In Bruges with Stu and Les

So....Weeks later, officially one week late with this post. I have been very busy with work, and Leslie's visit.

Brugge in English, Bruges in Flemish, was amazing. When I came to Europe I had this idea of what I thought it should look like, and Brugge fit that mold perfectly. The city has been completely restored in many sections to what it looked like in the 17th century. In fact, many buildings had the date written on the building and most were around 1650...Absolutely amazing.

This was Leslie's trip to plan, and she did such a good job. Since we have been together we have never taken a proper vacation, and for people that know us well, know that its been a long time for no vacation time. We spent our days walking around the city, but it was nice to cool off and relax in this little bed and breakfast in the heart of town. The price of the room for 2 nights was a bit heavy, but worth every penny. Our host was great, good breakfast and food recommendations. So kudos Leslie!

We left right after work on Friday and hopped on the train around 6pm. We changed trains twice, once in bumfuck Holland, and once in Antwerpen, BE. The trip went really quick and we got about 400km in 4 hours. We arrived at the B&B at 10pm and our host suggested a bar to enjoy some tasty Belgium Beers. I was in heaven. If you find yourself in Brugge for some reason, please go to De Gaar. It was this little bar, and every beer was around 3 euro, we are talking Golden Draak, and Chimay...not cheap stuff in the US! The place was small and crowded so we had to share a table with a couple from where else, San Francisco. It was nice to talk to Americans, lord knows I have had enough of the American stereotyping and bullshit. After several good beers and cigarettes we parted ways to go to another bar with some good jazz. When we got there the bar unfortunately didn't have any music (it was around 3am) but we did get some Absynth, proper. The guy lit it on fire and we poured water over sugar. The stuff is gross, and well made the rest of the night a little blurry...

The next day we walked around and did the sites, I ran out of money and the ATMs here are touch and go so we had to find one that would work, we found one thank god. After a few sites, the Belfry, chocolate stores, and Lace museum we found some food at an Italian place, we needed the energy. The night was short for us and we tried to recreate the magic at De Gaar, but we were tired and a bit hungover from the night before.

Our last day there we finally rode bikes around the city and got a good feeling of what Brugge is actually like...and it is awesome. We went into a windmill, and made our way home. The trip back wasnt so nice we left at 1 and got back at 7 :( Definately worth the money and the time though!

Amsterdam.

Well I must say that Amsterdam certainly lives up to its hype. There have been three defining trips in my life: Las Vegas, Alaksa, and Amsterdam. I won't put them in order, but my German friend put it perfect...the Dutch are crazy.
Let me tell the story chronologically...

9:00am wake up, late
9:30am get on bus
10:00am get on train
11:30 arrive in Amsterdam
12:30 arrive at hotel

And thats all I remember. Kidding. We met up with some guys I know from Germany and headed out to get some lunch. Amsterdam has a lot of large brick alleys with business jutting out everywhere. We stopped at a small food vendor had a standard meal and continued on our way.
After getting totally lost we finally found the Heineken Brouwerij (ij = y or i). Word of advice. Heineken sucks. Don't drink their beer and certainly don't go to the brewery. First, the Brouwerij doesn't even brew beer. Second, I paid 15 euros for 3 beers, a stupid ride, and mindless propaganda. There is actually a room that blasts techno and shows Heineken commercials.
After the Heine fiasco, we decided, "hey what the hell lets take our awesome boat ride that I have been planning for weeks." We were all set to go on a canal tour with this little boat company where you could byob, and byof. Too bad it was sold out...this left us with a sterile commercial major canal boat company. I got to listen to 4 languages for an hour and a half, but I must say the canals are beautiful.
The boat ride set us right and we went to get some food and wine. Our plan was to go deep into the Vondlepark, the equivalent of NYC's central park and DC's rock creek park. We took pictures in front of the 'I Amsterdam' letters and spent a good hour conversing about the differences of German and American life. At this point Leslie and I broke off for a private dinner.
Might I mention that I found a baller hotel in the best part of Amsterdam for only 99euro a night. If you take a trip to Amsterdam stay in the Park Hotel, you won't be dissapointed.
I called down to the desk to see where Lesbo and I could find a good restaurant. The lady sent us to an overpriced Indonesian place full of Americans, so we split and went to a Dutch BBQ. It was definately worth the trouble and way cheaper, while retaining a really cool vibe. If I could remember the name I would recomend it.
When we intially left the Germans, they were sober, but an hour and a half later, they were definately wasted! We met in Dam Square in front of Madame Toussauds theater and headed to the Red Light district.
Let me tell you that there is nothing like this in the United States. I felt like I was on Pleasure Island, an amuesment park for grown ups looking to engage in every illegal activity known to man...except in Holland its not illegal...go figure. After perusing the alley ways and various shops we found our selves at a crowded bar playing the loudest version of "Sweet Caroline" I have ever heard. The night gets cloudy after that, but we ended our night drinking Guinesss at an Irish bar on a Canal.

2:00am Leave Irish bar
3:00am Arrive at Park Hotel
3:30am Sleep

Next Day
11:00am Wakeup
12:00am Check out

We bought tickets to the Van Gogh museum and wanted to rent bikes, but it was madatory to return the bikes to the original shop. Since we weren't staying another night we decided to get bikes at the Central Station. The first day we walked to our hotel from central station, this time we rode the tram. The tram is a light rail that follows the alley ways around Amsterdam, much quicker. Once we got to the Central Station we realized that the Van Gogh museum was where we were before our tram ride. So we skipped the bikes and took the tram back to where we started (Does this make sense). If there is one thing to do in Amsterdam, go to the Van Gogh museum...its amazing. There are so many famous pictures, and great art...I loved it...not allowed to take pictures. After that we decided that we should head back to the station, maybe finding a market along the way, but unfortunately we ended up eating at the "Burger Bar" and taking the train home. Side note: We were in the Burger Bar eating the most amazing burger I have ever had: About a quarter inch of goat cheese, on top of a Kobe beef patty in a soft wheat bun. Sorry 5guys/Good Stuff.

Amsterdam is an awesome place, definately the most awesome trip I have taken since coming to Europe.I'll keep you posted.

The pictures that are in front of a giant screen are from an outdoor theater called Plaza Futura. Free movies Tuesday and Friday and you can BYOB and food so its a cheap way to spend a lazy night.