Belgium

6/18/2009
Brugge, Belgium
We had a great day. It started out tough because time changed here by losing an hour. We have changed times a twice already and I think we gain the hour back tomorrow going from Amsterdam to Birmingham, England. Brugge is about 30-40 miles from the port which is very industrial. We ported in a Blankenburg (not that is not because it is a bad word) and took a bus to the train station, then a 10-12 minute ride into Brugge. Brugge is another beautiful European town. We walked, of course, to the city center. Brugge is not as old as some of the other towns we have been to, but still amazing. We found the shopping street and market and walked around there. Also, there was the old churches and bell tower here. We were hungry so we found a small restaurant and got a Belgium Beer and some spring rolls. They had quite an extensive menu, but like some other places, they do not have near all that is on it. They only had about 15% of the items that were actually on the menu. I am not sure at all why they have a menu, when it is easier for them just to tell us what they have. Dawndra’s beer was a blonde beer and was good, I had a darker beer and it was not that good. It had maybe a ginger taste to it. We were not all that pleased there and it was expensive, but the waitress was very nice and helpful. We then went on our chocolate shopping spree. We looked around at several of the chocolate shops before buying. And once we bought, we bought. There are many different types of chocolate to choose from. The dark chocolates have a percentage on them to how dark they are. We got some of all of them!!! We then walked back to the train station to make sure we would get back on time. In the train station we had a waffle. Of course I got the chocolate and Dawndra got the plain. And they were good!! We sat on the train with some other people from the ship and once back in Blankenburg we all went to a restaurant to have some mussels, frites (that fries for you American types) and beers. Mussels are a Belgium specialty so we had to have them. I ordered one order which is was 1.3 kilograms (which is like 3 pounds) for 24 Euros. We all shared them, but I ate the majority. We were trying to hurry to catch the bus back to the port so I was being very barbaric eating with my hands and getting very dirty. The mussels were incredible. It was a lot of fun just hanging out with some others from the ship. We then had to get to the bus and wait (like always) for it to fill up before heading back to the ship. Once on the bus, Dawndra realized that she left HER bag of chocolates at the restaurant. So, I being the nice guy I am, ran back to get them. I did make it back in plenty of time.

We are now on the boat having to pack. ): It is very difficult because we have bought plenty and we are restricted to one checked bag going to Birmingham. We will be able to have two checked each on the way home because it is an international flight. So, Dawndra being the efficient packer is packing and I am blogging. We have to have our bags ready by midnight for them to get them off the ship tomorrow. We are not real happy to have to ending our cruise. It has been wonderful, but we will be moving on to our next adventure in Birmingham.

Tomorrow is going to be an adventure in itself. We depart the ship at 7:30am and will be heading to the airport to get our bags checked in and our boarding passes. We are doing this early so we will be able to go into Amsterdam and visit for a while. Like all places, we are not exactly sure what we will end up doing, but we know it will be fun.

Till next time,
Calvin & Dawndra