Post-spring break depression totally hit on Monday, but I was happy to be back in Germany since travelling can be quite exhausting. A lot of our classes were cancelled due to our prof being sick, so I was happy to have extra time to catch up on work. We had a pre-departure meeting for our next program excursion for next week, France! I knew the excursion was approaching, but I didn’t realize it was coming up so soon. As crazy as it sounds, study abroad has made travelling within Europe something casual. Never in a million years did I think that I’d be forgetful about going to another country, yet me and several of my classmates expressed the same sentiment.
I realized that I needed to figure out how I was going to be get back to Bonn from France, since we had the option to travel after the excursion ended. I went with the cheapest and fastest option- the overnight bus (nooooo). Unfortunately, I bought the ticket for the wrong day and had to go through the hassle of trying to exchange it. Speaking of overnight buses, I also made the last minute decision to tag along on a friend’s day trip to Bruges, Belgium this weekend. I know, I take an awful lot of overnight busses for how much I hate being on them.
The rest of the week was pretty busy since I was studying for my physiology test coming up within the next week, but luckily I was able to finish making my study guide before I left for Bruges. That Friday, I got on the bus at 1 am and we got to Bruges around 7 or 8 am on Saturday. We explored the romantic and medieval streets of Bruges before most people were out and about. The town got pretty crowded as the day went on, so I was happy to be able to wander along the empty cobblestone streets while I had the chance.
Bruges is often called “the Venice of the north,” and I would definitely agree. I loved walking along the quiet canals and the narrow streets. In the market, the buildings looked like a cute Advent calendar! I also liked how everything in the town was accessible by foot, so it made getting around quite easy.
We visited the Basilica of the Holy Blood, which is said to contain a relic of Jesus’ blood. Whether the relic is real or not has been a controversial topic, but I think that being able to see the vial up close was still very special. In the afternoon, I did a beer tasting at a bar called Cambrinus and then tried a golden ale called Duvel at the Duvelorium Grand Beer Café. We also went to a harp concert in the evening, but I fell asleep since the room was dark and was exhausted from walking around all day and getting a poor night’s sleep on the bus.
That evening, it got pretty chilly and my coat was not enough to keep me warm, so I had to ditch my plans to go on a night walking tour. Instead, I hung out at Pizza Hut for a few hours until my bus came at 11 pm. Again, I did not get much sleep since we had a layover in Brussels at 1 am, but luckily I had time to recover on Sunday.
My experience in Belgium felt like a mini food-cation- waffles, fries, beer, and chocolate! No complaints here J
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