Bruges is infamous for its waffles, chocolate, and beer, all of which I had the chance to try this past weekend! I traveled with six friends from my program, making for a weekend full of fun and also some rather interesting moments of coordination, or lack thereof...
We began our adventure on Friday morning with a hectic realization that three people did not yet have their tickets, and were unable to print at the university. Come 9:00, Agata and I decided to split and hurried over to Amsterdam Centraal in search of our train's platform. We spent the following half hour nervously checking our phones, waiting for notification from the others that they were on their way. The train arrived, and I boarded with three others. Within fifteen seconds of the train departing the station, our three ticketless buds ran huffing and puffing onto the train. Luckily, one of the officers at the station took pity on them and gave Kyle her internet code. He took a screen shot of their tickets and then sprinted from the ticket help desk up to the platform, screen shot and note of explanation from the officer in hand. After laughing hysterically at the hilarity of their near failure to make the train, we settled into our seats for a beautiful ride to Antwerp, and then onto Bruges.
 |
| Gorgeous train station in Antwerp. |
Traveling in a big group can be exciting but also poses the risk of assuming that others will care for important details, for instance, where to sleep during the trip. It was not until the night before leaving that Faith and Agata compiled a list of hostels and walking directions from the train station. We arrived in Bruges without a reservation, but were surprisingly excited by the prospect of needing to work on our feet and move hastily to grab the last available spots for that night. After getting turned away from two full hostels, we were lucky to find an 8-person room for only 20 euros a night.
Once we got settled in, we began our hunt for waffles. Although we had better waffles later in the weekend (street/window waffles are far superior to those in restaurants), the warm chocolate sauce topping was enough to satisfy our craving before we went on a half-hour canal cruise through the city.
 |
| Can you imagine living here?? |
Bruges has a really relaxed open container policy: except between 11 p.m. and 7 a.m., you are permitted to walk around public spaces with open containers of alcohol, so we took advantage of the afternoon sunlight, gorgeous town square, and intriguing beer selection. Watching the sun set against the bell tower and beautiful churches was almost as enchanting as the surrounding streets. One of our CIEE advisors suggested Bruges to us over Brussels, and she was hands-down correct in her description of this old city as a true fairy-tale.
 |
| It was really difficult to capture this tower, the largest brick building in the world...the photograph doesn't really do it justice, but trust that the detail and beauty reached incredible heights (literally). |
 |
| Kyle and me in the square! |
 |
| Incredible backyard terrace and garden. |
 |
| Happy travelers! |
We spent our evening at a middle-eastern restaurant (an unexpected but incredible discovery) and then ventured over to the oldest bar in Bruges, from 1515. We were the only tourists there, and thoroughly enjoyed our late-night conversation on the back patio of the bar.
Fortunately, our exhaustion from a full day of traveling and discovering led us to a much-needed 9-hour sleep. On Saturday, we ate breakfast at the hostel and then walked to a series of beautiful old windmills on the outskirts of the city center. We had a pretty nice view of the city, but nothing compares to our reward upon reaching the top of the Belfort (the Bell Tower). After climbing 366 spiral staircase steps, we reached the bell room and stood in awe at the view around us.
We ate lunch in the market square (the buildings in this last picture are a part of the square) and then I began my favorite part of the trip: time to find chocolate. My grandparents have literally traveled the world in search of the best chocolates, and when I told my grandma of my trip to Bruges, she insisted I find her favorite shop. I arrived in Bruges knowing only that many, many years ago, Grandma found her favorite chocolate shop, Nicolaas, somewhere off the main square. There are about five gazillion chocolate shops, so the hunt was on. I ended up walking into a random shop and purchasing a few chocolates so I could ask the owner if she had heard of Nicolaas. Indeed, she had, but she remembered that it changed names many years ago, and is now called "Prestige." She happily gave me directions and off I went to find Grandma's dark chocolate truffels.
 |
| Chocolate found! |
The following hour was the highlight of my weekend, and I soon understood the charm and perfection that made this shop and its creations stick in Grandma's memory years and years later. I told the woman working about my Grandma and she proceeded to gift me with numerous chocolates unlike anything I had tasted before. Walking away with a happy belly and a golden box of treats for my grandma made me feel closer to her, especially because she celebrated her 80th birthday with my family while I was filling her box!
These photos show Faith and Agata's shock at the intensity of their chocolate:
 |
| Yummmm |
 |
| "Oh my gosh, you're right! This is sooooo good!" |
 |
| All gone :( |
My afternoon and early evening became a time to wander aimlessly through the city by myself. I was in need of some alone time and wanted to see where my feet might carry me if unrestricted by a map or questions of direction from locals. I spent two hours walking by myself, exploring what lay outside the city center and taking a look at some Belgian homes. And, of course, I picked up a street waffel along the way. Aside from the powdered sugar coating my black shirt, I enjoyed every bite of this distinctly Belgian treat.
The rest of our trip was great, and coming home was far less hectic than our outbound trip. Heading to Bruges was a good way of starting my travels, and I learned a lot about my preferences for traveling. While I enjoyed being with a lot of friends, it's definitely difficult to coordinate the day and meals with so many differing opinions. More importantly, I got so much out of my individual explorations on Saturday evening, so this type of walk will certainly make it into my future travels. At the end of our trip, I realized how much I was looking forward to getting back to Amsterdam; it's nice to feel this place becoming a home away from home.
