make ribbon candy from scratch. It was really amazing to see. By the time we left, there was a huge crowd.

We spent the day going in and out of churches. Noah and I were all giddy about being in the same place as the movie. We didn't go up into the clock tower because we only had a certain amount of time in the city as the car was due back in Amsterdam by 7:30, and the line was already wicked long. But I could've wandered around the city forever. Everything was old and medieval with cobblestone streets and canals and quiet alleyways, and swans everywhere! That's a real thing! In the central square we went and got fries because apparently that's a Belgian thing. I had curry ketchup, and I think I will put curry in my ketchup for the rest of my life.

The last thing we had to do in Belgium was drink a beer sampler. Unfortunately, the place that serves 400 beers was full (yes, four hundred), so we found this place called The Beer Wall. For 10 Euros, Noah and I got samples of 4 beers plus snacks. These were seriously the best beers I've had in my life ever. We took about an hour to drink all four samples, and then we just had to sit and reflect because they were so delicious. My mouth is still watering just thinking about it.

On our way back to the hotel, Darcy and I stopped to get more waffles (chocolate and banana, yum). Then we walked back to the car, and Adam drove back to Amsterdam.

But that's not all. On our way back to Amsterdam, we hit what I'm pretty sure was a hurricane. TERRIFYING. There was no visibility, wind whipping, debris flying all over the roads. I was holding on to the "oh shit" handle for dear life. Thankfully, Adam got us through it and we made it back to Amsterdam safely.

When we were getting close to the airport, I called the rental company to give us directions back to the place. He said "Take exit 3-oh-4 and then blahblahblah." After passing the airport and not seeing an exit 304 I called again. He told me to go back into the airport. We did. I called again. The exit was actually called "3 Hoofdorp," which sounds a lot like 3-oh-4 with an accent. We got lost about 5 times. Eventually he told us to find the McDonald's near the rental agency and they would come pick us up. EMBARRASSING. Stupid Americans, just go find the McDonald's. Well, we showed him. We found the agency, and got our cranky selves back to the city.

When I marry someone rich, I'm going back to Bruges.

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Comments

[Diane]

Bruges
I LOVED Bruges! So glad you got to go there.