Belgium and Holland...Land of the Kamikaze Bicycles

I know, right? I actually thought of a good title...how exciting! Anyway, Belgium and Holland...we didn’t have much time in either place, but I think we made the most of our time! We stayed in Bruges while we were in Belgium and took a short half day trip to Brussels. Bruges is supposed to be the Venice of the North, or so our map said. It was a pretty town to walk around in.

Our short trip to Brussels required a visit to their chocolate museum. This probably wasn’t worth the 5 euros we paid, but we were in Belgium, so... Also, apparently French fries were originally invented/introduced in Belgium, so we stopped at a little roadside restaurant and got some fries to go, smothered in mayonnaise. That’s how they typically eat them, and it was pretty good! Every store you walk into in Brussels has models (among other things) of the Manneiken Pis, which is a fountain. The reason it is so popular is because the water from the fountain comes from the statue of a little boy who appears to be peeing. Haha...very creative. But it has become quite the thing here...in fact, locals periodically make outfits for the little boy (with a well-placed hole, of course) and many of these outfits are on display in a museum. Hmmm...I really have nothing more to say about that!

One of the things we really enjoyed in Brussels was the Musical Instrument Museum. You get a headset and as you walk through the museum, it tunes into the area you’re in and plays samples of those instruments. We had a lot of fun there!

Back in Bruges, we did some shopping, specifically for lace. You have to be careful to make sure you’re getting the real deal (Belgium made). The shop owners are upfront and honest about what they sell, but if you automatically head for the cheaper things, you might accidentally pick up something made in Taiwan! We went to a cute little shop that was recommended where everything they sell is genuine, and sometimes they even have the lace makers sitting outside the shop working.

After leaving Bruges, we made our way to Amsterdam, where we stayed at Shelter Jordan, which is a Christian hostel that was recommended by someone we met at L’abri. It was a great atmosphere! We were able to get inexpensive meals and we had the room to ourselves the first night...that was a nice surprise!

On our first morning in Amsterdam, we went tot he secret annex where Anne Frank hid with her family and penned her famous diary. It is always very sobering to see things like that and to imagine what it must have been like...

We visited a small town called Zaanse Schans where we saw windmills (we were in Holland, after all), and made a quick trip to Delft as well!

Oh, and the bikes! Almost everyone has bikes in Belgium and Holland, and unlike cars, you can’t really hear them very well. They come from every direction, sometimes out of nowhere, and they’re treacherous! Our guide map in Bruges suggested we rent a bike and join the “kamikaze” cyclists in trying to run over the tourists. We didn’t really have time for that, but it sounded like fun!

Explanation of Pics:

1. This is Amsterdam...the pretty part. There are lots of canals, which make for some nice walks!

2. This is Holland. We ventured outside of the city for a view of some windmills.

3. Pretty! This is a windmill!!

4. This is a lace shop in Belgium. Two elderly ladies usually sit in the chair doing lace work, but in their absence, the doll takes over.

5-6. The chocolate museum...Mmmmmm... I'm standing behind a glass case showing the ingredients for various types of chocolate...milk chocolate, white chocolate, dark chocolate...

7. This is the main square in Brussels.

8. This is one of the side streets we walked down in Bruges. Bruges is apparently considered by some to be the Venice of the North. I liked Bruges, but I don't know that I would go so far as to say that.