HELLO EVERYONE! 안녕하세요!
I hope everyone is doing great! So last weekend, I went to Belgium for the weekend (the city was called Bruges to be exact) so all of these pictures are from Bruges, Belgium so if you're looking for pictures of Paris please come back next time. But seriously, this small city is really beautiful. A lot of Europeans say it's the most beautiful city in Europe. The city is REALLY small (it only takes 45 minutes to walk all the way across). I took a bus to Brussels (the capital of Belgium) and that took 3 hours, and then I got on a train and went to Bruges which took another 45 minutes or so. Overall, it was an amazing experience. Belgians are REALLY nice which is really different from French people who are mean jerks! Anyways, the ENTIRE time I was here I was thinking of everyone in the family because this city is MADE for Korean folks. You can walk everywhere, people are really nice, and you get a very good, balanced cultural experience. I feel like when Americans say they wanna visit Europe, Bruges is what they imagine. Here are some pictures! Remember, click on the pictures to enjoy the full size!
This is the view from my hostel room window! hostels are like cheap hotels for students. It was super clean, but the showers kinda sucked because there was no hot water. But still, very clean.
The view of outside my hostel!
One of the main shopping streets. Cobblestone everywhere! No cement or asphalt!
Alright, so this picture is amazing. To the left is a museum (Picasso I think) and the right is a belltower called the Belfry. This is called the Market Square and it's the busiest area in the city.
My first dinner here! Mussels and frites (french fries)... The Belgians have mastered this dish. Soooo good yet such simple flavors. The key is fresh ingredients. When my friends said that they wanted mussels for dinner I was like, but I have muscles right here on my body but I guess they wanted mussels not muscles.
They call Bruges the "other venice" because there are rivers running through the city. Just plain beautiful at night. Please let's all go together sometime.
So on Saturday mornings, they have an open market place and they were making mini waffles. The girl is looking at me thinking, "oooh lala sexy amerikan man buying waffles"
ATTACK OF THE MINI WAFFLES!
This is a bar that still functions as a brewery (a place where they make beer) and we went on a tour here. This place was soooo cool!
This is me during the tour. Above me is a plant called a hop(s?) that they use to add flavor into beer. Below that is me and I add flavor into your life.
The beer they brew at the brewery! We got a free glass afterwards! It's called "brugse zot" which means the crazy man from Bruges. It was very light and very good.
On a boat tour! sooo cool!
Bruges is famous for having swans!
Ok so it's kinda hard to tell what I'm eating but I'm eating french fries topped with a spicy mayonnaise type sauce. So here's a little story. In front of the Belfry (that huge belltower that I showed you guys at the beginning of this post) there are two french fry stands that have been rivals for hundreds of years. So we got one order of fries from each one because only Americans can settle European conflicts (for example WWII). I thought one was clearly better than the other. But seriously, these fries were PERFECTLY cooked and they have 8 different types of sauces (ketchup, mayo, thousand island-ish sauce, chili sauce, etc). I came back the next day and got another one.
Oh man I'm sorry if you're hungry. This is a crepe. It's like a thin pancake they stuff with fruits, chocolate, or maybe cheese and ham, etc. This one I got had smoked salmon and smoked trout with a side of creme fraiche. The French always claimed to have the best crepes, but I assure you, the Belgians are thee best!
We went to this restaurant because it was supposed to be authentic, real Belgian food. The food tasted real and homecooked and was delicious! This here is a meatloaf with potatoes and on the side is pickled vegetables kinda like kimchi. Very very good. And of course a Hoegaarden to wash it all down c'mon we're in Belgium.
Ok so I went to the most famous bar in Bruges that has 300 different types of beer. This one is called Straffe Hendrik and it's a local beer. This is the darkest Straffe Hendrik and it was very strong. But let me tell you, the flavors are INSANE. Probably the best beer I've ever had. It's so crazy, because I knew what kind of beer I liked and I always thought I liked lighter beers, but after coming here my taste in beer changed COMPLETELY. Also, the Belgians are VERY VERY specific with the beer glasses/cups. They have a glass for EACH type of beer. For example, they'll ONLY serve this beer in a glass that says STRAFFE HENDRIK on it.
Well, that's all for now. I have many many more pictures (300 to be exact) so I'll show you all the rest when I get home! But this was just the general picture of my weekend. Hope you all enjoyed! As for Paris, I'm starting to really think of it as home now. It was strange that when I went to Bruges, I started to miss Paris. It's not like the people are nice or the streets are clean, but for some reason I missed being there. It was a strange feeling. I guess it's a love/hate relationship kinda like how we all felt towards Joann during Monopoly. hahahaha just kidding. But seriously, I hope everyone is doing well and I REALLY wanna go back to Bruges with everyone. Miss you all and please take care of yourselves. Bye for now!
