Bruges Apartment

This apartment was a first for us.  The guy we rented from, lived in the other apartment on the same floor!  The apartment we stayed in was actually his office.  He would pop in and out to get different things (he was packing to go on vacation) and we'd also see him in the hallway with his kids.  He was a really nice guy and spoke great English (he studied in the states for a year).

(The front of the apartment building.  We were on the 4th floor, which is really the 5th floor, because crazy Europeans call the first floor 0.  How can you live on a zero floor?  Things to ponder at night. . . )

(View from the rooftop at night)

(The apartment had 2 bedrooms, but we stayed in this room.  We could have paid 10 more euros to use the second room, but obviously, we only needed 1 bedroom.)

(The bathroom.  It had two doors, one leading to each bedroom.  You can see the other bedroom through the door.  The toilet was in a separate room off the main hallway.)

(What would be the dining room, although it was Olivier's office.  When we first came, he had papers and a computer on the table, but he had to clean them up and move them to the extra bedroom.  He explained the next week while he was on vacation, he was having some stuff redone in the apartment.)

(Me "scurrying" as Steve coined it.  I thought I had more time to get ready and pack after our bike ride, when Steve explained we needed to leave sooner than later.  So I quickly through stuff into bags and we were on our way to Paris!)

Day 9 -- Afscheid Bruges, Bonjour Paris

Our time in Bruges was short, but we managed to pack a lot in.  On Sunday morning, we woke up by 9 am and headed to the main square where we rented a TANDEM BIKE!!  Bah ha ha ha

Upon Rick Steve's suggestion, we rented a tandem bike and bike along the canal 4 miles until you reach the small city of Damme.  Along the way, Rick gave little tidbits and history of the area.  We got to bike pass a few Windmills along the way.  Majority of ride was spent on a smooth bike path right alongside the canal.  Damme itself was nothing special.  We parked our bike in the main square and walked around.  There was some sort of a book flea market going on.  We walked past the town hall as well as the church grounds; but we didn't have long (which is find because the city was pretty small) and had to get back on the bike to return to Bruges.

We debated on whether to get 2 bikes or 1 tandem, but there was only a 2 euro difference and we went ahead and got the tandem.  Steve rode in the front and did all the steering, I was "the power" as Steve coined it.  I couldn't really see over Steve so I had to do a lot of trusting (which was difficult in the beginning).  We thought about changing positions, but the way the back handle bar was situated, I don't think Steve's knees would have fit.  In fact, my knees hit the handlebars periodically and I ended up with several cuts along my thigh was war wounds.  We surprisingly got the hang of riding tandem pretty quick.  By the end of the bike tour, we were pros at starting and balancing in unison.  We only had 1 minor mishap that could have been a catastrophe, but we pulled through.  For some reason the front wheel "slipped" (so Steve claims, remember I couldn't see anything) and Steve lost control, but with quick thinking, we pulled through and did not crash -- whew!  And might I add, there were no tears involved in the biking extravaganza.

(Bike Path along the canal.)

(One of the few working windmills. Unfortunately, it was closed on Sunday and we didn't get to climb inside.)

(Town Hall in Damme)

(Damme Church)

(Damme is known as a book town and we happened to visit it on one of its regular "book fair" days.)

(View down the canal back to Bruges.  The building in the way distance is Our Lady Church in the middle of Bruges. You can also see the windmill that we stopped at as well as a boat that you can ride to get from Bruges to Damme.  The bike path is along the trees on the right of the canal.)

(Steve walking the bike back to the shop)

We had rented the bike for a 4 hour window, but we needed to return it sooner so that we could make our train on time for Paris.  We walked the bike back to the shop once we reached the main area in Bruges (because pedestrian traffic was picking up).  After returning the bike, we stopped in at the chocolate shop again and bought more chocolate -- only this time, we got to choose which chocolates we wanted to fill our MEDIUM sized box.  With our chocolates in hand, we made one last stop at the waffle stand to get 2 regular waffles (after all the biking, we deserved our own).  We got back to our apartment and had about an hour to shower and pack before leaving Bruges.

(You know the shop is a good one when Rick Steves's family Christmas cards are plastered all over the wall!  This was inside the Dumon Chocolatier where we got all our Belgian chocolate.  The shop is family run by Stefan & Marie-Anne Dumon.  They all spoke great English and helped us figure out which chocolates we would prefer the best -- white, milk, or dark chocolate as well as tons of fillings like raspberry, strawberry, caramel, hazelnut and almond -- just to name a few!)

(Inside the chocolate shop.  The room was very small and had chocolates all over it.  I think there was a basement room, but we only got as far as the front counter with all the freshly made chocolate.)

