Honeymoon- Day 14- Brussels

It is hard to believe that our vacation is at the midway point!  

It is going by so quickly, but we are enjoying every moment.

I love the crow-stepped gable rooftops in Bruges, and the shadows they make.

As promised, we are back at Juliette's for breakfast.

We walked to the Bruges train station, on our way to Brussels, just an hour away.  

Brussels is the capital of Belgium.  

They used to speak primarily Dutch but they switched to French in the 1800s.  Although the city officially recognizes both languages, 90% of the population speaks French.

The city's history goes back to 695, but it wasn't officially recognized as a city until 979.  It reflects both the middle ages and the renaissance in its architecture.  

As far as present day, Brussels is packed with tourists, not only sitting on every stair and step available, but sitting and laying on the ground in the square.  I haven't seen anything quite like it.

The famous, wee Mannekin Pis.  

I don't know how something so small got so popular, but then again, the Mona Lisa is smaller.

That is it for the city of Brussels for us, tomorrow we visit Antwerp.

Honeymoon- Day 13- Bruges to Damme to Sluis (and back)

We found an amazing breakfast spot around the corner from our hotel, Juliette.  I had waffles and fruit, the best waffles in Belgium.  Mmmmm, and the fresh squeezed juice was so good.  

Before we left we had plans to return the following day.

Since Bruges was so crowded and overrun with tourists yesterday we decided to rent bikes from our hotel and ride along the canal to Damme.  After reading some forums and looking at the map, I thought, why not go to Sluis, the town after Damme?  The hotel owner confirmed the idea since the towns are so close.  Damn is about five miles away and Sluis is another six miles.

After passing the fourth windmill in Bruges we turned right, following the bike path along the Damme canal.

The Damme canal is also known as the Napoplean canal, as Napolean Bonaparte ordered its construction to aid in the efficient transport of troops.

And now there is a 170 passenger Damme steamboat that travels back and forth to Bruges.

The Damme bell tower doesn't open for a few hours so we checked out the town, knowing we would return at 15:00.

Just like Bruges, Damme, close to the sea, used to be an important port town as well.

These are km, of course.

We are closer to Sluis than Bruges so there is no going back now!  

I mean, not right now.

Before we knew it we were in the town of Sluis, using the internet to see if there are any ice cream shops that we shouldn't miss.  Well, there aren't, but upon looking at the map we realized that we were no longer in Belgium.  We accidentally rode our bikes to the Netherlands!

These Flemish fries were excellent.  

No our fry order isn't huge, the drinks are small.  Well, this is a typical size in Europe.  

Just the right amount of sugar.

If Joop and Joost ever come to the US they might be extremely disappointed at our gift shops.

The dirt road was a detour, to another part of Sluis.  

It may have added another mile or two to our 22 mile journey.

As we rode down the canal we saw a cyclist using this movable, hand-cranked bridge.  We didn't have to cross, but we went back and forth anyway.  It works great!  What a concept.

(I cranked too but the background of the pictures was so blurry when I did it, so I let Eric get us the rest of the way across.  Slow and steady!)

Back at the Damme bell tower for the best Damme view in the city!

It costs two euro per person to walk up the stairs, which hardly covers the cost to clean the bell tower twice a year.  It is a steal but the owners are adamant about not raising the price, they want it accessible to all.  (The bell tower in Bruges costs twelve euro a head.)

So, that is all she wrote!

We left at 10:00 and returned back to Bruges at 18:00.  

This has been one of the most unforgettable bike rides ever.

Honeymoon- Day 12- Bruges

First thing in the morning we left London for Bruges, arriving by the early afternoon.

We were surrounded by chocolate.

Expensive, Belgian chocolate.

Birdman.

We went into the Friet (fries) Museum to ask where we could get some good fries.  An employee recommended this place, just a few blocks from the museum.  

Belgian fries are fried twice, once to cook and the second time for color and texture.

Like a big idiot, before looking at the menu, I walked right up to the employee, looked him straight in the eyes, and ordered French fries. It was embarrassing, obviously.  Especially when I immediately got corrected, 'you mean Flemish fries."  

You see, French fries did not originate in France but in Belgium, so naturally there are sensitive about it.  

I read that during WWII some soldiers were in Belgium eating fried potatoes but, because they speak French there, they thought they were in France, and so nicknamed them French fries.  Who knows what is true.  Both countries claim ownership. 

Flemish fries with mayonnaise and ketchup.  

Each topping cost over a euro!  

It is the small things like free ketchup packets that make you proud to be an American.

The Belfort, added to the market square in 1240, definitely leans.  It is not an optical illusion.  

We got a flight of beer at the sixty year old brewery, Bourgogne de Flandres, and found a sweet table along the canal.

Martin's IPA 55 and Timmermans Kriek were our favorites, for sure.  

Our last event of the evening was to watch part of the Belgium-England World Cup match on the big screen with the locals.

As we walked up, Belgium scored.  Everyone threw their drinks up into the air in celebration.  

So glad we weren't in the center of that mess.

Who knew it would be like a festival.  

It starts young.

Outdoor urinals are a great idea, but they just haven't made their way into the US market.  

Yet.

And so concludes our first day in Bruges!  

It is much more hectic than I remember, but just as beautiful.  

You can't help but imagine how it was seven hundred years ago, when Bruges was a popular multinational trading port.