Post by Kim on Mar 26, 2003 9:39:16 GMT -5
Hello from beautiful, medieval Bruges, Belgium! We arrived here yesterday and spent a beautiful, sunny afternoon climbing the belfry tower and taking a canal
tour. It's amazing what a few hundred years difference in architecture makes a place feel. We had dinner in the oldest building in Amsterdam; most buildings here in Bruges are older than that, by a long shot!
We are staying at a wonderful B&B here and we aren't going to want to move to Paris tomorrow! Our host is so welcoming and helpful, and she prepared us the most fabulous breakfast this morning (fresh squeezed orange juice in a champagne glass is a dream for a backpacker!). We also have our own bathroom, which is a nice treat, and it's a real room, not a closet!
We didn't have a TV in Amsterdam, so we didn't know until last night what was going on in Iraq. We turned on the BBC to find out that the deadline was 4 HOURS away; I was hoping that it had been extended into April... Everything here is quiet, except for the fact that it's all over the news. The story may be different in Paris, but I am much more comfortable about going there than I was before we left for Europe.
Fittingly, today we took a day trip to the World War I battlefields in Flanders Fields. Our guide's grandmother escaped her home village there with only a wheelbarrel and 14 of her children. She gave birth to our guide's father in a refugee camp near the French border. He was unbelievably knowledgable, and took us all around battlefields and cemetaries. We now have a better appreciation for why most Europeans don't want war. This country is littered with remnants of the war; bunkers, trenches, craters, and ammunition are everywhere, which still cause 3-4 Belgian casualties annually, 80 years after the war. Every few feet along the farm roads, you see the ammunitions that the farmers have found that week, waiting for the Army to pick them up. All the towns and villages we visited today have been completely, entirely rebuild from scratch. There were not two bricks lying on top of one another after the Great War. Can you imagine?? It was an elightening and depressing day.
On a happier note, the 'Belgian waffles' here are NOT the same as at home. They are sweet and incredibly delicious! We had some chocolate yesterday, but haven't had time to buy more today, because everything is closed. The town shuts down at 6pm, since it's the off-season! Last night we were the only
people on the streets most everywhere we went, and it was only 9pm! We had a great Flemmish dinner last night, and are going to return to the restaurant again tonight; not many choices because many of the restaurants aren't open right now.
Well, time to go check on our laundry! Hope all is well at home and that things go quickly in Iraq. We heard that they are cancelling some trans-atlantic flights; anyone heard about this? We are flying Northwest/KLM.
See you in Paris!
Monique and Jamie
tour. It's amazing what a few hundred years difference in architecture makes a place feel. We had dinner in the oldest building in Amsterdam; most buildings here in Bruges are older than that, by a long shot!
We are staying at a wonderful B&B here and we aren't going to want to move to Paris tomorrow! Our host is so welcoming and helpful, and she prepared us the most fabulous breakfast this morning (fresh squeezed orange juice in a champagne glass is a dream for a backpacker!). We also have our own bathroom, which is a nice treat, and it's a real room, not a closet!
We didn't have a TV in Amsterdam, so we didn't know until last night what was going on in Iraq. We turned on the BBC to find out that the deadline was 4 HOURS away; I was hoping that it had been extended into April... Everything here is quiet, except for the fact that it's all over the news. The story may be different in Paris, but I am much more comfortable about going there than I was before we left for Europe.
Fittingly, today we took a day trip to the World War I battlefields in Flanders Fields. Our guide's grandmother escaped her home village there with only a wheelbarrel and 14 of her children. She gave birth to our guide's father in a refugee camp near the French border. He was unbelievably knowledgable, and took us all around battlefields and cemetaries. We now have a better appreciation for why most Europeans don't want war. This country is littered with remnants of the war; bunkers, trenches, craters, and ammunition are everywhere, which still cause 3-4 Belgian casualties annually, 80 years after the war. Every few feet along the farm roads, you see the ammunitions that the farmers have found that week, waiting for the Army to pick them up. All the towns and villages we visited today have been completely, entirely rebuild from scratch. There were not two bricks lying on top of one another after the Great War. Can you imagine?? It was an elightening and depressing day.
On a happier note, the 'Belgian waffles' here are NOT the same as at home. They are sweet and incredibly delicious! We had some chocolate yesterday, but haven't had time to buy more today, because everything is closed. The town shuts down at 6pm, since it's the off-season! Last night we were the only
people on the streets most everywhere we went, and it was only 9pm! We had a great Flemmish dinner last night, and are going to return to the restaurant again tonight; not many choices because many of the restaurants aren't open right now.
Well, time to go check on our laundry! Hope all is well at home and that things go quickly in Iraq. We heard that they are cancelling some trans-atlantic flights; anyone heard about this? We are flying Northwest/KLM.
See you in Paris!
Monique and Jamie