Beautiful Belgium

Wow. What a trip! We were so impressed with how beautiful the weather was in Belgium and overall how beautiful Belgium was! On the train there we passed by acres and acres of open land with cows grazing over bright green grass, large houses off in the distances with smoke billowing from the chimney, all of this under a vast blue sky with white puffy clouds. It was truely beautiful and amazing at the same time. It took us three trains to get to Bruges, Belgium. We started in Delft and got off at Rotterdam. We switched to an international train two Antwerpen, Belgium. Once there, our last train was to Bruges. In Bruges, our Bed and Breakfast host was ready and waiting at the train station for our arrival. He greeted us with a smile and DROVE us to the B&B! This is the second time we have been in an actual car this entire trip (the last one was a taxi in Amsterdam that Heimrich hailed for us). So, it was nice to sit in a comfortable seat that wasn't a train, tram, bus, or bicycle.

Once we arrived at our B&B we were so happy to feel right at home. Another couple was staying in the house as well and we exchanged hello's before unpacking our things. Bre and I stayed in the "Safari Room." We think it's only called the Safari room because of the cheetah print bedspred. However, it was very cute and relaxing. After we got situated we walked the 2km walk to the centre of Bruges. It was so weird to be walking a long a busy intersection with cars, not bicycles. When we did arrive at the heart of Bruges, I was so happy! Here's the thing, Aaron rented a movie called In Bruges before I left for Holland and I fell in love with how beautiful Bruges looked. It looked a fairy tale and since most of it took place at night I wasn't sure if I would be able to see the city the way the movie portrayed it. It was so beautiful!!! Everything, just how it was in the movie...like a fairy tale. Bre loved it as well. We stopped by the tower and considered climbing the 395 steps...and then decided against it. We sat on a set of stairs in a beautiful park outside of a church. When we went into the church we couldn't help but overhear the most beautiful harp music. After making our way to the back of the church we discovered it was a harp concert. This man played the harp so delicately and classically that I can't even put into words how it moved me. I could have watched him for hours.

Combined with the beauty of the church it was amazing. Inside this church was the only Michelangelo sculpture to ever leave Italy, the Madonna and Child. It was blocked by an alter and covered with glass...so getting a great picture of it was almost impossible. We entered another church, The Basilica of The Holy Blood. Legend has it that this church houses and protects a vial of blood of Jesus Christ from his crucifiction. When you enter the church you will see statues and seperate alters. On the far right of the church there is a stage. On this stage, a Priest sits with the vial covered with glass. You can walk up the stairs and get very close to it. He told us we could touch the outside of the vial. I cried, but I wouldn't let Bre see it. She was more freaked out by it. I was amazed... and shocked ... and amazed. This trip has brought me so much closer to God that I could have ever imagined. it's incredible. From there, we walked the city again, marvelled at its beauty and strolled over the the Lake of Love, also known as Minnewater. It's a large lake surrounded by a peaceful park. We sat down on a bench and took in the beauty of the bridge over it and the buildings around it. The sky was also filled with large puffy white clouds with the sun shining through them. Relaxing.

