For what would be our second realization that there is no such thing as the "quick weekend trip", even in Amsterdam, the hub of Europe, Matt and I cheerfully made plans to visit Brugge for St. Patrick's Day weekend. Todd, and friend from Baltimore and one's of matt's colleagues from Lasalle, flew in to spend the weekend with us while he was traveling around Europe for business. Since he'd already been to Amsterdam and wanted to visit someplace new, we decided Brugge was the place to go. We considered Ireland or Scotland, but heard the St. Patty's Day festivities were cheesy, and that they were, of course, overpriced this time of year.
We chose the 10:26 am train out of Amsterdam Centraal to Brugge, via Antwerp. The train was delayed, and finally cancelled due to technical problems, and then subsequently replaced by another train which ended up leaving around 11 am. Due to the delay, our train decided it would no longer stop at Antwerp Central, but at some other rinky-dink station in Antwerp, which pretty much only has trains that go to Antwerp Central (now I ask you, why not cut out the rinky-dink stop and stop at Central instead?). We de-board, find the next train to Antwerp Central (all while poor Todd has to lug his suitcase around), only to find once we arrive at Antwerp Central that they have cancelled all lines to Brugge (because of this technical problem). We are told that if we want to get to Brugge, we have to go via Brussels North, which, by the way, was the destination of our first train. By now it's 2 pm, and I'm getting hungry and cranky. We decide to swallow the ridiculously high rate for a cab just so that we can get some daylight time in Brugge.
Once we had arrived, we felt immediately calmer. Brugge is such a beautiful little town. Not only has it not been spoiled by time, it's ever the more charming because of it.
Just as an aside, this town and all of its glory may soon be crushed once the infamous Colin Farrell, an "actor" that is almost villanous in his poor ability to act, films his sure-to-be flop there. The film called, which will be called "Bruges" (aka Brugge - depending on what country you are in and what language you speak, Brugge has several different spellings), is about a down-trodden businessman (said Farrell) who goes to this town to relax and unwind until trouble follows him and pandemonium ensues. This film will surely join the ranks of Farrell's grand performances, such as "Phone Booth."
We spent the rest of the beautifully sunny day perusing the various fashion, toy and chocolate shops, and lunching al fresco with some clever beers. Eventually we end up at the bar/restaurant that Matt and I went to with his parents the last time we were in town. The lively banter we had started with the waiter last time continued, and he provided some comic relief at times. We ended up sitting and drinking and eating and talking and laughing for several hours. Our converstaion ran the gamut from the quirky artistry of our favorite Buffy the Vampire episodes (this was just Todd and I) to why homosexuality of the male variety is often rebuffed while the female variety is found to be endearing and welcomed, to scary ghost stories provided by Todd (I had nightmares).
The next day we walked around some more, though the weather was much less convivial. We took a canal boat ride around the town, and the tour guide said the various canals in Brugge are the reason why it is known as "Venice of the North." Now, I'm quite sure this name is used to describe Amsterdam, so I hesitate to belive his other little stories about the town. He also showed us the "spy windows" that we thought were so hilarious last time. The old buildings, some of which were constructed during the 15th century, had these tiny little windows that were used to spy on what was going on outside. You can almost picture a little old man sitting behind the window scoping out his neighborhood all day. Other than that, there is little exciting history in Brugge - it's just a quaint little town that kept to itself all these years and was thus able to preserve its culture.
Later, we toured the chocolate museum (mostly for the samples!) and learned that milk chocloate is really really bad for you! It may even force me to eat dark chocolate instead, which we learned is mostly cocoa bean and very little additives, so it has many health benefits. Inspired by our visit to the chocolate museum, we stopped by one of the many chocolatiers in town to buy a bag of goodies. We then went to one of the cathedrals in town and saw Michelangelo's famous sculpture Madonna and Baby. It is the only sculputure of Michelangelo that is outside of Italy.
Just before 4pm, we headed back to our hotel to await our respective taxis. Todd would be heading down to Brussels to catch a plane to Zurich, while Matt and I would go back home to Amsterdam. Little did we know that the 5 hours we spent traveling the previous day would be topped by the 5.5 hours we would end up traveling the present day.
All in all, however, the trip was really great. The town is so lovely and inviting, with tasty beer and chocolate, and it was a great to be able to spend time with Todd.
