Day #108 - Bruges & Antwerp, Belgium

Canals in Bruges, Belgium

Bruges, Belgium

Antwerp, Belgium - Interesting architecture

Busy street in Antwerp

Gothic Cathedral of Our Lady - Antwerp, Belgium

Wednesday, June 30th

I didn't taste the chocolate. And, even more sad, I didn't have any of the beer that's legendary either. What kind of a 'sad set of events' am I? I like both - I just wasn't feeling it for some reason. It's hot here. Over 90 degrees and no A/C. I cut weight at night. I have to have a bottle of water before I go to bed so I don't die of dehydration. I'm staying in the largest room I've ever stayed in my entire life. The thing has 20 foot ceilings, it's about 30 ft long and 20 ft wide. There are 3 beds. You could fit a family of 6 in here and people would have space to themselves. This, all coming off the closets I stayed in while in London. I've just about decided upon Billy Joel's "Why do I go to Extremes" song as one of my themes after the trip when I put some music to my pictures.

At night, I leave the 15 foot windows wide open - no screens. An eagle could fly in unabated. I may wake up one morning and have a family of squirrels jumping from bed to bed. I'm willing to take that risk. All the buildings around have open windows - I figure if they are doing it - I can. I haven't seen any bugs, no animals of any kind, and only a couple pigeons in the park. I'm on the second floor at least - no deer or 4 legged animals should be able to get in. (I remember in Africa we were staying in this lodge out in the Serengeti. The managment told us to make sure we lock our balcony doors at night because baboons might come in the room. They had been known to do such. No baboons - but we had a really good time talking about it).

All righty then. Belgium - good stuff. Since I don't talk food very well - let me tell you that the main dish in Belgium is frites and mussles. Frites are basically large french fries. They are served in this huge cardboard cone - with about 1/2 a bottle of mayonnaise on top. A part of you dies just by looking at it. I wouldn't eat this is somebody begged me. I'm not a fan of mussles either - what good am I.

This morning I headed out to the City of Bruges. Bruges is better known at the "Venice of the North". In Flemish, brugge means "bridges". (By the way - most people in Belgium speak French - there's alot of Bonjours, Merci's and Wa-la's being thrown around). The town is really small and has several canals wondering through the cobblestone streets. A popular activity is taking boat rides. The boats are motorized; however, different from the gondolas in Venice or the punting witnessed in Cambridge or Oxford.

The town is small, quiet, and filled with little restaurants and shops. Many folks biked through the streets on a very well defined path. It's funny to see 60+ year olds on bikes, riding in dress clothes (skirts and nice pants). Lance Armstrong has a different look.

I came to Bruges because (1) my book recommended it (2) a lady from my Peru trip said it was one of her favorite cities in Europe. I wasn't disappointed. An incredible little town - a perfect way to spend a 1/2 day or day of leisure. Again, the central square was the area where most people gathered. Great architecture and interesting streets. I'll remember Bruges with words like: canals, quiet, peaceful.

I then boarded the train and headed to Antwerp - another city in Belgium. Antwerp has a population of 500,000 people - the second biggest city in Belgium. In comparison, Brussels has about 1,000,000 and Bruge has about 100,000. I'll remember Antwerp because it had this impressive street running through the town. It stretched for a couple miles. It led from the central train station to a large canal/river. Tons of people were on the streets. Tourism is booming right now in Europe. I see more and more backpackers every day. I see all these people carrying these heavy satchels - I used to be one of these people. Sometimes I think people do things because it's the 'perceived' way of doing it. I'm here to say, drop the bag at the hotel/hostal or roll it - it's just that simple.

Antwerp has this impressive cathedral - The Gothic Cathedral of Our Lady. It stands 404-foot above the city. There were a ton more interesting building, fountains, statues. I sometimes don't feel like I describe these things so well - but so many cities in Europe have impressive, old, buildings. I just try to point out the couple things I'll remember. In Antwerp, it's the never-ending, well traveled street, and the Gothic Cathedral. Oh yeah, the central train station was amazing. It was probably one of the neatest structures in the city. Again, worth a 1/2 day walk-about - no question.

I returned to Brussels about 7pm. I went out for a nice run and then out for dinner. I'm feeling really good lately - strong. I need to continue whatever it is that I'm doing.

Tomorrow, I take a train to Amsterdam, Netherlands. Just curious, what city in the US comes to mind when you hear Amsterdam? More on this tomorrow.