Tag Archives: Bruges

Brussels, Champagne Bucket trips, chocolate, trip planning

A champagne drawing and a coin flip later…

Featured photo is Bill when we were younger and cuter… trying a flight of beers in Brussels, back in September 2008.

So… after a VERY dramatic weekend (detailed on my main blog), Bill and I finally figured out where we will be going on our next vacation. Although it’s not usually difficult for us to decide where to travel, this time it was really hard to make our choices. A lot has to do with what’s going on in the world right now. We wanted to avoid risk and hassles, yet still have fun.

For this vacation, which starts on March 21st, we considered Croatia, Albania, Poland, The Netherlands, France, Belgium, Italy, and Austria. I didn’t really want to go to Italy, because we went there a year ago. I love Italy, but I wanted to go somewhere different. However, I had it in mind that I wanted to go to a nice spa, and a lot of the best ones are in South Tyrol, which is in Italy.

My mind started changing about the appeal of the spa hotels when I realized that a lot of them are resorts. Sometimes I enjoy the resorts, which usually come with half board. But they do have a drawback, because sometimes having included food means that we don’t try as many restaurants or get off the resort’s property as much as we should. Sometimes resorts can be noisy and crowded.

Also, some resorts kind of have a cruise ship feel, which I didn’t think I’d enjoy right now. We went to a resort hotel in the South Tyrol back in 2020– during the height of the pandemic– and we got the side eye from so many people because we were Americans in Europe at a time when Americans weren’t supposed to be in Europe. Now, our dumbass POTUS has taken us to war with Iran. The last thing I want to deal with is people blaming me personally for what Trump does, especially when I am on vacation.

When we were finally ready to make a choice, I put my hand in the champagne bucket and pulled out a slip of paper that read… CROATIA! Yea! I love Croatia, and there are a lot of places I want to see there, especially after our visit in 2021. But then I started looking into the logistics of doing what I really wanted to do, and I realized that it would work better as a road trip. We don’t have enough time for a proper road trip for this vacation.

However, March is a good time to go see places like Split and Dubrovnik, because there aren’t so many tourists at this time of year. It’s also not hot right now. Maybe next year, or in the fall, we can do that… if we haven’t been kicked out of Europe.

So, I drew again, and pulled out a slip of paper that read… BELGIUM! Great! It’s funny, because before I started getting totally overwhelmed with choices, I had thought to myself that I wanted to go to Belgium again. We’ve been a few times since we moved back to Germany in 2014, but we have not ventured back to the capital city– Brussels. Bill and I visited Brussels in 2008, when we were a lot younger and poorer. We had an absolute BLAST!

I remember just before we went for Labor Day weekend, Bill was working really hard and putting in a lot of overtime. He sent me a funny email that read, “I want to go to Brussels and see Mannekin Pis.” It was mainly because he was really pissed off! We spent the weekend eating frites, waffles, chocolate, and croissants. We also drank a shitload of excellent beer! And we also took a day trip to Bruges. I don’t think we’ll go to Bruges again this time, since we’ve been back there since our 2008 trip. But I do know of some bars I want to visit again. I have also booked us a very nice looking and rather posh hotel!

Check out these old photos from September 2008!

We last went to the city of Paris in May 2009, for Memorial Day weekend. It was right after Bill learned that we were going to have to leave Europe a year sooner than we planned. I was PISSED. This was something that had been orchestrated by Bill’s narcissistic war boss, who was later very publicly fired. Going back to the US a year early ended up working out for us, in the long run. Still, I was not happy about being yanked a year early, especially when it turned out that the job Bill had been “handpicked for” was just a bullshit billet so that Bill’s ex boss could move a different guy to a more prestigious job. But, as you can see, we got that year back and then some… many times over.

Below are some photos from our 2009 trip to Paris. I went there once before, back in September 1997, right after Princess Diana died. Unfortunately, that trip was with my sister, who was driving me crazy…

We had a great time in Paris. I remember at one point, we went to this very unassuming little brasserie and had the most wonderful lunch. Bill discovered a new favorite wine that we actually found a couple of bottles of in the States. I actually considered going to the the winery that produces that wine, down in Narbonne. I decided not to because, again, the logistics were a bit difficult for the amount of time we have.

We decided to go to Paris after considering going to the Champagne region. I actually wanted to go to Champagne, but realized that it would be a logistical hassle getting back to Frankfurt because we are doing this trip by train, instead of driving. Going to Brussels by train is a snap from Frankfurt. In fact, we went by the now defunct Thalys train in 2008. And going to Paris from Brussels is also easy; I think we’ll be using the Eurostar train, which is what replaced Thalys. Last time we went to Paris, we flew Air France, which was a mistake, mainly because it took FOREVER to get to the city from the airport.

We can still visit Champagne if we want to, as it’s only a 39 minute train ride from Paris. But I have a feeling we’ll just drink bubbly in the City of Lights!

I have found us a lovely hotel in Paris, too… in a different area of the city than where we stayed last time we visited. In 2009, we went to Montparnasse, and stayed in a hotel near the Luxembourg Gardens and a bar where Ernest Hemingway used to frequent. This time, we’ll be in the heart of the city, near the Basilique du Sacré-Cœur de Montmartre. Maybe this time, we’ll even go up the Eiffel Tower, which I haven’t done on either of my previous visits. We’re also finally going to visit the Louvre.