When we arrived back to the B&B, Andre, our host, told us that we must go out for a Belgium Beer. He gave us ideas of what to order, how to get to the closest pub, and even told us if we couldn't make it home he would come pick us up! How sweet! We walked a little ways to a pub that seemed a little funny to us but we went in anyway. When we went to order, the women behind the bar laughed at me, I guess she thought I was Dutch when I walked in because of my Blonde hair...but then I spoke. We got the local favorite, Jupiler, which was the best beer I have ever had in my life. I have never, ever liked beer as much as this particular kind. I was so impressed...and I couldn't wait to tell Rachel and Aaron!! And yes, Ryan, you were right Belgian Beer is amazing and you have every right to miss it dearly!! Bre just thought it tasted like any other beer... but I could taste a large, very sweet, difference. After a beer, we went back to the B&B and showered. Since there were people downstairs, I thought I would go and mingle. Andre was hanging out with the German couple we met earlier, Sylvia and Frank. They were very sweet and offered me some chocolate. Andre said he was waiting for an Italian couple that were checking in tonight. I want you to picture this. I'm sitting on the couch, my hair is wet, in my pajamas, no makeup...I looked exhausted as well. Who should walk into the house but three, not two, but three very handsome Italian men. Just because I'm engaged doesn't mean I wasn't embarassed. After Bre got out of the shower she heard me downstairs talking to everyone and came down...looking just as I was...and turned around and walked back upstairs. She had to compose herself before these men saw her. When the guys went upstairs to get their stuff setteled in Andre told us we should go get dressed up and hit the town with them. Bre and I looked at each other and said...."um, no." We were already embarassed we didn't need to poke it even more. We spent the rest of the night playing, "try to guess the word Sylvia is trying to say in English." We had a lot of fun even though our German friends spoke broken English and we had to speak slow. They showed us pictures of their kids and their home. They were very sweet and we stayed up with them until midnight. That's when Bre and I had to call it a night.

Our bed was so comfortable and we fell asleep almost immediately...

Here is a link to all the pictures I took in Bruges,
share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=0AYs2zJi5ZtmLD2g

The next morning we woke up and boarded a train to Ghent. I have heard wonderful things about Ghent so I was very excited to see what this fairy tale city had to offer. Sint-Michiels brige was the first stop as recommended by Ryan. And yes, Ryan, you are right. It was breathtakingly gorgeous! Although, pictures didn't do it justice...I think this one is pretty close.

The next stop was Gravensteen, the castle that once was home to the Count of Flanders. It's mostly original but was fully restored in the 1990's to it's true form. This castle had it all; torture rooms, dungeons, a moat, and towers. The only thing missing was a dragon. We overheard a little girl telling her mom, "And that's where the dragon lived..."

I was mainly impressed at the thought of being in a real castle! The view of the city was also really nice and we stayed in the castle for a few hours. Bre had fun pretending to shoot people with imaginary arrows.

Once we had done everything we wanted to do in Ghent we decided to go to Brussels. Take the train ride with us.

We thought it was pretty cool that we were going to see two cities in one day. That was until we got off the train and found ourselves in a train station that looked shady, dirty, and dangerous. After Bre made a comment about it being like New York we heard sirens go off in the distance. Then outside there were masses of people. People people people everywhere!! It was sheer craziness! The map we had did us no good and we were pretty much lost the entire time. We managaed to see Mannekin Pis, a statue of a boy peeing, as well as Jannekine Pis, a statue of a girl peeing...we don't understand why Belgium has such weird statues. Our main goal while in Brussels was to visit a lot of chocolate shops. In every one we got free samples so we were full of chocolate by the end of the day.

My favorite chocolate shop was Chocopolis. Here, I picked out each piece of chocolate I wanted to fill my box. I was very happy when I left the store. It was very fun but very expensive.

After two cities in one day, Bre and I just couldn't wait to get back to the B&B where we slept like babies after a 15 mile walk day.

Sunday morning, we got up, ate breakfast with Andre, and headed to Antwerp. Here's the thing about Antwerp... we didn't like it. Maybe we were tired...maybe we were overtravelled...or maybe it really was "quirker than a bag a raccoons." Thanks, Lonely Planet Guide books for that phrase. We just didn't feel comfortable and it didn't feel like Belgium. We felt like we were in a busy area of California...with old buildings and a castle. It was just weird. The map, again, did not help us and we wondered around for a few hours carrying everything we had with us for the weekend. Our backs hurt and our bodies ached because they had enough of our walking. I believe over the course of this weekend we had to have walked about 20 miles in total. Of course, I don't know for sure but its not far from it. The walk to the train station from the B&B was 3 miles and we did that there and back twice. Then walking around each city. Wow. We are just exahusted! When got back to Delft we still had to walk back to the house...where we dropped our things and sat for a while. Tomorrow we do not plan on doing anything... let's see how that works out.

Here is a link to the rest of the pictures from Belgium:
share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=0AYs2zJi5ZtmLD-A