Day 8 - BRUGES! (grrrr)

The vending machine at the Brussel's train station - looks normal until you look at the third shelf... yep, that's beer. Hmmm... who's checking the id here?
see all photos »

So, I woke up at early 30 (precisely 4:30 am to catch my Eurostar train. This might have explained the next 24ish hours, as I do not do well on little sleep.

After departing the Eurostar at the Brussels train station, I had a few moments to get something to eat, it was now 10:00 and I was starving. Guess what I had?? A Belgium waffle, of course! It was sooo good. The traditional waffles are really thick and soft and are already sweetened, so you eat it dry. I fell in love instantly! I don't like waffles but here they are divine.

"BRUGES!! I HATE YOU!!"

I guess it's pretty, if you like that kind of thing. Whatever, Bruges!!
see all photos »

Bruges is only an hour train ride away from Brussels, so I got there quickly. It's supposedly a beautiful medieval town  (according to Rick Steves). But, yeah, it's not that pretty. I caught the bus that the hostel had said drops you off about 100 yards from the front door. Hmmm... actually, even with my pack, the driver didn't stop and he ended up forcing me to get off at a later stop (he actually turned around and said "you missed you're stop, just get off here". I said, "I'm sorry, I was watching the street signs and I didn't see Wanterstraat". His reply was "well, you have to tell us where you want to go, and we don't even go down that street anymore, so good luck". Sweet. I waited for the next bus and TOLD the bus driver where I wanted to get off. He dropped me off at some street and I followed the directions to no where. I ended up going into a pharmacy and the pharmacist said immediately "You want directions to the hostel, right? We get a lot of that". She gave me directions and I eventually got there but I was pretty mad at this point. On the way, I saw the same numbered bus coming down the street that the bus driver had originally told me they no longer serve. Hmmm.... When I got the the hostel, I was pretty tired and I had to wait an hour and a half for check in. Finally, I got to my room and went up to the front desk to get directions into town. She marked a map and sent me on my way. Luckily for me, the streets have different names at different points (and they're all in Flemish). Needless to say, I got lost. For an hour. I asked directions 3 times and each time I was lead down a street that dead ended. Nice. I finally found my way back to the hostel and went straight to the desk and asked for them to call me a taxi. The woman just looked at me "But it's so easy to walk. You should just walk there!" I said "Look, I appreciate that. but apparently today, my sense of direction is off and I got up early this morning. So please, just call me a taxi!"

Ahhh tea time in a sweet cafe in Bruges. This was the only bit I liked, though I think the Brussels train station had better waffels!
see all photos »

When I finally got the the city center, I was hugely disappointed. Not only had the city not been that pretty when I was walking around lost for an hour and a half but it wasn't really that nice. I was too tired to do anything historic, so I walked around the city shops and just looked at things. I eventually had tea and a waffle at a cafe, then made my way back to the hostel (where the bus driver also dropped me off at a different stop (UGH!).

All day long I walked around saying "BRUGES!! I HATE YOU!!" (and I meant it!) I was really glad to leave there and get on to Amsterdam.

People took carriges drawn by horses. I can do that in San Antonio for cheaper. PPHHHHTTT!
see all photos »

It did teach me a valuable lesson - I shouldn't try to crap too much into one day. Because of this, I changed my plans to nix the two small towns in germany I planned to hit (in one day!) and just added more time to Amsterdam. I think this will allow me to enjoy myself and not feel so rushed! Silly, I know to "learn" such a thing, because it seems like common sense, however, because I'm here, I just want to see so much! But, I'd rather enjoy the cities I'm visiting, then just "see"them, ya know?