brugge

brugge was excellent, thats all that needs to be said. i seriously didnt expect it, but definetely one of the neatest places on the entire trip. i enjoyed how calm it was, how small it was (not incredibly small.. we still managed to get lost-- so large enough to keep you busy) and of course the belgian fries. the cafes were excellent and the beer incredible. belgian beers in general are just phenomenal. i read that a lot of the brewing traditions and techniques started centuries ago by monks who had their own brewery type places. beer wasnt such a social drink, but more a holy thing.. needless to say, some of the roots were established here-- so theres some history.

the streets are all cobble stoned, and there are canals that run around the perimeter of the city that really are pretty cool. the building are all pretty old so a lot of character is maintained which always good to see in a city. the town itself has population of about 120,000 but come tourist season in the summer this is the most frequently visited city in belgium and the temporary population jumps to an incredible 2 million. seems outrageous given what we have seen--- that very fact makes travelling this time of year quite nice.

we are off to antwerp today and will be there for another day before ending the entire trip in amsterdam. seems outrageous that the time has gone by that quickly. but hey... its been a good one