In Bruges

Sun Oct 6

Sam:

When we got up in the morning it was pretty dreary and rainy so we decided to stay home for the day and chill. The only thing we are really did for the day was homework, stocked up on some more groceries, and, that night, we watched the fourth Harry Potter movie.

Mon Oct 7 Bruges

Sam

We woke up early so we could maximize our time in Bruges. We took the metro to get to the train station and start our eurail passes, which are pretty much infinite train tickets for any train for the next two months. We took 4 trains to get to Bruges and once we got there we enjoyed the sights along the way to the AirBnB, where we dropped our bags off.

We were walking around and we found a boat tour and we decided to go on the tour. During the tour we went under some low bridges and saw some pretty cool sites like the old hospital and some churches.

Charlotte:

When we got off the boat, we got fries from a fry truck because we were craving them and they were invented in Belgium. They serve them with lots of sauce on top. Dad and I split a mayonnaise one and Sam and Mom had ketchup. Grandma tried some of both. They are different from our fries because they deep-fry them and then deep-fry them AGAIN. So good!

The buildings in town were very old, from medieval times, and pretty. There are tons of waffle shops, chocolate shops, and souvenir shops. There were big town square areas with cobblestones and horse carriages.

We went to a Belgian bar for dinner. I split an omelette with Sam and had a new drink called Chocomel. It was so good – chocolate caramel milk. Dad ate fish soup and Mom and Grandma each had the Flemish stew, which they said was amazing. Mom and Dad both had a”flight” of beer (little glasses of 4 different kinds). Mom really loved the cherry beer and Dad like the dark one best.

Sam:

Before going back to the AirBnB, we went to a chocolate shop called La Belgique Gourmande and got to pick three chocolates each to have for dessert. I picked passionfruit and raspberry filled chocolates and a dark chocolate truffle. There were so many different types that it was really hard to choose!

Tue Oct 8 Bruges

Charlotte:

After getting ready and checking out of the AirBnB, we went to a restaurant called The Waffle House. I chose a Banana Bonanza waffle – a Brussels-style waffle with powdered sugar, bananas, chocolate sauce, and whipped cream. Dad had a 4 Seasons Brussels-style waffle (mixed fruit), Sam and Mom both had Cherry Delight, but Sam choose a Liege waffle (sweeter, with pearl sugar cooked in). Grandma are a Strawberry Fields Brussels-style waffle.

Sam:

We quickly went to the train station to leave our bags in a locker. Then we went to the Belfort tower to climb the belfry. Grandma went shopping for gifts instead.

The belfry has 366 steps. There were rooms to stop in once in awhile with displays to learn about the history. The tower is hundreds of years old. It used to be the location of the national treasury and city hall. There were 10 different locks on the iron doors that protect the storage chest where they kept important documents.

At the top, there are 47 different bells. Historically, different bell tones were used to start and end the work day, tell special occasions, weddings, battles, and town announcements. Now they are mostly used to signal the time. When we finally got to the top, we all jumped because just then, the bells started ringing and it was extremely loud!

When we climbed down and met Grandma, we got more fries for lunch.

Charlotte:

After eating, we went to the chocolate museum called The Choco- Story. As soon as we went in and bought our tickets, they gave usa chocolate bar. Sam and I got a game to play called Chocolata. We had to find little pictures throughout the museum and put stickers in order to show how chocolate is made.

I learned that chocolate is actually good for your teeth because it makes them stronger (you still have to brush). We learned that chocolate comes from huge cacao pods and places that are tropical. The Mayas and the Aztecs were the first to use chocolate. It was very important because used it for money, for the gods, and for drinking without sugar but with chilis and spices.

All through the museum there were lots of free samples, so we ate tons of snacks along the way. I got a tummy ache from having too much chocolate!

We saw lots of statues made of chocolate, some were even eating themselves! We also got to take a quiz to tell us what kind of chocolate we would like the most.

The last thing we did in the museum was attend a demonstration. A chocolatier showed us how to make a Belgian praline, which is a little star-shaped chocolate with a hazelnut chocolate filling and a milk chocolate shell. He taught us about how you need to temper your chocolate so it doesn’t just melt in your hand. A tip he gave us, you shouldn’t store chocolate in the fridge. If you must, put it into an airtight container so it doesn’t taste like the other foods in your fridge.

Sam:

We spent almost the hours in the chocolate museum. It was almost time for our train, so we hurried to a waffle shop and bought some hot Liege waffles to go. Then we went to catch our train back to Amsterdam.

Mom started reading The Diary of Anne Frank to us on the train. It was kind of surprising that she was just a normal girl before she has to go into hiding.

There was a French couple we needed to help because there were instructions given about a change in train schedules, but they were only given in Dutch and English, and they couldn’t understand. We helped translate for them, and then they talked with us for the rest of the ride.

When we arrived, Dad, Grandma, and I went to walk around the Red Light District and see Amsterdam at night for a few minutes. Charlotte and Mom went home because Charlotte was really tired.