Anyway… this adventure starts in twelve days, and will last until March 29th. Hopefully, all will go well, and nothing horrific will happen between now and then. Knock on wood!

Standard
BeNeLux

My Belgian birthday! Part four

Bill and I visited Bruges (or Brugge, if you prefer) back in September 2008.  I remember very clearly why we were on our first trip to Belgium.  He had been working hard on an exercise at EUCOM and was exhausted from the late nights and demands of his bosses.  Labor Day was coming up and he knew we’d have a long weekend.  So he sent me an email that read, “Darling, I think we should go to Belgium and see Mannekin Pis.”

I could practically hear in my mind the edge to his voice.  Bill is usually a super laid back, easygoing guy.  But the demands of his job had put him in a foul mood.  I could tell.  So I found us a nice hotel in Brussels and we visited, traveling via first class on the Thalys train.  While we were in Brussels, we took a day trip to Bruges.

Bruges is a beautiful city, but it’s generally packed with many tourists.  Such was the case on Sunday, when we visited again after an almost nine year absence (wow– time flies!).  I figured things would be open in Bruges on Sunday and I was right!  After about a forty-five minute drive on a fine highway, we found ourselves in the quaint city.  Bill found a very convenient parking garage that actually won an award for being as awesome as it is.  It even has red and green lights to show which parking spots are open.  I was delighted to find a clean public restroom, even though we had to pay 40 cents each to use it.

As nice as the garage was, I can’t say the same for the area just outside of it.  Apparently, extensive renovations are going on, so we ended up walking through a construction site that butted up to a row of restaurants and bars.  Once we got through that mess, we were in familiar territory.  We walked toward the train station to see if the restaurant where we had lunch the last time was still operating.  It was, and it smelled good— in fact, we probably should have eaten there.  They have great Middle Eastern food.  But Bill wanted to go somewhere different.

Anyway… if you find yourself in Bruges and want something vegetarian or made with curry, De Stoelpa is a good bet.

It offers a good place for pictures, too…

I took this next to an art gallery that we didn’t visit.  We probably should have gone in and checked out the art.  

But we went into the cathedral instead.  As usual, Bill was moved to tears.

Since it was Father’s Day and my dad is now in the great beyond, I lit a candle for him.  I also unloaded a lot of loose change.

We wandered around the city for awhile in the hot sun until we came upon the “Little Venice of the North” area (seems like so many European cities have Little Venices).  Although I usually prefer to find places that are off the beaten track, it was hot and I was hungry.  And Jilles Beer & Burgers sounded like it was just the ticket.

We sat at a table right next to the window, which proved to be an excellent spot for people watching.  Jilles Beer & Burgers has all kinds of burgers– everything from the usual beef burger to veggie burgers.  They also have a large beer list and beer pairings for their sandwiches.

Bill checks out the burgers.  He had some trouble deciding because there were several appealing choices.

 
 

This was the suggested brew for my choice.  I think it was called the Bacon Eli.  Basically, it was a bacon cheeseburger with a sauce that tasted Thai inspired.  It was sweet, spicy, and a little peanuty.

 

Not bad.  The frites came with mayo, but I was also happy to see a big bottle of ketchup on the table.

 

Although the label was a little odd.

 

Bill’s burger… the name of it escapes me.  The burgers all came with side salads.  Frites were an extra three euros.  We shared an order and that was plenty!  I don’t think we finished them.  

 

Beer for dessert!  This one was so good, we bought some to bring back to Germany.

 

Too bad I quit coloring my hair.  How would they know if the rug doesn’t match the drapes?

 

A guy on a trike.  Little did we know it, but a bike race was scheduled… and we were at a great vantage point for watching.

 

I did get some film footage.  Maybe later, I’ll upload it.

 

Below are more shots of Bruges.  It really is a beautiful city, although there were so many people there the other day.  I don’t have the tolerance for crowds I once had.  But we did manage to find our way to a chocolatier.  All the while, Bill was quoting lines from the film In Bruges, which we discovered during our last time in Germany.

This is a pretty funny film, though it’s not for the straightlaced.

Bill just before we bought a kilo of chocolates.  Hello!  Present for my ass!

The candle on the end was for my dad.  I’m not Catholic, but it seemed appropriate to light one for him.  Bill used to be Catholic (and Episcopalian, Methodist, and Mormon)…  He suggested it.  I think of all the religions he’s tried, Catholicism speaks to him the loudest.  I have always been Presbyterian and have no urge to change, not that I go to church much anymore.  Incidentally, we were married by a Presbyterian minister whose parents immigrated to Canada from Scotland.  I recently reconnected with the minister who married us (and was my boss for awhile).  He’s now Catholic and has changed careers!

I got a kick out of the award our parking garage won!  It’s good to have goals.

When we got back to the house, the boys were waiting for us.

So was the couch and Belgian TV… and beer.  Actually, I think we ended up watching an Australian soap called Neighbors.  It was different!

Standard