Waffles, beer and chocolate - that's what Belgium does

Sara and I couldn't have been more excited to leave Frankfurt and head to Belgium. We were first stopping in Brussels for a night and then heading to Brugge for a couple days. We caught the train and made our way to our budget hotel that was just a few kilometers outside the city. Sara and I, being experienced runners, figured it was more than 3 miles, but less than 6 miles from the city center, so we shouldn't have any trouble walking. While we were walking to the hotel, we figured out it was not in the greatest area. If I made a comparison to the city, I'd say this hotel was near candlestick park and we just had to walk to pier 39. Not that far, right? Totally walkable, right? Would you ever make that walk even if there were no cabs, ubers, lyfts, sidecars or some other new cab that is out there? No way. We told the front desk manager that we wanted to walk into town and he looked at us like we were crazy and gave us the tram schedule. After an unsolicited request to get into someone's car, we decided the tram might be the best bet. By the time we made it to the station, we missed the train and had to wait an hour till the next one got there. We kept busy by challenging each other to best time in Solitaire. I'm currently up with a winning time of 2:18. Colin would be so proud! Here is a pic of me waiting for the tram completely unamused. 

We arrived in downtown Brussels and immediately fell in love. The city is covered in lights and the smell of chocolate and waffles is in the air. We stopped right away and had the best Belgian waffle we would have the entire trip and we didn't even know it yet. We went classic and only got powdered sugar. Perfection. 

The streets are like mazes each filled with more chocolate shops, restaurants, and tons of advertisements for moules frittes (muscles and fries). Our friend, Tom, had told us about a place called Delirium that had over 2000 beers to try. Sara and I had researched the beers and found the top 20. Unfortunately, the person who selected the top 20 had a much different taste for beers than us so we quickly went off on our own to find our favorite beers. We started with the Delirium Tremers and Delirium Red. So good. 

The menu from Delirium was a 262 page manual. More like a phone book than a menu. 

As we sat down, there was a girl next to us that said something in American accent so we decided to sit with her. She was an extremely chatty woman who was originally from Philadelphia and had been living in Europe for the last 3 years because her husband was studying over here. This woman talked and talked and talked and then she talked more. I don't think Sara and I got two words in. We tried to ditch her by going downstairs, but she followed us. I can't say all negative things about her because she did give us some suggestions for decent beer. The first two pics below were from the top 20 list and the bottom two were suggestioms from the girl.

We tried to say goodbye to her to go grab dinner, but, again, she tagged along. I want to stop for a second to say I'm sure this sounds like a mean girl thing to do - ditch someone that you don't want to hang out with - but seriously, this girl didn't even let us get any words in. We wondered around the streets and found a Thai Vietnamese restaurant that had the Trip Advisor seal of approval. Sara and I were starving so we got lumpia, spring rolls and then a Tom Yum Kai / pho soup combination that was delicious. It was so cold outside and this meal immediately warmed us up. Naturally, we had a local beer alongside the meal.

We finished dinner and said fair well to the girl whose name we never got and sought out for another Belgian waffle to end our night before we caught the tram to our hotel. The first place we went wasn't open so went around the corner to the next nearest spot and ordered the sweetest, most indulgent waffle with chocolate and whipped cream. As you can see from our faces, we were quite excited after our earlier experience. We were very disappointed when we bit into these waffles. They were way too much, even for me. The waffle tasted like it had been in the window all day and the whipped cream was like butter, not in the good way. We got through a couple bites before we determined it wasn't worth the calories and we threw them away. We decided when we returned to Brussels from Brugge that we would pick up the original waffle we tasted in order to redeem the memory.  

We got on the train still wiping off chocolate sauce from around our mouths and were nervous for the walk from the train station to the hotel. We got off at the deserted station and began walking home. A car pulled over behind us and we picked up our pace a bit. I was checking the surroundings behind us and Sara had the front. We turned down the street and had about a quarter mile to go. We decided to walk in the middle of the street, figuring it was the safer route. A car came down the street the wrong way and something seemed wrong so we just took off running. There wasn't an actual reason for our fear, but it was one of those situations that just didn't feel right. We got to the hotel and were out of breath and I was coughing. We were safe. Phew. Note to future travelers: the cheapest hotel isn't always the best choice. Sometimes, it's better to pay a little more and be in the thick of things than save money and be so far away and so afraid to walk to your hotel.

The next day, we were off to Brugge. As we were waiting for the train, we got a traditional Belgian breakfast - sausage, French fries, and a beer. So delicious. 

We arrived early afternoon and our hotel was located right next to the train station, so things were already looking up. We dropped our stuff off and quickly set out to see the town. It was a walking town and all the streets intertwined into each other. Every other store was a chocolate store and we got some treats at each one. There were some that looked like cat poop, but they tasted pretty delicious.

This town quickly rose to my favorite city in all of Europe. Every where you look is picturesque and the people were all friendly. We wondered around for a bit and here are some of the sites. We walked in almost every cookie and chocolate shop and found some amazing treats. I learned about speculoos, a hard cookie that is in cinnamon, vanilla, and ginger. So good. I highly recommend a stop at Juliette's for their cookies. We bought a bunch thinking we'd share with my dad, but the only cookie that remained was the coconut macaroon I got him. Sorry dad.

