In Bruges.

Venice of the North they say? Well, "they" are right. This city lived up to what people say about it. Each side street was beautiful and unique in its own way. The gables of each building and the way the reflections hit the canal combined into a beautiful serenity as we strolled along the bridges and canal. 

Not only that, but the ride into Bruges, with a beautiful layer of snow on the ground, was enough to keep our attention, even as yet another train conductor tried to scheme 60 euros out of us. We got him down to 3 euros. Every Belgian train conductor seems to have a different story about Belgian train law... I am now under the impression that it is all bs. 

We headed straight for the bell tower and climbed it for the best view I have seen since I have been here.

Unbeatable.

After the climb down, we ran into our friends, the Sweets and Kelsey. We made not-to0-precise plans to meet up later at some point, since Bruges is so small (clearly - we had already run into each other once!) Bonnie, Mallory and I then headed to The Church of Our Lady to see Michelangelo's sculpture of the Madonna and Child. The only part of the church that we had to pay for was the one corridor where the sculpture was held. This was the sculpture that Michelangelo worked on whenever he felt like he needed a break from working on The David. It was cool... a bit underwhelming after seeing his best work in Florence.

Mallory and I then made our way to De Halve Maan brewery for a much awaited tour. Everyone that I have talked to about  Bruges has mentioned this brewery and raved about the tour that they offer... They failed to mention that the tours fill up very fast. Mallory and had been under the impression that this brewery was one of those little unknown places, that a few people I knew had just happened to find. We were wrong. It is apparently a big deal and the 4 o'clock tour was full... This was a problem seeing as we were meeting up with Bonnie at 5:30. We headed across the street to a bar to devise a plan.

After about ten minutes of brainstorming, we came to the conclusion that Bonnie would be OK if we were 15 minutes late. We would just run over to meet her after the tour and we would be golden. I ran to tell the brewery that we would be there for the 5 o'clock... they had sold out. So, we enjoyed our beer and each other's company... we were in Bruges. No matter how much things don't go according to plan when you're traveling, it can only affect you so much. The best experiences are those that are unplanned. 

We grabbed some beer from the brewery and a waffle and strolled back to the square. We met up with Bonnie without any issues. She informed me that she ran into the Sweets (of course... Bruges is so small), and that they would meet me at the statue at 6:30pm. Perfect plan. Right while she was telling me this, I looked up because I heard my name and they were on the third floor of the castle in the square. I waved and then left to show Bonnie and Mallory how to get to the bus stop.

I came back to wait in the square for twenty minutes for the Sweets... they never showed... or so I thought. Apparently they came straight down from the castle after they saw me and searched through the square for me. I came back as they were searching the square for me... and began walking around looking for them. Bruges is not as small as we had thought. I never found them. But, I got some pretty incredible people-watching under my belt in the square... and some great pictures.

I then got a taste of what it will be like when I am traveling (starting next week!) by myself. I was starting to think that I wanted to get a beer somewhere near the square (at this point quite certain I was going at it alone for the rest of the evening). As I peered through one of the windows, I noticed that there was a lady sitting there drinking wine and reading a book. I thought... perfect! that can be me too! Nope. I walked in, happily noticing that there were many open spots... but was told that they could not serve me. I think that they had filled their "drinking alone" quota for the evening. 

It was just as well. I ended up exploring every street off of the square. I am much more adventurous when I am by myself because I don't have to stress about leading people astray. I put away my map and just wandered. It was wonderful. Which brings me back to this city being the "Venice of the North." The more I think about it, it really does make sense because that is exactly what you do in Venice... just wander! 

I tried to use my sense of direction to figure out which way the train station was (we had taken the bus in, so I hadn't made the trip walking at this point). I had been walking down one of the streets when I suddenly realized that the beer I had purchased at the brewery was back in the square. I booked it back to the square, certain that someone had snatched it, but no. There it was. I couldn't help but grin as I approached my big purchase of the day.

At this point I realized that I shouldn't really push my luck. I hopped on the next bus that came through and headed to the train. I ended up having to pay a fine on the way home too... these Belgian conductors are so predictably, annoyingly nice each time they describe to me their version of how the train system works. It's like the train is their little kingdom and some of them fall into dictatorship, while others remain a democracy. Some tax people just for being there... ah, enough of that confusing analogy. Bruges is awesome. Go! Explore.