The Great Europe Adventure: Brugge

I have to keep this brief, as Holly and I are soon leaving for another day in Amsterdam. I will update more about Amsterdam later.

On Monday, I went to Bruges by myself, as Holly had left for Amsterdam in the morning. The train ride was so easy, and the city is rather small. I only had a small map print out and found my way to the city center by finding the really tall tower (one of the churches) and just walking towards it.

It was a great way to get around because the city is so beautiful and there are many hidden nooks and crannies (that's a strange expression -- I hope I spelled it right). I first went to the Stadhuis Museum, which was only €1 for students. It was a small museum that covered some of the history of Bruges. Next, I went to the next door Church of the Holy Blood (I'll have to check the translations when I can Google later). Apparently, they have a vial of Jesus's blood, but it's displayed in a huge silver tabernacle and you can't see a darned thing!

Afterwards, and on Holly's recommendation, I went to the Chocolate Museum, where I took a tour on the origins of chocolate and how Belgium came to be home to the world's best chocolate... There was a chocolate demo where they gave out free samples, so no complaints there.

Afterwards, I was pretty hungry, but as with Brussels, food is SO expensive (the cheapest I could find was a slice of quiche for €11 -- NOT OKAY). My guidebook recommended this Italian restaurant that, apparently, does LARGE pasta dishes for €3. I found it, but it was closed (Monday after Easter and all). In fact, almost all restaurants (that weren't completely touristy) were closed. Instead, I grabbed "frites"(chips, fries) at the Frites Museum.

NOTE: In Belgium and the Netherlands, they serve their chips with sauces. I've tried mayo, "Brazil", curry ketchup, and peanut sauce. They're all fantastic! Holly and I want to start a company to bring chip sauces to America!

Anyways, after the fry museum, I waited in line for an hour to pay €4 to climb the Belfry (like in the movie, In Bruges) only to find that half the lookout area was closed for repairs and that all the tourists were crammed into the tiny sliver that was still opened. Still I got some nice panoramic photographs of the city, and I decided to take a walk along the canals on my way back to the train station.

I'd only just begun my walk when my camera began acting up. It would turn on and after a few seconds, the screen would slowly go black. I ran into a bookstore and retaped the damaged areas, and when I went to replace the batteries (I need to change them, on average, about once a day), I found that I had none. So, I went on a mission to get more batteries. The only place I could find them was this terrible tourist shop where a 4-pack of batteries was a ridiculous €7.95. Well, I was about to embark on the most scenic part of Bruges, so I paid the money and bought the !@#%^ batteries.

The walk was beautiful and I made it back for a leisurely evening in Brussels. After the battery fiasco, I had no money for dinner and ended up eating a croissant I got at a grocery store.

Anyways, more updates later, I have to go. Holly is waiting.