For now, Matt and I are enjoying our weekends in town by spending time with friends and going to concerts. We've booked our year solid, with trips planned to go to Paris, Barcelona, Berlin and Warsaw, as well as our 3-week tour of Italy in May :-) We also planned trips back to the US in July and November, and a June weekend in Scotland for Matt to do his 56-mile hike, so it'll be a busy year for us! We'll keep you posted!
We chose the 10:26 am train out of Amsterdam Centraal to Brugge, via Antwerp. The train was delayed, and finally cancelled due to technical problems, and then subsequently replaced by another train which ended up leaving around 11 am. Due to the delay, our train decided it would no longer stop at Antwerp Central, but at some other rinky-dink station in Antwerp, which pretty much only has trains that go to Antwerp Central (now I ask you, why not cut out the rinky-dink stop and stop at Central instead?). We de-board, find the next train to Antwerp Central (all while poor Todd has to lug his suitcase around), only to find once we arrive at Antwerp Central that they have cancelled all lines to Brugge (because of this technical problem). We are told that if we want to get to Brugge, we have to go via Brussels North, which, by the way, was the destination of our first train. By now it's 2 pm, and I'm getting hungry and cranky. We decide to swallow the ridiculously high rate for a cab just so that we can get some daylight time in Brugge.
Once we had arrived, we felt immediately calmer. Brugge is such a beautiful little town. Not only has it not been spoiled by time, it's ever the more charming because of it.
Just as an aside, this town and all of its glory may soon be crushed once the infamous Colin Farrell, an "actor" that is almost villanous in his poor ability to act, films his sure-to-be flop there. The film called, which will be called "Bruges" (aka Brugge - depending on what country you are in and what language you speak, Brugge has several different spellings), is about a down-trodden businessman (said Farrell) who goes to this town to relax and unwind until trouble follows him and pandemonium ensues. This film will surely join the ranks of Farrell's grand performances, such as "Phone Booth."
We spent the rest of the beautifully sunny day perusing the various fashion, toy and chocolate shops, and lunching al fresco with some clever beers. Eventually we end up at the bar/restaurant that Matt and I went to with his parents the last time we were in town. The lively banter we had started with the waiter last time continued, and he provided some comic relief at times. We ended up sitting and drinking and eating and talking and laughing for several hours. Our converstaion ran the gamut from the quirky artistry of our favorite Buffy the Vampire episodes (this was just Todd and I) to why homosexuality of the male variety is often rebuffed while the female variety is found to be endearing and welcomed, to scary ghost stories provided by Todd (I had nightmares).
The next day we walked around some more, though the weather was much less convivial. We took a canal boat ride around the town, and the tour guide said the various canals in Brugge are the reason why it is known as "Venice of the North." Now, I'm quite sure this name is used to describe Amsterdam, so I hesitate to belive his other little stories about the town. He also showed us the "spy windows" that we thought were so hilarious last time. The old buildings, some of which were constructed during the 15th century, had these tiny little windows that were used to spy on what was going on outside. You can almost picture a little old man sitting behind the window scoping out his neighborhood all day. Other than that, there is little exciting history in Brugge - it's just a quaint little town that kept to itself all these years and was thus able to preserve its culture.
Later, we toured the chocolate museum (mostly for the samples!) and learned that milk chocloate is really really bad for you! It may even force me to eat dark chocolate instead, which we learned is mostly cocoa bean and very little additives, so it has many health benefits. Inspired by our visit to the chocolate museum, we stopped by one of the many chocolatiers in town to buy a bag of goodies. We then went to one of the cathedrals in town and saw Michelangelo's famous sculpture Madonna and Baby. It is the only sculputure of Michelangelo that is outside of Italy.
Just before 4pm, we headed back to our hotel to await our respective taxis. Todd would be heading down to Brussels to catch a plane to Zurich, while Matt and I would go back home to Amsterdam. Little did we know that the 5 hours we spent traveling the previous day would be topped by the 5.5 hours we would end up traveling the present day.
All in all, however, the trip was really great. The town is so lovely and inviting, with tasty beer and chocolate, and it was a great to be able to spend time with Todd.
For now, Matt and I are enjoying our weekends in town by spending time with friends and going to concerts. We've booked our year solid, with trips planned to go to Paris, Barcelona, Berlin and Warsaw, as well as our 3-week tour of Italy in May :-) We also planned trips back to the US in July and November, and a June weekend in Scotland for Matt to do his 56-mile hike, so it'll be a busy year for us! We'll keep you posted!
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