We were walking towards the famous Markt square when we found a sign that pointed towards a beer wall. We walked through double doors and were greeted with walls full of beer. It was magical. Sara and I decided to settle in and get a sampler plate.

Our favorite one was the Brugge Zot. It was a darker beer that was very yummy. We finished up our beers and walked over to the market. This was the most magical sight ever. There was an ice skating rink and markets serving sausages, waffles, hot chocolate with baileys, and other warm treats surrounding it. All the buildings were dressed with lights adding to the Disneyland like qualities. 

We were pretty hungry by now so we found a nearby brewery and restaurant called Cambrinus. We ordered some cheese croquettes to start and then a beer bread with ham dish. We also did their sampler of beers and a beer that was served in a cornucopia glass. They brought out our food and we were a bit confused. Mine was some egg dish with ham and cheese. I asked the guy if it was what I ordered and he said no, it was an omelette and then brought me over a basket of bread. Finally, we got someone who understood English a bit better and they brought out my actual dish that was not what I was expecting at all. Bread with ham and butter. So strange.

We finished up dinner and continued to walk around. We sampled some more waffles - a Brussels waffle that was very crispy and a Belgian waffle that is very sweet but thick and doughy. Neither were as good as the ones from Brussels. I mentioned there were thousands of chocolate shops in Belgium, one of them is a very recognized name - Godiva. Sara and I first saw it and said, no way are we going to go there, you can get that stuff back at home. For whatever reason, probably the cold, we decided to go in to their store and I am so happy we did because it changed my life for the better. The girl at the counter let us sample one of the top 5 things I've ever tasted - a truffle rolled in speculoos cookie. Oh. My. God. Heaven. After that treat we called it a night to go talk to the family and rest up for a big walking day. 

We woke up and decided we'd walk to the nearby windmills that are a staple for this area. It was a beautiful walk and the air was nice and crisp and the sun even peeked out for a little bit. Here is some scenery from the walk.

We walked through the city and back to the market to get out lunch for the day - garlic cheese, duck salami, and fresh baked bread all from local markets. The cheese was one of the best things I've ever eaten; it was strong in flavor, but creamy and milky and paired perfectly with the salami. It was pretty cold out so we headed back to the beer wall to have some Brugge Zot with our lunch. 

We went back to the hotel to drop off our purchases and I booked the rest of our lodging for the trip. I'd like to highlight that I got 19 nights of hotel / hostel / airbnb for $744. That is crazy! We headed back out and found a little hole in the wall bar that let you taste beers. We started with recommendations from the bartender and Sara and I found some favorites - St. Bernardus and Troubadour. After we finished those, we did another sampler and found some more we liked. We even got a big bottle of the Bourgogne one, it was so tasty.

We finished there with a good little buzz and wanted to go back to the market to get some more presents and some more cheese. It was a Monday and we figured that the stores would be open later, but we were wrong. Everything was shut down. We barely made it into the Godiva to buy a handful of those truffles. All the little sausage vendors were closed and Sara and I were getting a little hangry. Every place was pricey and, when you're craving a 3 euro sausage, a 20+ euro steak doesn't sound the same. We finally settled in a place that had a three course meal for 22 euro. We ordered shrimp scampi and cheese croquettes for starters, both of us got steak and fries, and then we finished with a chocolate mousse and vanilla ice cream with chocolate sauce. This was a really good meal, and provably was a good deal, but Sara and I were bitter. Another time I've learned it's not a good thing to be that hungry when looking for food. It was our last night in Brugge and there was nothing left to do so we went back and packed up so we could leave early and head to Amsterdam mid morning the following day.

Brugge rose to the top if my list for amazing cities. I think there are two important factors that can affect my impression of a city; food and weather. We had a sunny day and some of my favorite foods at this trip. Plus I could have taken a million pictures here because it was that freaking cute. Everyone should travel to Brugge once in their life.

The lonely traveler

So, my first official solo travel day was on and I got to the train station for my 7:10 train to Munich. I activated my eurail pass and waited for my train to arrive. The train station in Budapest was really pretty so I attempted to get an artsy shot. It turned out alright..

Hours later, seven to be exact, I arrived in Munich and made my way to the hostel. As you either know me or have gotten to know me through this blog, you will know that I love to eat and some times I either like or dislike a city based on food. At this point, I had only eaten a banana and a pretzel because I was too nervous to leave my bag on the train and not hungry enough to eat the food off the cart passing by. I was starving, but figured I would get settled in first before eating. I found the hostel, checked in, and went to my room to meet my roommates and get started seeing the city. When I got to my room, there was a girl sleeping so I quickly went downstairs and decided to tour about by myself. That's what people do when traveling alone, right? I walked outside and headed where I thought the big beer hall where Oktoberfest is held. After about 25 minutes of walking and getting hollered at, I decided to make my way back to the hostel and go the other direction. I found a populated pedestrian area and wondered around. There were tons of shops so I did what any other lonely person would do and bought myself some new tops at H&M and a Longchamp purse at some high end store. The reason behind the purse purchase was that I had nothing big to hold all my belongings and ended up having about a million things in my hand while on the train. I decided the purse purchase was more for safety than anything else and justified the 78 euros. 

