Beer and Waffles

After bidding a fond farewell to the Venice of the North, we ventured south for a quick overnight stop in Bruges (like the movie...get it?).  It's a bad ass little city that really does make you feel like you're walking on a movie set.  Beautiful architecture, funky shops, quaint houses, and lots of fun watering holes that serve endless varieties of delicious beer.  After walking around town for a bit in the afternoon, I partook in a fun little beer tasting event at the hostel.  Unfortunately, my travel companion is an avid non-beer drinker so I was flying solo in this adventure...or so I thought (more on that earth shattering news to follow).  I had the pleasure of testing 6 different varieties of beer and not only did I enjoy all of them, I also made a few pals in the process.  We drank and danced the night away, I almost incited an international incident (involving a mistaken case of snack mix theft), we fled the scene of the alleged crime, and all was right with the world. 

Bruges, in pictures:

Hey, Bruges.  I like you a whole lot. 

Basilica of the Holy Blood, where a vial of Jesus' blood is said to be housed.  We didn't actually see it, but I heard one report that it looks like beef jerky.

Lions and the Bruges coat of arms and bears, oh my!

Pretty city

Weird nubbin trees

This is Chas, world renowned beer hater, moments before taking a sip of the beer he was peer-pressured into ordering...

And here he is post-sip!  That's one satisfied customer.  A momentous occasion to be sure.

One fun thing about Belgian beers is that they all come in their own unique glass that is designed to maximize the flavor of the beer.  Here is an especially awesome one.

The rag tag Bruges wrecking crew.  Two Americans, two Aussies and a Brit.  A winning combination to be sure. 

Wall of Beer.  Be still my heart.

Delirium. Or should I say DeliriYUM?  Hahaha, that was terrible.  Sorry.

Duvel translates to devil.  So when you get drunk off of this you can just tell people that the devil made you do it.

Oh yeah, Belgium also produces delicious waffles.

And chocolate, if you're into that sort of thing.

After we left Bruges, we took a train to Brussels to catch a flight to Edinburgh, Scotland.  Chas was gracious enough to give me this really amazing window seat.  The views were spectacular.

Although our time in Bruges was brief, the impression it left was quite large.  While I wish we would have had more time there, I kind of like the fact that it was such a whirlwind experience.  Only scratched the surface of what the city has to offer, but that just means there will be plenty of things left to explore the next time I visit. 

Next stop: Scotland....