Profile
Blog
Photos
Videos
I returned this morning from visiting my eighth European country: Belgium! Yiota, Lindy, and I left Friday morning from London's Waterloo train station on a Eurostar train bound for Brussels. We spent a few hours in Brussels on Friday before taking a train to Brugge. We stayed in Brugge until early Monday morning when we returned to Brussels to travel back to London on the Eurostar. It was so nice to get away from Brunel for a long weekend. Being in Belgium reminded me of how stressful and difficult, but exciting and amazing, it can be to spend time in a place where you don't know the language or where things are or even how to desipher the map. We had an enjoyable trip that would take me hours and hours to share every detail, so I will just hit some of the highlights for you in no particular order.
When we booked our trip weeks ago we chose to stay at Snuffel Backpackers Hostel not only because of the great price but also because of the name. I've stayed in my share of shady European hostels, and this one was by no means even close to the worst. However, I have never been in one that required you to walk through the bar and across an outdoor patio to reach the showers. While this would have been a great set-up for the traveler desiring a beer to sip while bathing, it meant that we could only shower during the hours the main reception/bar area was open and that immediately after showering we ended up smelling like the bar before even making it back to our room. I guess everything is relative since a Snuffel shower is sounding good at the moment considering we have no hot water in our Residence Hall.
I highly recommend the Canal Tour for anyone visiting Brugge. For a little over 5 euro you get a 30 minute tour along Brugge's canals. The guide points out some of the landmarks that can be seen from the water and shares some extra bits of information. Because we had mostly English and French speakers in our boat, our guide gave commentary in both languages. If you are really lucky, you may just have the attractive Belgian man we had as our guide!
Brugge is home to the only work of art by Michelangelo to leave Italy during his lifetime. "Madonna and Child" is a small marble statue completed in 1504 and is on display in the Church of Our Lady. Also found in Brugge are a few drops of Christ's blood which are kept in the Basilica of the Holy Blood.
Belgium is famous for its chocolate, and as a tourist town, that means that Brugge is filled with chocolate shops selling chocolates with every filling and in every shape imaginable. The city's newest attraction is Choco-Story. This chocolate museum explains the history of chocolate and the specifics of Belgian chocolate as well as allowing visitors to watch a demonstration. We were a little disappointed with the museum overall, but did learn a few things. Belgium has very strict regulations that chocolates must meet before being labeled as Belgian chocolate. Make sure you check out my photo album and read the sign that Lindy took a picture of explaining why Belgian chocolate tastes so much better than other chocolates. (Come on Hersheys--get a clue!) We also learned from the display that chocolate does not make you fat, cause acne, or give you cavities. Our conclusion: chocolate is the perfect substance!
We consumed our fair share of chocolate, hot chocolate, belgian waffles, and even had mussels and frites (fries in the US/chips in the UK). Instead of paying 3 euro for a crappy hostel breakfast of cold cereal and toast, we stopped in the morning at a little bakery and bought fresh pastries on our way into the city center. But don't worry--we walked long enough in the cold wind every day to burn more than enough calories!
Although the trip was a success, we did have a few stressful moments of panic like trouble finding ATMs that would accept our cards or places to exchange British pounds for Euros and missing the train we wanted to take back to Brussels this morning. All those things are part of traveling though, and we made it back safely with some delicious chocolate. This long weekend trip was exactly what I needed to remind me of why I wanted to study and live abroad in the first place. There are a few people I live with who are miserable here at Brunel and are doing their best to make others miserable around them. After a relaxing weekend away from it all I'm even more determined not to let them suck this American girl into their negativity!
- comments