By the time I got back to the hostel, I was really hungry but the girl was still sleeping. It was at least 6pm by this point so I went to the computer room and did some reading and texting. This room was absolutely silent and it was so uncomfortable. I went there hoping someone would be heading to the hostels happy hour, but no one was going and I wasn't going to be the jerk to break the silence. Finally, I got a cough attack and had to run to the bar to get some water. There were three girls sitting nearby so I got a beer and went over to chat with them. Most awkward experience of my life. I said, 'hi, I just got here and am traveling by myself so I wanted to say hello'. Crickets. I felt like how a guy must feel when he walks up to a group of girls and gets shot down. They were Italian travel agents and were just checking out the hostel. Very quickly, they excused themselves to go do more travel agenty type things and I was left standing by myself. I turned around and scanned the crowd to see if I had enough courage to walk up to anyone else. I didn't. I sat at the bar by myself and ordered a half liter of beer hoping someone would reach out to me. Another half liter, still by myself. I think the bartender felt sorry for me because she made some conversation in between pouring 2 euro half liters of beer. Finally, a guy walks up with a very American accent and I struck up a conversation. We chatted for a bit and exchanged our travel stories. He had been traveling for a couple months and was going to be finishing up in a few weeks. We were both hungry, so we decided we'd meet at 8:30 (10 minutes from then) to go grab some curry wurst at a stand nearby for dinner. I went up to grab my coat, used the bathroom and was back downstairs at 8:28. For the next 15 minutes I stood there trying to not make eye contact with the bartender who really felt sorry for me now. He never showed. Nothing makes you more homesick than feeling completely alone in city you've never been to before. I texted Colin and he facetimed me and quickly made me feel at home and told me I wasn't a total loser. True love.

I went to the room and, this time, the roommates were in there and we exchanged stories for the day. Right away, my luck changed when one of the girls announced she was from Oakland. It's so strange to be thousands of miles away and sharing a room with a girl who lives about 15 miles away from me. We made plans for the next day to go tour about. We checked out of the hostel and went to a nearby market. The girl ordered a sausage and a beer and I followed suit. Breakfast of champions. 

I considered doing a walking tour that she had taken the day before, but, when we passed a cheese shop, we decided to do our own tour of the city. We were still full from our sausage and beer, but decided we'd have a picnic in the English garden (Munich's version of Central Park) with wine, cheese and bread. We had heard there was a place in the park where people surf along the creek so we wanted to check it out. We walked and walked and saw the water, but not surfers. The park was so pretty and it felt great to be walking around.

After walking for about an hour and not finding the surfers, we stopped a couple women who spoke English and asked them where we could find the surfers. They were heading there as well so we walked together. We ended up exactly where we started and there weren't any surfers. It wasn't a total bust because we covered a good distance and got to see some great sights. The girl from Oakland told me some of the stuff she learned on the walking tour, like BMW stands for Bavarian Motor Works and the logo is the Bavarian flag. Didn't know that before and I bet you didn't either. We got to a courtyard and there were a couple lion statues by a gate that were supposed to bring good luck if you rub their noses. As we stood there, many locals rubbed their noses too, so it must be true. 

We visited a church that is described as a banana because it is yellow on the inside and white on the inside. It was a really pretty and different than the other Notre Dame style churches I have seen everywhere else on my trip.

We went back to the market area and had our picnic. The wine I got was delicious - red wine from Spain - and the cheese was delicious too. I found a place that sold apple streusel and had to stop for a little sweet treat for the train later. 

The Oakland girl suggested we get a curry wurst just to round out our German lunch experience so we found a vendor and grabbed some. Yummy. It's chopped sausage with a sauce similar to BBQ sauce and then topped with curry powder. It's a subtle flavor that is really tasty. It's served with bread on the side. She explained that some places sell them with French fries and those are quite a treat. I've noted that for the future. 

We were walking back to catch our trains when she saw a vendor selling sheets crispy pork skin. What can I say, this girl loved food. And she was skinny. Bitch. Just kidding. She got 100g of crispy pork skin and gave me a piece. It's like pork reins but fresh. So delicious, but so rich and fattening. We got to the train station and I managed to miss 2 trains going to Frankfurt. I even got on one train that the information booth person told me to get on and, luckily, realized it was wrong before the train left. I didn't make a reservation so I walked and walked down the train until I found an empty seat. I had to switch seats at each stop because they kept getting reserved. Talk about stressful. 

This was a couple of days where I learned a fair amount by myself. I rely heavily on being around people. Although I wouldn't love more days of being shot down by people, I wish I had a few more days to overcome this awful fear of mine. It is so pathetic constantly depending on people. I'm happy I had these days, survived them, and can share them with you to be able to laugh at my insecurities. 

Erin