Slept in until around 9am today. Music was so loud in the bar downstairs last night you could feel the floor vibrate with the bass. Rather annoying. Ate the free breakfast here at the Bauhaus and then showered. The showers are a bit weird here. The toilets are also extremely cramped. But they get the job done.
We took our time getting ready because Bruges isn’t a huge city. We’d have plenty of time to see what all we wanted to see. We did eventually set out on a journey to conquer the city… or at least see it.
As we set out we went past a store dedicated to metal music! It was glorious! There were a lot of bands I had never heard of, but it was still fantastic to see that metal is alive here in Europe! Right next door was the grocery store, Smatch, which I said I would get some stuff from later.
We walked to the Berg, which has some pretty awesome buildings. We went inside a church that is supposed to have a chalice filled with the Holy Blood of Christ, but I am not sure if we went in the right area to see it. We did get to see some statues and paintings though.
From there we went to Markt again. There was a huge event going on in the plaza because there were trucks and stands all over. We walked to the Belfry courtyard and got some pictures but we didn’t go up the tower since it cost 4 Euro. We are running very short on cash right now and need it for food. It would have probably been a cool sight to see, but I’ll do it when I’m not visiting on such a budget!
Bruges is actually a very cool place. The buildings are small and quaint but have great architecture. The roads are cobble stone or brick. Canals lace through the city, and lace stores also abound. Waffle and fry stands are frequent as is greenery and churches. It’s not a very large town, which is nice. Much less hectic, but there are a ton of tourists in areas.
We walked around quite a bit of the city today. We saw a lot of the churches and plazas and bridges. We even saw this hard-to-spot cannon which sticks out of the ground by its muzzle. We saw a guardhouse with a bronze skull on it which is the replacement for the actual skull of a traitor. Nearly all of the town is old buildings. There is one new building: the opera house. It’s ugly though, with a plain red brick facade. I love the Belfry tower and the other buildings in that square.
Tons of tourists flock around the canals for boat rides or some gardens for horse drawn carriage rides. I hate tourists and it embarrasses me to be one. At least Chuck and I don’t stick out as much. We’re a small group and we’re not all decked out in traditional tourist clothes. Thank Zeus. Otherwise I’d jump off the Belfry.
We walked around for several hours, even going through one of the parks, when we decided to head back. The plan was to find some food, but the restaurant here is only open for lunch for two hours. Gah! Europe, you’re killing me! We napped instead. We woke up at 6 and checked to see if the restaurant had spots available for dinner. Like last night, they were booked full. I think if your restaurant is booked full for the entire night, you’re too damn small. You lose my business and respect.
After consulting our guidebooks, Chuck and I settled on “The Hobbit.” That’s right, it’s a restaurant here in Bruges! Don’t get too excited though. The themeing has very little to actually do with The Hobbit or LOTR. The food was really expensive for small portions. The music definitely did not fit with a Hobbit theme. I can imagine neither Bilbo nor Gandalf listening to whatever it was. Right across the street is Bistro Tolkien, but it was closed so we couldn’t check it out. Nice idea, poor implementation. I’m also really tired of not being able to get tap water at restaurants. No, I don’t want to drink mineral water; no I don’t want a beer; no I don’t want a pop – I want regular old water. Why is that impossible to get here in Europe? I ended up having to pay $1.90 for a really small cup of coke. And then they have a 30 Euro limit for paying with credit card. That is also annoying. I like how in America you can pay for a .30$ item with credit card. I don’t like carrying cash, but that doesn’t fly so well here. I’ve honestly found dining in Europe to be very stressful.
On my way back I wanted to stop at the local super market to get some soap and deoderant, but they freaking closed at 8. 10 minutes before we got there. Most stores in Europe also close incredibly early. When do people do their shopping? I love shopping at 11pm at Kroger. You can avoid the crowds, for sure. Oh well, I’ll pick some up tomorrow before we go to Brussels.
We’re here in our room right now. I’m uploading some pictures to facebook, so I’ll try to update those posts soon. I don’t expect we’ll do much more this evening. Drinking is too expensive, and I’m tired anyway. I plan on reading and heading to bed early. I think part of being in Bruges is the relaxed atmosphere. There isn’t the “Go go go” mentality, which is nice.
We’re going to do a little more sight seeing tomorrow before we take a train to Brussels, where we’ll spent the night. Then the next day we head to London for 5 days before heading back to America. We’re in the home stretch. Less than a week left.
Feel free to fill me in on what’s going on back home! Also, is the new Harry Potter movie good? I think Chuck and I are going to see it in London.
#1 by John Colvin at July 15th, 2009
The Harry Potter movie is quite good. Well acted, well shot and dark. I felt like the movie was a bit of an anti-climax, but it certainly held my interest. It had some funny parts, too. As far as the series goes, I would say that it is the best so far.
As always, a lot is missing from the book. I understand why that has to be the case, but it still always makes me a little sad.
I would recommend seeing it, for sure.
#2 by Joan at July 15th, 2009
so does any of the scenery remind you of LOTR? It sounds as if you are just getting a little tired of a good thing. That is how it usually works with traveling, it is fun in the beginning but by the end you are usually ready for home. and often times we need a vacation to recover from our vacation……………ahhhh life, it’s good ay?
#3 by kyle at July 16th, 2009
Switzerland definitely reminded me of LOTR, and so did Bruges to an extent. Paris would have been like the elf kingdoms. Wondering what London will be like. I guess we’ll find out tomorrow!
#4 by kyle at July 16th, 2009
@John – I’m really excited to see Harry Potter! Hopefully in the next day or two.
@Joan – And yeah, I am feeling ready to come back. So tired of walking every single day. We’ll have 4 or so days in London, hopefully we’ll be able to relax for a few of them.