With our suitcases in tow, we walked back to the train station and caught an hour long train to Brussels.  Once in Brussels, we surveyed food options and settled on a sandwich shop where Steve got another baguette sandwich while I got a ham wrap.  After eating, we found platform 5 to catch our high-speed train to Paris.  The train was to depart at 4:15, but we got up to the platform by 3:45 so we could sit and figure out the seating system.  We knew our assigned coach number and seat number but weren't sure how to figure out which train compartment was which.  A train pulled into platform 5 and we watched it unload.  We wanted to watch what other people did before trying to figure out where our seats were.  There was a screen with information about the train, but it wasn't updating.  Steve went on a walk to look at other screens and see if we could figure this out (it was going past 4 by this time).  When he returned, he had discovered that our platform was switched to 6 (5 & 6 shared a platform, so we just had to go to the other side).  The train information was updated and we could see where our correct coach was.  Other than clueless people hogging up the aisle way, we got to our seats just fine.

The train ride was about 1.15 hour, but it went by pretty quick.  In the beginning, it was hot and stuffy but about 15 minutes into the ride, the air kicked on (just in time, Steve was about to lose it!)  We got to the Paris station and tried to find a tourist info booth so that we could get a full map of Paris (that's right, we had a couple of small maps that showed specific sections, but none that showed the whole city).  We luckily found one, figured out where are new apartment was located, and set off in the right direction.  We got turned around a few times (sometimes street names don't line up with the map, or aren't listed on the map), but finally showed up at the right place.  Our current host is in Dublin right now and left us detailed instructions on how to get into the apartment.

First, we had to use a pass code to get through the door into the complex off the street.  Then we had to find building C and use a different pass code onto it.  Next, we had to find the apartment and get the mailbox key from under the door mat.  With the mailbox key, you had to go to a different building and open up the mailbox to get the apartment key.  The scavenger hung went flawlessly and soon we were dropping our stuff into our new apartment.

We were hungry and had high hopes that we'd find a supermarket that was open (even though it was just going on 7, it was a Sunday and a lot of things are closed on Sundays, and Monday, and random times during the day).  We found the supermarkets, but they were all closed.  Luckily, our neighbor next to the apartment complex is a Chinese restaurant and they were open.  We ordered 200 g of some sort of spicy chicken, 200 g of fried rice, and 100 g of beef with onions.  We carried our haul upstairs to our apartment, heated up the food, and enjoyed a tastey meal.

Our evening was spent relaxing and preparing for what the week holds.  We did get to watch a little bit of the closing ceremonies on the tv, but it was all in French.  No English channels here.  Oh well, who goes to Paris to watch tv?  (That's what Steve keeps asking me, he doesn't like my answer of "me!").

Day 8 -- Busy Day in Bruges

We were up and out of our Mechelen apartment just a little after 9am on Saturday.  It's hard to believe that we have already spent a week on our journey.  We headed to the train station with our suitcases in tow.  Not many people were out yet, so the trip to the station was easy and uneventful.  We bought our tickets and were on a train to Bruges.  We had an hour long train ride and the first half was nice and quite; but a rowdy group of teenagers got on the train at one of the stops.  

Once we got to Bruges, we oriented ourselves and began our 20 minute walk to our host Olivier's apartment.  We had told him that we wouldn't arrive until later in the afternoon and had made arrangements to pick up the apartment keys in the mailbox; however, we ended up getting there earlier than we said and there were no keys.  We waited a little bit and then Steve decided to try buzzing the intercom.  Surprisingly, Olivier was in the apartment!  The current guests hadn't really checked out which is why the keys weren't down there.  Olivier was changing sheets and cleaning up, but he let us put our suitcases in the apartment and showed us around.  He explained things like internet and gave some city recommendations and then we were on our way.  

The apartment was located just a few blocks away from a main shopping street. We got to the shopping district and headed towards the main square.  Along the way, Steve spotted a Rick Steves endorsed waffle vendor.  Steve ordered a waffle with chocolate and owner engaged in a conversation about Rick Steves (he saw our book).  He told us that Rick had just been by 2 weeks ago with his family and that he preferred the plain waffle.  

(First Belgian waffle.  We got a waffle with chocolate from Laurenzino's.)

After enjoying our first Belgian waffle, we continued walking and got to the main square.  From there, we began a Rick Steve's walking tour.  On this tour, we got to see the Bell Tower, City Hall, Basilica of the Holy Blood, the Begijnhof, and Our Lady Church.  While on the tour, we went into a museum within City Hall and got to learn some of Bruges history.  We also got to see a handmade wooden fireplace that is one of a kind.  

(City Hall) 

(Inside the City Hall.  We paid money to go and see some of the paintings and maps that explain Bruges growth.)

(Symbols from Bruges coat of arms and flag.)

(Very ornate handmade wooden fireplace.  It is one of a kind and can only be seen in Bruges. It was sort of a hidden gem.  We wouldn't have found it without our trusty Rick Steves.  Because we paid to view the maps and paintings in the city hall, we could go to another building and see this fireplace for free!)

