Belgium

Last Thursday Jon and I hopped on a train headed for Antwerp. After arriving in Antwerp we called our friend Alec, a relative of a friend from back home, who was to be our host for a few nights. She picked us up from the Brugge station with her friend Tess and then we headed to her house in Wenduine. A small beach community on the Belgian coast about 25min from Brugge. Upon our arrival there we met her mother and their dog Balu, who kinda reminded me of my old dog Lucky. We unpacked our stuff and then sat down for a delicious home cooked meal of steak and fries and then headed out to Ghent with Alec and Tess. Ghent is known as a student city and a vibrant night life. We were taught the local way to say cheers (Salti), which made Jon and I wish we had something better than cheers to teach them. Every little region here says it differently, in Leiden its Proost. We also noticed the distinct difference in the Dutch accent between the Netherlands and Flanders. The accent in Belgium is much softer and is described by the Dutch as a farmer accent. Anyway, the Belgians were quite proud of their accent. We sat down for some Belgian beer (Duvel) played some darts and Foosball and then finished off the night with some dancing and snacking.

Friday
We slept in and then headed out to Brugge. Alec actually used to be a tour guide in Brugge, Ghent, and Brussels so she showed us around for a few hours. She took us to Brugge's famous Belfry, then to the Basilica of Sacred Blood, which has a piece of wood with a drop of Jesus's blood on it. We then got some Real Belgian fries - NOT French fries - with a brown beer sauce. After walking some narrow medieval alleyways Alec had to leave to go and babysit. Jon and I wondered the city for a little longer and then decided to take a boat trip. Seeing the city from the water was great, although a bit cold. The boat driver would switch between English, Dutch, French, and Spanish so we really had no idea what he was talking about most the time. We then headed out to soak up the last bit of sun in the Brugge town square where there was some great people watching. It is a tradition that in the last 100 days of high school Seniors dress up in crazy costumes. Everywhere we went we saw kids in Elvis costumes and colorful outfits, quite entertaining. Around sunset we headed for the Brugge train station, passing some great graffiti and canals along the way.
After we got back to Alec's place we were treated to another meal of meatballs and mashed potatoes and then took a much needed nap. Alec returned and we then headed out to a local party on a nearby pier. It was a very cool place with a great location with a 90's theme that night. Ricky Martin, Spice Girls, etc. Pretty ridiculous.

Saturday.
We were treated to a breakfast of fresh rolls with an assortment of cheese, meat, jams, butters, juice and tea. We really owe Alec and her Mom big time :) We relaxed and watched some English soccer and then Alec drove us to Ghent and dropped us off. We said our thanks and good byes and then Jon and I were on our own. uh oh. We strolled through Ghent popped in and out of some churches and then set out to find our hostel. De Draeke hostel was located right next to a massive old castle called the Gravensteen. After a bit of rest we headed out to explore Ghent by night. On our way out we picked up a map from the reception that ended being really helpful. It is a UseIt map that is written by locals young people with all kinds of cool sights, bars, food etc. Jon and I were easily entertained for a few hours just looking at all the old buildings, churches, and castles reflected in the abyss of the canals. We sat down for a bit on a canal-side bench and, sadly, the first thing we thought of was Pirates of the Caribbean ride at Disneyland. Check the slide show, it is really hard to describe this place in words. We then grabbed a beer and talked NBA with some locals, they always want to talk about it with us!

Sunday.
Woke up at 9am to get a good start to the day. Breakfast, shower, then to Brussels. Alec gave us a walking tour map of Brussels so we decided to loosely follow that. Some more old churches, and a few wrong turns and we were at the Grand Place, a small but magnificent square with the town hall as the centerpiece. We then stopped by the Royal Palace and took in some great views of the city from the Palace of Justice. We then got lost...but ended up stumbling across a great open air market. We bought a kilo of strawberries and some chocolate and then wondered the market looking for lunch. We noticed a great olive stand with a long wait for some sort of sandwich/wrap type thing. After a 15min wait and some trouble understanding exactly what we were ordering we sat down to eat. I still don't know its official name but it was basically warm crepe with olives, some soft cheese, and a honey sauce served with hot, sweet tea. Magical. It seemed like the whole family was working this stall just to keep up with the demand for these things. Two 6 year old boys cleared our table when we left. After the market we tried to get back on the walking tour route, but in the end decided just to go whatever way we felt like. It ended up working out because we stumbled across the famous peeing boy statue. We then headed back for our 3:19pm departure to Leiden.

Check out the photos!

Belgium