Belgium

Brussels is a city that sits closest to the border of France. It's unique geographical location is evident everywhere in the city. Shopkeepers and clerks greet you in French and street signs switch between their ditch, French and English names. It seems like residents know at least 2 languages and live in the intermediate city using both. It's not uncommon for the curved streets to change names at intersections ( a confusing fact that led to almost 2 hours of wandering to find our hotel) and the all streets in the city center wind about in circles filled with restaurants, waffle stands, chocolate shops and speciality beer stores. Needless to say, the main food groups in Belgium seemed to be sugar and starch. Equally delicious. Because we arrived on Easter weekend a lot of the museums in town were closed but I did manage visit the main church, parliament buildings, academic area and a couple parks. Brussels in itself probably isnt my favourite city but the grand place is the highlight. It is a sequence of large buildings with ornate decorations that line the surroundings of an exposed square where merchants sell paintings and people mill about or eat at the many restraints below the buildings.

After exploring Brussels it was onto to Bruges. Only about an hour or less away by train, Bruges is a quiet city with cobblestone streets, bare trees in the winter, and small bridges that cover over canals. We visited a small pub called De Garre that was tucked away in an alleyway and served house brewed beer which I would highly recommend. Further out of the city centre tourists dissapeared and there were only a few bikes and people walking about their daily routines in the streets. If you've ever watched in Bruges you can visit the locations where the movie was shot and go up the clock tower. The quiet town is a nice change from loud tourists and busy city centers. After that, it was off to Amsterdam!