(As Rick Steve's says, this is a "post card" view of the Bell Tower over a canal.  The Bell tower leans about 4 ft!  It was obvious from some angles, but the degree of  tilt hasn't changed so they aren't concerned.)

(Inside Our Lady Church.  The pipe organ  was located right in the center of the church.  It could be seen from all around.)

(Michelangelo's Madonna and Child, this piece of Michelangelo's artwork is supposedly the only sculpture that left Italy in his lifetime.  It is now housed inside Our Lady Church.  We thought you didn't have to pay to see it, but we did.  But we were granted the student fee and only had to pay a euro each!)

(Enjoying our Bratwurst along the canal.  They served the bratwurst on an entire baguette!  We both got ketchup and onions on ours.  They were really good and a lot of food for the price!)

(Basilica of the Holy Blood.  This church had to different floors.  The bottom one was very gothic and gloomy feeling.  It reminded me of an old basement.  The second floor was much more ornate.)

(Second floor of Basilica of the Holy Blood.)

(Supposedly, this church has a relic that contains Christ blood.  You could give a "donation" and see the relic upclose and receive a blessing form the clergyman. We chose to just view from afar.)

(Bell Tower in the main square.)

We finished our tour around 4pm & decided it was time to take a break and go back to the apartment.  But along the way, we first stopped in at a Rick Steve's endorsed chocolate shop -- Chocolatier Dumon.  As soon as we got into the little shop, they saw our book and began speaking English to us.  They gave us the "Rick Steve's" treatment and explained that we should just get a little assortment mix and decide what we like from it.  

Back at the apartment, we tried to recuperate and decide what to do in the evening.  Oliver popped in again to give us another pillowcase.  We figured out that he owned the two apartments on the top floor. He, his wife, and 2 daughters lived in one apartment while the other (the one we were staying in) was his office.  After a couple hour break, we decided to go out and find something to eat.  We got sucked into buying another waffle, only this time, we bought a waffle with strawberry and whipped cream topping.  I think it was better than the chocolate one!  The waffle is already pretty sweet and the strawberries were a good complement.  

(Steve obligingly posing with waffle #2 -- Strawberry & Whipped cream topping.)

We decided to just walk around the city, following some directions that Olivier gave us.  The walk took us along some canals and dropped us back in the middle of town.  We found a bench and sat there awhile and just people watched.  We decided we were going to go back to the main square and people watch there before heading back to the apartment.  But as we walked through the Burg (just off the main square) we discovered that there was some sort of dance/concert going on a stage that we'd noticed earlier.  

All around the city, we had noticed that there were "stage" entrances set up in different buildings and tents.  We realized that all of those places either had people inside them, or waiting in a line to go in.  We watched the main stage a little bit and saw that people were dancing along to an instructor.  Steve quickly caught on that it was Zumba and that the different stages had different themes.  We went to the main square and popped inside a tent to see some polka dancers.  With our curiosity intrigued, we decided to check some more out.  But first, we sidetracked and bought some Beligan fries with Andaloosa sauce.  

(This was the main stage set up in the Burg in front of City Hall  -- you can also see the Basilica of the Holy Blood to the right.  We later realized that we were watching people doing Zumba to an instructor at this point in time.)

(Belgian Fries with Andaloosa sauce.  Fries are a big deal in Belgium.  You have the choice of a ton of different kinds of sauces.  In the US, we usually just eat ketchup with our fries; but the Europeans eat mayonnaise with theirs!  Well we decided to go crazy -- upon a recommendation from one of Steve's Mechelen coworkers -- to go with Andaloosa.)

The next stage we checked out was some Folklore stage.  When we went in (this one was located in a building), people at the door handed us tickets.  Steve somehow managed to sneak in without a ticket.  Inside, we saw a bar they had set up, someone singing on the stage, and people randomly dancing around.  We were dumbfounded as to what was going on.  When we left, we had to turn the tickets back in.  It was very confusing and we didn't get what was going on.  The next stage we went to was a Ballroom stage.  We had to wait a little bit in the line, and that is when Steve realized the tickets were a way to regulate occupancy inside the stage rooms.

(Some sort of Belly dancing "stage".)

(This site used to be the area where fish was traded, but now it's just used as a little market with souvenir stands.  But on this crazy night, it was the "clubbing" stage.  We watched it and saw no one dancing here.)

With our curiosity more intrigued combined with classic people watching, we ended up walking around and visited several other stages.  At 9:30, there was supposed to be a concert on the main stage from a UK band called Brassroots.  We waited around like 15 min to watch the band.  They were comprised of a couple of trombones, a tuba, 2 drum sets, and 2 trumpeters.  No one sang, and we weren't even sure what song they were playing (supposedly they covered some popular songs).  We stuck around for half of the first song, but then we called it a night and just returned to the apartment.  

(Brassroots)