Hallo!

I had to pay for half an hour of internet because I lost the directions to my next hostel, so you get a quick update! But really I have to check out soon, so I don't have a ton of time.

Bruges is great! It was raining when I first got here, but it was sunny yesterday. The first night I wandered a bit in the rain, but all the museums and things closed at 5, so I didn't get as much done as I was hoping. For dinner I went to the main square and ate at a restaurant there. And I had mussels, because you are supposed to do that in Belgium, and they were delicious! And who would've thought I would eat a big bowl of mussels?

Then I wandered a bit before coming back to the hostel and talking to the people in my room. And we went to the bar downstairs and had Belgian beer, which was nice. And also ridiculously cheap.

And legal.

Then yesterday I climbed the belfort and had a lovely view of Bruges, saw Christ's holy blood, saw Michelangelo's Madonna and Child, went to a Flemish art museum and a Memling/Hospital museum. And then I wandered and found a great deal on chocolate, so now my bag is overflowing with 6 boxes of Belgian chocolate. Mmmm!

Then I dropped the choclate off at the hostel and rented a bike and headed for the countryside! Except this time I had 3 maps, one of which was a bike map that the man at the hostel had drawn a route on for me. So no worries. Of course, I eventually managed to lose the trail (and also took about 40 minutes to find the trail), and I think I was like 5 minutes from reconnecting with the trail when I gave up. But there were lovely river and canal views. And fields with sheep and cows and horses and roosters, so it was great. I think I biked about 20 miles total, so I was very tired, especially when I was going against the wind. But I like biking into the countryside, because I feel a lot more like I've actually seen the country than when I stay in the city or town the whole time.

Then I returned my bike and wandered some more and ate some pasta for dinner and a waffle for dessert. And then I came back to my hostel and was very tired and talked to my roommates and read and went to sleep.

This morning I am heading to Ghent, and I hope I can rent a locker for my choclate-laden backpack. And then I am going to explore Ghent for a few hours before heading to Antwerp. Hooray!

Also, I did not know that Flemish was the same as Dutch.

Also, that picture is of Brussels, not Bruges. But I am required to pick a picture, they don't have one of Bruges, and I can't upload mine yet. Sorry for misleading you.