Eine kurze Reise: Brügge

As I mentioned in the post about my birthday, my dad came to visit me! I was so happy that he was able to make it across the Atlantic to see me. We decided that we'd make the most of his visit here by going on a short trip somewhere else. He suggested Brügge (Bruges), Belgium, and I said, "yeah sure."

We decided to take the train all the way there so that we'd have the chance to stop in Cologne. My dad had never seen the Kölner Dom (Cologne Cathedral), but really wanted to. I figured this was pretty easy to accomplish, since the Dom is literally right outside the Cologne Hauptbahnhof.

Our travels to Bruges went pretty smoothly. My dad got to see the Dom, we got a quick peek at Brussels, and then scooted on over to Bruges.


Our layover in Brussels. Because if you aren't eating fries and drinking Stella, are you even in Belgium?
When we got to Bruges, it was a little cold, but fairly sunny. We walked from the train station to our hotel in the old city center (which, by the way, was quite a little trek), and enjoyed the views of the medieval city.


There was a little fair going on when we got there. It contrasted interestingly with the very old architecture.

Big ol' tower. (I'm a star caption writer)

The center square, from the center of the square. I love these old buildings. And all of them have restaurants on the lower level!


Bruges isn't very big, so our little walking tour was enough to get us around most of the city. That night, to celebrate my birthday, we went out to dinner. I ate snails for the first time, so there's that.


Snails! The real star here, though? Butter.


Swiper no swiping!!!! Jk please swipe. They ended up dropping off a massive plate of fries and salad with this steak.


We were only to stay in Bruges for one night, so the next morning we got up and did some more wandering about until we decided to leave. It was snowing, so it was definitely cold, but also very, very pretty.



Pay no mind to the devil birds.


To round out our trip before we left, we ate--what else?--a waffle!!!




After getting lost in a surprisingly small space, we meandered back to the train station, grabbed a train to Brussels, and then another train to Cologne. This time, we stopped in Cologne for something to eat. I made my dad try some traditional Kölsch food, Himmel und Äd (heaven and earth). He wasn't really convinced when I told him it was blood sausage, potatoes, onions, and apples, but he ended up liking it. He did not, however, like running to the train station when I realized that our train came from a different station than the one I originally had in mind. I still feel bad about that.

 The rest of the trip went on without issue. I was really glad to finally be able to spend some time with my dad, show him around Hamburg, and experience a new place with him. Dad, I know you're reading this, so thanks for coming, and I'll see you in July! 






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