Bruges

I can’t believe it’s almost been three weeks since my trip to Bruges! That’s what I get for heading on a small over night trip before a 16 day travel through Europe.

Because our sprint classes (mine was the history of witch-hunts) are over, most students no longer have class on Thursdays (which most of the time does not help since MUDEC insists on making us have class on Fridays). However, Jordan, Cary, and I decided to take advantage of our free time and hope a train to Belgium Wednesday night.

It was the most last minute of plans. Literally, we booked the hostel Wednesday morning and caught a Wednesday afternoon train. But, we made our train for a measly 20 euros and had a great time talking and enjoying a few bottles of wine on our three hour venture. It’s the first time I’ve traveled with three people, which is normally a number to avoid in life, but honestly, it was such a great time. It was more than just two but not enough to be a group. We arrived in Bruges pretty late Wednesday night, checking into our hostel which we lovingly referred to as Snuffleupagus, and decided to begin a quest for food. We didn’t make it far and stopped into the first restaurant we saw, hardly three blocks away.

It was all three of our’s first trips to Belgium, and despite are adamant insistence that we speak French to them, the waiters had to continue telling us they speak Flemish and English. We were also fed these teeny versions of shrimp, which the waiter sat down and taught us to eat. After a few too many bottles of wine and a long debate about health care, we went home and enjoyed the luxurious hostel.

The next morning we began our real exploration of Bruges. Honestly, I didn’t know what to expect of the small city in Belgium. I was so impressed. It was absolutely adorable and the dream little European city. All the buildings are old and cobble stone streets are broken up by a series of canals that weave in and out of the city. The main square was great, a little touristy, but perfect for me. All outdoor cafés and large government and church buildings. We really just spent the day wandering in and out of shops (Jordan has sisters and girlfriend so he’s learned how to just let us shop) and eating and stopping for coffees. (I really have become an addict.)

In the afternnon we even took a romantic canal ride and saw the city and heard some of the history. I won’t bore you with the gory details of the sites of Bruges, but the highlight of the ride was absolutely the swan pond at the end of one canal. There is one area of the canals that is full of swans. Just full of them! And they are brave and come right up to the boat. I’ve never seen so many swans or seen such a beautiful setting before. I loved it.

We were really lucky with the weather the whole day, in the sunshine almost the entire time and discarding our jackets early in the morning. And, our luck continued, as we hopped onto our train home it started to rain… right as we entered the station. The Belgian luck, obviously.