In honor of Veterans Day our clinic closed for an extra day and we have a 3 day weekend. Jari was kind and made some plans to go to Brugge (Bruges for those who are in America) a city with medieval architecture in Belgium. My job is usually to find a place to stay. Now that we have 4 kids we always get forced into purchasing 2 hotel rooms so we have focused on AirBnB as the value seems to be good and we can all be in one room. However after 2 confirmations and then the host canceled on us I switched to booking.com and found an apartment in Ostend which seems to have worked out so far. One thing I feel instantly grateful for is the presence of heated floors in our home in Zemmer because these wall heaters are not quite up to snuff.
I am also grateful for a DVD player in our car that allowed us to make the 4-hour drive in relative peace.
We stopped for a nutritious lunch at a gas station Pizza...
But the kids were happy. We drove through the rain and 40 minutes prior to arriving the sun broke through the clouds.
Parking was an adventure. Our GPS took us down a cobblestone street that eventually was blocked by construction. People walked around us like we were not there so getting in and out was not easy. But we found parking and all was well.
Oh, and in good Mormon timing, I hoped to leave by 6 but actually hit the road at 10. In the end, I think it was a good thing because we missed the rain.
Brugge, Belgium is different from places in Germany for many reasons but the Spanish and Dutch influence here was clear.
Most of the old homes have Dutch stepped gables that you see here.
Anticipating a rainy day the next day we decided to take a boat ride.
It was cold and windy so we had to bundle up.
This was a great way to see the city without having to carry Zachary and Hazel everywhere.
The boat driver took a quick straw poll and determined that he would speak Dutch and English during the tour. Sorry to our 2 French and 6 Spanish-speaking co-travelers.
Apparently, there are a random (flock?) of swans that call Brugge home.
Here is Jari pointing out the Belfry Tower we were heading to next.
Hazel taking it in.
The brown house facing us was covered in wood in the fashion of the middle ages. That was pretty neat.
A view of the Court Justices from a long while ago with Spanish and Moorish minaret influence.
This hotel recently sold. Asking price? Oh, a meager 3 Million euros...
Happy we took the ride when we did. Great views of the old Hanseatic League waterfront homes, mixed with new (airplane contrails). Brugge is a beautiful city.
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