Day 6: We had to take 4 trains to get to Brugge today, a lot of carrying our suitcases up and down staircases and on and off trains, which is not the fun part of traveling. We arrived to a pop-up fair right outside the train station, although it was freezing to us Charlotteans, everyone at the fair seemed to be enjoying themselves. We continued on our 20 minute walk over cobblestones to get to our Airbnb. Rolling suitcases, heavy backpacks and narrow cobblestone sidewalks makes for a long journey, but the scenery of the adorable town of Brugge made it worthwhile. Our Airbnb is a very bright three story row house on a quiet street with a nice park at the end. The boys have the top floor to themselves with 3 beds, a desk and a sink. We will be here for the next 5 nights, because upon getting here we decided to skip our next destination of one night in Ghent and stay here instead.

I had read ahead of time about the beef in Belgium being really good, so I made a reservation at a top rated small steakhouse where the chef cooks all the meat and seafood on an open fire grill right in front of us! In my opinion we had the best seat in the house (of course, there were only about 10 tables total, so I guess everyone's table was good.) But we could really feel the heat of the fire, which warmed me up nicely, a bit too much for Paul and Kyle! Braydon and I went classic with Filets and Paul decided to get Duck, Kyle, being a pescatarian now got the seafood skewer. All of our meals came with family style fries and salad. Everything was delicious!

Day 7: Today we put another country in the books by biking to Sluis, Netherlands. It was a 17KM (roughly 10 mile) bike ride each way. The bike bath followed the Damme Canal from Brugge through Damme all the way to Sluis. We rode through tall tree lined streets, past fields of veggies and cows. We even saw a herd of sheep on the pathway. The town of Sluis is a really cute town with winding streets, lots of shops and restaurants.

Lots of windmills on our bike ride.

After our long bike ride we came back to our apartment to rest. Then I suggested to Paul that he and I check out a small bar that is claimed to have 300 different types of beers, including 2 gluten free options. Since it's Memorial Day, Paul was not working, so he and I wandered the streets of Brugge and eventually found our way to 't Brugs & Beertje bar. This small bar has a handful of tables and some seats at the bar, so we sat at the bar and admired the hundreds of different glasses they had hanging and on shelves. If you know me, you know I like unique glasses, so I was a bit impressed and excited. I ordered the blonde gluten free beer and the bartender picked up the most boring glass they had in there. I immediately stopped him and asked for a different glass, one with more shape to it, a fun glass! He looked at me like I had made the biggest insult to him. Thinking he didn't understand me, I started to describe the type of glass I wanted. He eventually grabbed another one, more to my liking, and rolling his eyes at me, poured the beer. People on the other end of this small bar started laughing, and the other bartender said loudly that he was going to have an emotional breakdown. I didn't understand my faux pas, but soon learned that in Belgium one is supposed to drink their beer in a glass from that same brewery. It is the "heart and culture" of Belgium beers. 

Brugge Day 8-10

These were lazy days, which we all needed after the chaos of getting here and touristy stuff in Paris. Also, Paul started working, so our schedule had to shift. In case anyone is wondering, Paul is working remotely throughout this trip. The first week was different, since he took off our travel days then it was Memorial Day weekend in the US where work was slow and a day off, so it enabled us to do lots of touristy stuff and going out in the evenings. But now, he’s back to work and he has to work Charlotte hours, so his work day begins at 3:00 (15:00) local time. Last night at 8:30 (20:30) I decided to go for a walk, since I was a bit bored. The sun doesn’t set until 9:50 (21:50) here! I had the city to myself. Many tourists come to Brugge as a day trip or tour, and the shops close at 7:00, so I had the city to myself on my walk. It was beautiful seeing all the architecture and canals, and the open market square with no one else around. Paul frequently gets these sightings with his early morning runs, but I generally don’t, so it was very nice.

Today, Day 9, we decided to rent bikes again and just ride around the city. We stopped off a local chocolatier and made our own hot chocolate. You could choose from several different chocolate types, and then they add steamed milk to it. It was delicious! Except Braydon put too many chocolate chips in his cup and didn’t like his strong hot chocolate. I guess there is such a thing as too much chocolate! Afterwards, Paul and I ducked into a nearby church. It was very interesting, because this church had a swing carved from a tree trunk on 100 foot long ropes attached to the very high ceiling. Of course, we had to take a turn riding on the swing. It was quite peaceful and a great place to pray or meditate or just be. We never found a sign telling us of the reason for the swing, except for some experiment with man, religion and art. It was a different experience for sure.

Kyle and I decided to take a canal boat tour today. Paul was working and Braydon didn’t want to come, so it was just Kyle and I, which was quite nice. It’s nice seeing the city from a different vantage point and learning some history.

Day 10. Off to the North Sea this morning. We walked out on a long pier and watched as some very brave people swam in the ocean of the huge beach, as we were completely wrapped up in jackets! It was nice to be by the seashore, but the town of Oostende hasn’t really opened up completely yet. There’s a good amount of upscale shopping and expensive seafood restaurants to support the British tourists when they come over during the summer. There’s also a beautiful church there with amazing gothic architecture. Unfortunately, it was not open when we were there so I couldn’t see the inside, but the outside was quite impressive. Luckily, Oostende is only a 13 minute train ride from Brugge, so we were able to jet over there, have lunch and be back in time for Paul to work.