03-05-18

Second stop : Bruges, Belgium / 2 nights

Our first time getting a connecting train and using our passes abroad and it was absolutely pip-squeak. Trained from Paris to Brussels and then Brussels to Bruges, took about 3 hours in total and flew by!

The beauty of the size of Bruges means that no matter where you stay, it will always be in walking distance of the train station. It is only a 15 minute walk from the station into the heart of the city which is probably the longest I can sustain with my tortoise shell (backpack).

If you want to get the feels of Disneyland without feeling guilty about still being an inner child Bruges fulfils this. The buildings look like part of a fairytale set and just as you can’t believe people get to live somewhere so magical a horse and cart trots past you. They have definitely got it right here!

It makes me think why don’t we think this much about architecture anymore? Think about how pretty all buildings and homes could look instead of a plain bricked cube with a triangle on top.

Now, I don’t want to be critical or negative of anywhere I visit, however I do want to be truthful with my thoughts. The only downfall with Bruges being a petite town is that the tourists are magnified. I know, very ironic coming from a tourist myself however whenever I visit a place abroad, I want to feel like a needle in a haystack of locals. The extremity of this has even led to a Burger King in the historic ‘Markt’ (the main square of Bruges). This is the one thing I dislike about commercialism, it’s ability to ruin historic areas purely to fulfil tourist’s need to eat a Double Whopper.

Due to this, Ben and I hired bicycles and cycled as far out of the city centre as we could and reached a residential area surrounded by canals and green, flora areas. There is something so warming about being able to see locals and neighbours get by with their daily lives to what seems normal and basic to them but to us it seems like they live in such a secluded beautiful village otherwise known as a paradise.

Tip: Only hire the bike for an hour, before you know it you’re trying to battle your way through lanes of traffic with a numb bum. It soon turns from a total instagram-worthy moment to a hot flustered mess.

This leg of our journey was just a 2 night stop which easily allowed us to see the whole city and it’s outskirts as well as all the historical attractions. The biermuseum (beer museum) is a must!!! Especially if you get the beer tasting ticket which allows you 3 beers of your choice. This is particularly entertaining for your travel companion if you’re like me and can’t help but pull that sour beer face.

The next stop is Amsterdam and to say I’m excited to see this famously beautiful city would be an understatement!!

Peace and love,

Yasmin x