beautiful bruges...

Oh goodness, what a weekend! Bruges, the "Venice of the North" as it is often called, is quaint, charming, and as Molly Parker likes to say, "the baby making capital of Europe." The beauty the of canals, windmills, flower boxes, cobblestone, and Churches, the whole town just captures your heart. I don't think I stopped smiling our first night in the town and if you don't believe me ask any one of my friends because they all called me out on acting super giddy and girly. We arrived early on Friday evening and checked into our hotel, Hotel De Brugge, which was an upgrade from the Derby in Brussels. Our room, nestled in the top of the building amidst the rafters and skylights had "Little Princess" written all over it. After awing at our room, we walked through town in search of an open restaurant. We ended up at a little Italian restaurant recommended by the the concierge where we spent the next three hours (yes, three) soaking in the atmosphere and enjoying our first quality meal in Europe. Yep, I finally splurged. The brie was excellent and well worth my plate exchange with Molly and every Euro I payed. I even had banana icecream for dessert! With full stomachs, we left the restaurant and wandered around the town square for a little while before heading home.

Saturday morning came a little too quickly -- we had to leave the hotel at 8:00 AM to catch a bus to Ieper, site of three World War I battles. The lighting in our hotel room was so goofy. Saturday morning Alayna and I finally learned after hopeless attempts to shower (or shall I say bath because all we had was a bathtub) in the dark that you have to lock the lights to keep them on. Yep, every 30 seconds the lights automatically turn off unless you lock them on. Gotta love Europe. Then, to make the early morning even better, I ate it walking down the stairs, falling and bruising my back and elbow. Embarrassing, I know. Just ask Alayna, she witnessed the whole spectacle and I even have the bruises to prove it.

In Ieper our tour guide took us to 5 of the 150 cemeteries in the town (British, German, Canadian, Belgian, etc.), WWI trenches used in 1915, In Flanders Field Museum, and the Menin Gate. We visited the largest WWI cemetery in the world and it is a chilling image, much like Arlington National Cemetery. I could not wrap my mind around the number of people buried in these cemeteries or try to imagine the destruction and the horror 90 years ago. We even saw a tombstone of a 15 year old who enlisted under a different name and lied about his age in order to fight in the war. That is unbelievable to me. Where is the patriotism today, that willingness to sacrifice for your country? I am afraid that those virtues of pride and patriotism mothers and fathers instilled in their children back in the 1850's and the early 1900's have left us. Maybe I am wrong? By the way, only a couple towers in Ieper endured the war, everything else was destroyed.

After the 8 hour tour in Ieper, we headed back to Bruges for the night. Stir crazy, Austin, Molly and I went on a run through town where we were "Carlos-ed." Yes, Carlos is both a noun and a verb. Let's just say that we had a very hilarious and unforgettable interaction with 3 gentlemen (?) on our run last night that warranted the creation of a new word. Enough said. After our jog we went to dinner at a little cafe near our hotel. We sat outside soaking up the beauty and the stillness over a mug of hot chocolate for hours.

We had free time in Bruges this morning to explore before our trip to Ghent this afternoon. After wandering through town for a little while, we stumbled upon a dock offering boat tours on the canal. A "sucker for water," I could not pass it up! So, we toured the town by boat for 30 minutes, seeing more Churches, houses, and parks. It was a great way to see the town (if you visit Bruges, I highly recommend a boat tour). We spent the afternoon in Ghent touring Churches and looking at Medieval towers, castles, and buildings. Today was Heritage Day in Ghent so marching bands lined the streets, filling the town with color and music. Exhausted from the long day yesterday, it was difficult to engage and listen to the tour guide mumble facts about the town for 3 hours. We did, however, see a lot of cool places.

It was a fun weekend and a much needed break from public transportation and all the joys city life. Hope everything is well back in the States and at Furman! Seniors, enjoy your last first day of school! Random side note: there are so many variations of spelling for words and places in Belgium, like Bruges is also written as Brugge or Brussels as Brussel or Bruxelle. Forgive me for any inconsistencies, it can be confusing at times!