Day 6 - Broog

Apparently we skipped a day, so here we go. Superfast mode.

Salvador Dali exhibit

Like every Broozh postcard you see

Picasso Museum

Tour of the Halve-Maan Brewery

We wandered around a bunch and found ourselves in the middle of a convent

Trevor's Frite Count: 8

Day 7 - Brggg to Gent to Brussels

We started the day as any day should begin.... with Belgian waffles. They tasted excellent, but we've found that the "wafels" available from frittkotts taste even better.

Not that we're complaining.

 We left.... Bergug.... and drove to Gent. Similar to Antwerp, Gent had a beautiful downtown area with gorgeous architecture and charming shops lining the streets. Our first stop was the Belfort Belfry, an amazing carillon tower in the middle of Gent. We climbed to the top and enjoyed the view.

What's brown and sounds like a bell? A bell, stupid.

St. Nicholas' Church

The carillon was controlled by this giant music box. Built in 1639 and still working today!

 We then wandered Gent and found some interesting sights.

We had lunch at a canal-side cafe, and got to watch the tourists float by in their paddleboats.

Trevor's frite count: still 7

 And then on to Castle Gravensteen! This was a medieval fortress that protected the city from invaders most effectively, but was converted into a factory at the turn of the century.  Luckily it was rescued and now is a touristy place to see turrets, arrow holes, and even medieval latrines.

The view through a murderhole

 Gent was not our final destination for the day. We continued on to Denderleeuw, to a bar called De Heeren van Liedekercke, considered to be the best beer bar in Belgium. It was pretty darn good.

A happy man.

After Denderleeuw, our final city of our tour, Brussels! After navigating the winding and confusing streets, we arrived at our host Dorothee's apartment, just south of Grand Place.

her dog Nano, who shares many qualities with Olive, strangely enough

 We had dinner at a cute establishment called The Village Idiot (in French) and called it an early night. It became quickly apparent that although everyone in Brussels speaks fluent French and Dutch, they all are adept at communicating in English with our measly one language minds.  Lucky for us!

Trevor's frite count: still 8.

Day 5 - Antwerp to... Bruges? Brugge?

Day 5 was mostly dedicated to conquering Antwerp. It was a 2 mile walk into the city. Public transportation is for wimps. We walked the whole way.

Our room in Antwerp

 The center of Antwerp is very beautiful... like something from a storybook. Cafes, old store fronts, and cathedrals everywhere.

Anyone know who this guy is? We don't. He's holding a hand that gushes blood (water) like something out of a Japanese gore movie.

Cathedral of our Lady in Antwerp. Well, not *our* lady. *Our* lady is in a  kennel back in Worcester.

Two magnificent men.

It was Labor Day in Belgium. The Labor Party marched through the center of town, yelling things in Dutch, which is scary by default.

A street snail race. How exciting! The girl in the middle had an extraordinary expression.

Mussels! Trevor's frite count: 6

Trumpolin? Violumpet?

 After lunch we walked down to the Fashion Museum, which was a tad underwhelming. Lots of cloth, lots of designs, but nothing that was all that interesting. Clearly this was geared towards fashionistas, for whom Antwerp is becoming a hub.

Except for this stormtrooper dress. That was interesting.

 After walking back to our car, we hightailed it to Bruges. Brugges? Brugs? Bughchecchc? We still don't really know.

Planning out our first night in Bruggeshah

The view from our room

 We ventured into Brugseka and promptly got lost. It's got confusing streets like Venice but with cars and bicycles. We meandered towards Markt and explored around there.

The Brownshugga Markt

More Markt

We grabbed dinner at a small but trendy pub called Cambrinus. Trevor enjoyed another Weslvleteren 12 and Bettie had a Rochefort 10.

Trevor's frite count: 7

Day 4 - Amsterdam to Antwerp

We began day 4 with a quick exploration of Queensday Amsterdam. It's like a giant block party yard sale. Every bit of sidewalk was taken up by someone selling their junk, food, playing music, or   games.

A street vendor during Queensday.

We packed up our suitcases and took a "quick" drive through Rotterdam, where they were also celebrating Queensday.

An infamous oddity of Rotterdam. People either love or hate this statue.

The Cube Houses are a famous architectural feat in downtown Rotterdam

After Rotterdam was Kinderdijk, famous for its beautiful windmills.

"Come Rocinantes! We must slay the giants!"

And then on to Baarle-Nassau, a region with screwed up borders between Belgium and the Netherlands... each block is in a different country!

 Finally we Antwerped. We met up with our lovely hosts and speedily set out for food and beer. After dinner, we went to Kulminator, one of the best bars in the world.

Westvleteren 12, the best beer in the world, and one of the most difficult beers to acquire. Worth it.

We made some new friends. Tom, left, translated for us. Derrick, owner of Kulminator, supplied us with multiple free drinks, including a beer he had aged since 1985.


Trevor's frite count: 5

Day 3 - Queensnight!

Sorry about the lack of updates. Spotty internet access is to blame.

Day 3 in Amsterdam began with a trip up to Noordmarkt, where a massive vintage fair fills the streets every monday.

Preparations for Queensnight were already being made-portable urinals!

"A hat, a hat is a hat, but not just that. A woman ain't a woman not wearing one. Under the smiling autumn sun."

Balloons were going up everywhere for Queensday

 After Noordmarkt we went to Oude Kirk, a beautiful cathedral in the middle of the Red Light District. A photo gallery in the church displayed award-winning photos from around the world, which was interesting but a weird contrast to the gothic architecture.

Trevor liked the anachronism

Trevor's frite count: 2

Much street food was to be had on this day. Pofferjies are mini-pancakes you eat with a toothpick (Bettie first had this with Michelle in Iowa, oddly enough :) which were equally delicious)

Pofferjies!

 Dinner on a bridge over the river- we tried this pink drink all the "ladies" are drinking.

"Beer mixed with wine? Not bad actually. It's like a beautiful woman wearing a paper bag. It shouldn't work, but it does."
-Trevor

Trevor's frite count: 3.

We didn't bring our camera to Queensnight, but it was a blast. Everyone was out in the streets dancing and partying. Trevor's frite count: 4.