Dec
22
Written by:
David Press
12/22/2010 12:08 AM
Well we've been moving around like crazy of late and apart from barely contacting anyone, we've also not written any blogs. My apologies for the lack of updates, but sometimes having fun just gets in the way.
Having spent some time in Amsterdam, we caught the supposed direct train to Brussels, which turned into a nightmare. A disruption on our line meant we ended up making 5 connections on what was meant to be a short and direct train ride. Eventually we made it into Brussels and caught up an with old mate Woollard. Noel was in town checking out some work prospects and through some late planning managed to book into the same hotel as us.
A nice meal was had in down town Brussels before heading to bed...Noel was feeling under the weather and Jess and I pretty exhausted after our stressful travel day. The next day however made for some seriously good times with a day of walking around town followed by a pub crawl. Delirium Bar/Brewery was to be our final destination and was almost certainly our downfall. Drinking and hangovers aside, Brussels is a pretty cool city. The old town centre is packed full of restaurants, cafes, pubs and chocolate shops. Not much more to ask for if you ask me. Belgium also appears to be home to the ultra cheap, three course, set menu meal. Twelve euros made for three courses of tasty Belgian food, including their speciality, mussels. Sometimes it's just hard to not have a good time.
Having made the most of our short stay in Brussels, we caught yet another train down to Bruges. Having not seen the infamous movie based in, and sharing it's namesake, I didn't really know what to expect. Thankfully the city is just how we like them, relatively small, lively, and extremely picturesque.
We decided the best way to see the city and its surroundings was by bicycle. Our hostel hired them out at bargain prices, so off we went following a nicely laid out cycling map. Again I managed to get us lost, only to have Jess pick up the pieces and get us back on track. We'd seen a few castles and were thoroughly enjoying our peddle powered adventure, when as you'd expect in winter, the rain started. A short food stop (how convenient I hear you say), and we were having to cut our ride short as the rain seemed endless. Thankfully we didn't get too soaked and made it home eventually.
Bruges happens to have a shop of particular note for me. It's a three story beer shop attached to a bar overlooking the canals with more beers than I thought existed. My dreams were all coming true at once, however I'm now left pondering as to which country makes the best beer. Apparently the Czech's drink the most, German's have Oktoberfest and Belgium and it's monks have more varieties than anywhere I know of, however believe it or not, I actually love Salzburg's Augustiner brewery. I never thought Austria would be home to my favourite beer, but there you have it.
I'm looking forward to one day going back to Belgium, only this time in the summer months. As some know, cycling is something I'm rather fond of partaking in, and well to put in simply, Belgians love cycling like no one else. I'll have to get some mates together (yes that's you Guy, Tooley and Campo) and spend some days riding, drinking beer and tasting Belgium's famous chips and chocolate. Something tells me that if I keep all this consumption up, I'm going to NEED to cycle rather than want to.
3 comment(s) so far...
Re: Belgium...Beer in Brussels and Bruges
thanks for the mention coj, will gets those legs shaved for the belgian cycling experiences
By campo on
12/22/2010 4:51 PM
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Re: Belgium...Beer in Brussels and Bruges
Merry Christmas Everyone all the way from Vienna. Thinking of you all back home. I hope you all get into the festive season and enjoy a few beers, stuff yourself with food and relax in front of the Test on Boxing Day. We miss you all. Love Jess and Dave
By Jess Williamson on
12/23/2010 10:13 PM
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Re: Belgium...Beer in Brussels and Bruges
I remember you telling me that Jess was awesome at reading maps! Thank goodness she's with you, hey!!! All the best. We miss you over here xx
By Big Sis on
12/24/2010 2:09 PM
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