Brugge

I took a shower at Frankfurt station and the facilities were really clean! Unfortunately there was no hot water.

Brugge is amazingly beautiful, just as beautiful as Prague although the architecture is completely different. While both a mideival centers, Prague has more stunning cathedrals while Brugge has chaming old buildings. Supposedly Brugge had been abandoned when the trade routes around that area fell apart, leaving the city ¨suspended in time¨ until it was later rediscovered. I did visit a church in Brugge, the Basilica of the Holy Blood. At this church they have some of Christ´s blood on something (cloth perhaps) and it is kept in a vial. I do not know if this really is Christ´s blood, but many people go to touch the relic. It is a bit frightening to me to see so many people in awe over dried blood on a napkin...evin if it is the blood of someone very famous. I don´t know, I do feel like it is a bit macabre!

Anyhow Belgium is famous for two wonderful things: chocolate and waffles! The pralines were invented by the grandson of Neuhaus, so of course I visited that store. I went to Choco Story, a museum dedicated to choclate. Unfortunatley I left my beloved ampleman umbrella (that I bought in Berlin) there! At the museum I watched them make pralines and (of course) I bought more chocolate. These british girls told me that there are so many Indian restuarants in England that if you were to throw a rock over London it would probably hit an Indian restaurant. Now if you threw a rock over Brugge, it would probably hit a chocolaterie; there is one on every street!

Belgium pralines are AMAZING though. I have had ¨Belgiam Pralines¨outside of Belgium--but it is NOT the same! It is soooo good in Belgium! Since this is the last country I visit before returning to Amsterdam I was more liberal with shopping. I bought these very pretty macarons and Neuhaus but they were just okay.

I had a Belgian waffle with whipped cream and it was also perfect! Soft but a bit crunchy on the outside, it was really good. Another thing that is made very well in Belgium are fries! I had flemish stew for lunch (just okay) but it came with an amazing side of fries.

These is also a religious community in Brugge that is only for women--it is made up mostly of widows. This is a very pretty park with so many swans. It is also very peaceful; I took a walk here before heading to the station to take my train to Amsterdam.