EuroTank, Pt II

Saturday 11.3.2007
Bruges, Belgium

Seems like the jet lag went away after all three of us actually died of exhaustion at about 8:30 the first night and were miraculously resurrected the second morning at about 8:30. 12 hours of death apparently cures jetlag- even for toddlers. But we started the day off a little wobbly none-the-less, with a fear that Bennett had gotten sick on the plane. He ran a fever all day, but we became convinced later it was more teething, and he seemed to enjoy his day fine. Why can’t we all just have one long curvy tooth? I’ll tell you this much, brushing it would be a snap, and you’d never have to floss. But I digress…

We headed out as soon as we got ourselves together and made our way towards the train station, and made a quick stop at st. micheal’s cathedral. It’s huge & beautiful, and quintessentially gothic. We looked around inside for a bit & took a few pictures- but we hurried it along in favor of the nearest waffle vendor we could find on our way to the train station. We ate as we walked & hopped an 11:00am train to brugge.

The ride was a quick hour from Brussels center, through beautiful Belgian countryside. We were really excited. This part of the trip was really the focal point of coming to Belgium at all. We had read travel info, seen many pictures, &watched a documentary or two about the place, so we had awesome expectations... we were not disappointed!

We got off the train and made our way through the station and down a few blocks (passing a literal sea of bicycles- apparently everyone else rents bikes here), and we son found ourselves on meandering cobblestone roads flanked by the quaintest of little flemmish houses. We meandered for a while and eventually found ourselves in the most charming little square you can possibly imagine. …or so we thought. Over the course of the day, we found ourselves in about half a dozen little squares, each one more charming than the last. Amazing. The entire town is comprised of cobblestone- I don’t think we saw any other kind of road there at all.

There are also lots of little canals weaving through the town. In the 1400’s, the town was right on the ocean, but over time silt deposits built up and made trade difficult, so the townspeople built the canals. Now, they’re perfect for tours. we took one for about €7 each. Cheap! The canals make for incredible photo ops, and even though it was really overcast (it even misted here & there) I shot hundreds of photos there.

Still one of my favorite things about Belgium so far is all the beautiful architecture. And brugge was no exception… I actually got to climb to the top of the clock/bell tower which is the crowning jewel of the main square (366 steps. I need to go to the friggin’ gym.). And there were incredible spires & beautiful old halls everywhere you looked. Literally every turn is a postcard.

We stayed until we thought our knees would give out, and then had an amazing dinner (flemmish beef stew with chips & brugge zot beer (an excellent beer recommendation, tom) & got back on the train to headed back to our hotel in brussles. An awesome day.