In Bruges

I'm dividing my Belgium trip into two posts with the first today Bruges and the second later this week about Brussels.

Three of us went to Belgium from Thursday morning to Monday afternoon. We were a North American invasion because each us was from Canada, the US, and Mexico. Originally we had an Australian friend coming but he had too much school work to catch up on. Our trip from the house to Bruges took almost exactly twelve hours! Our flight was in the six o'clock hour so we had to take a bus to the airport around 1:30. Since it was late on a Wednesday we there were no buses running and we had to walk to the central station. It was a typically frigid night as we past the frozen over lake. We had left late because of last minute packing so we made it to the bus barely on time. I slept most of the trip but was woken up by a person coughing. It sounded like he or she had the plague because his or her cough sounded a lot like vomiting. We dropped at Nykoeping's central bus stop where we had to take the city bus to the airport. The bus only accepted cards and no cash which seems really strange to me. My debt-it card doesn't always work in Sweden and this way one of those times so I tried my credit card. In Sweden and apparently the rest of the world credit cards have PIN numbers and are used instead of signatures. I didn't know mine because I've never been asked for it in the States. In town I explain that I don't have and hey let me sign but the driver didn't speak English and was very rude, the Swedes on the bus apologized for his behavior. So I friend bought my ticket. We made it to the airport, the smaller of Stockholm's, on time and checked in with the famously cheap RyanAir. The flights are extremely cheap and you get what you pay for. They charge if you have checked luggage and if you carry is a little too big. My bag was close because of its awkward shape. The plane had free seating so you can wherever you want. We all managed to stay together. We slept again during the flight which was only about two hours. We landed at one of Brussels smaller airports and rode a bus to Brussels. The bus cost a pretty penny but the driver didn't even check if we had tickets. The bus ride was an hour and a half because of traffic. Once more we slept.

We were deposited at the massive southern train station where we wondered around confused trying to find the train ticket counter. After a few false starts and rude people we found the domestic ticket and bought tickets for Bruges. The train ride was only hour but a world away. Soon as we left the Brussels region the language immediately switched to the Flemish dialect of Dutch from French. I had knew the country was bilingual so I expected everything to be in both. I was very wrong. It turns the two major groups, the Flemish and the Walloons, are very proud of their regions and share little in common other than a flag. Brussels is a large modern city with skyscrapers and all the other trappings one would expects. Bruges on the other hand is almost completely comprised of old building and cobblestone streets. In was really the other town in the region to survive both World Wars intact which is way it has become a tourist mecca.

After the train arrived in town we took a local bus to our hostel where checked in and left our luggage while our room was cleaned. We walked across the town, which isn't very big actually,

and saw the old buildings and streets. After getting lost we made it back to our hostel and found our rooms. It seems like all hostels are labyrinth constructions in ancient buildings. They have lots of narrow hallways, split levels, and often spread out of several unconnected properties. This place was very nice but no exception. The days have already blended together because they were all similar; they were filled with lots of walking and old buildings. i'll tell you a few of the stand out moments.

There's is a very famous and old tower on the main square of the town and we climber to the top, up spiraling and even ever narrowing staircases. On the say up one can stop and look at some of the equipment used to run the large handmade clock. At the top the winds are ferocious but the few is spectacular. One of the nights we discovered a hole-in-the-wall bar thankfully void of other tourists and started talking to a local young man. He was very drunk and very strange but a lot of fun to spend a couple of hours with. I got to ask about the very complicated nature of the Belgian Kingdom and its politics and he told us about local life. We toured the beautiful city palace and several churches, one of which is connected to the palace. So local royalty or nobility wouldn't have to walk I presume. Once afternoon after touring we decided to try some famous Belgian Fries, not FRENCH, and they were quite good. Though the truly unique part of them are the sauces that you get on them. Later on we tried some Belgian Waffles which are to die for! Mine was dipped in sugar and very delicious. One of the other guys had ice cream on his. The number of chocolate shops in such a small area is astounding! Bruges is a fun little tourist town that I'd recomend going to if you're ever in Belgium!

Brussels in a few days!