Day 5: Bruges!

We woke up at 5am to catch an early train to Bruges, Belgium. We had wanted to visit this place since hearing about it from Joan and Warren. This 14th century town is just under one square mile in area but is covered with amazing architecture and art. We hopped off the train and marched into the town square to get a look at the bell tower that has presided over the square since 1300. After taking in some breathtaking views, we found our Hotel Adornes (a Rick Steves suggestion) and checked in.

Rick Steves shout out: We have determined that we are not vacationing anywhere in Europe that Rick Steves does not suggest. His book is very accurate and has been great source of information on a lot of our stops.

At the hotel, we unpacked and hopped on the free loaner bikes. These bikes were so much fun to use around Bruges. By the end of our stay we had a pretty good mastery of the cobblestones. Many times we just had to trust that the cars and motorbikes were not going to hit us.

Our first stop was to get some frites! Bruges is a Flemish town and has a very Amsterdam feel. They eat a lot of street food such as fries with mayo, waffles, etc. Our selections: spicy sausage, spicy pork, and cheese balls. Deep fried goodness! To work off some of those calories, we headed to the bell tower. Three hundred and sixty six very steep steps later, we reached the top of this insane tower.

There was a traveling Salvador Dali exhibit at the town square the we could not pass up the chance to see. Man that guy drew a lot of genitalia. Interesting stuff!

Next we visited the Basillica of the Holy Blood built in 1150 to house the blood of Jesus. The relic is only shown one week a year; luckily for us it was this week of Easter! So we wandered in and laid hands on the vile of crusty blood that supposedly contained ol' JC's DNA. We wandered around the old town a little longer before finally tasting our first fresh Belgien chocolates at Dumon. We are pretty sure these folks make the best chocolates on earth. Oh and lace too if you're in to lace. Meh.

That night we went out for dinner at the Hobbit. A local eatery that had all you can eat spare ribs. Hehehe. According to references, the Flemish specialize in mussels and grilled meats. I must say the Hobbit was an excellent, casual meal twe both needed. Steph also raves about their chocolate mousse. It's a good thing we are walking so much because we are certainly eating!

The town here is very family rich. Each business has been basically doing the same trade for generations. So while the kids are playing in the bar, grandma runs the cash register, dad is grilling meats, and lil' sis is waiting tables. It is an interesting culture. We are loving Bruges.