We're in Belgium!

Last week we decided a trip over to Belgium would be a lovely idea, so we made plans to hit up Antwerp and Bruges! We had an early morning, leaving at 6:15am to get to Amsterdam Central to take a bullet train down to Antwerp. Our train left around 7:15 and by 8:30, we arrived in Antwerp.

First class! What?! What?!

Free meal

As soon as we arrived, we were amazed by how beautiful the architecture is in this city. There’s so many medieval and gothic-looking buildings, and it’s incredible to think how long these buildings have been around for. 

Antwerp Central Station

Antwerp Central Station

Outside of Central Station

So without a plan in mind, we set out for the city center. Because we got there early, there were barely any people out, and nothing was open. It was actually quite peaceful, being able to walk around the city and take in the sites without the crowds.

After walking for about 20 minutes, we found ourselves in Grote Markt, which includes the City Hall, and Antwerp’s tallest building: Onze-Lieve-Vrouwekathedraal Antwerpen (Cathedral of Our Lady). This church is HUGE! We couldn’t go inside because it wasn’t open, but we were able to admire its lovely architecture from the outside.

Onze-Lieve-Vrouwekathedraal

Stadhuis (City Hall)

We then walked over to Het Steen, which is Antwerp’s oldest building (built in the 9th century).

Het Steen

We then walked around for a bit, then decided it was waffle time. So we went over to a restaurant named Désiré de Lille for some tasty Belgian Waffles!

Some sort of Church

Another Church

Mmmm!

Next, we decided to check out Rubenshuis, which was the former home and studio of painter, Peter Paul Reubens. It was a beautiful museum that displayed Reubens’ work, along with fellow Flemish artists of the time.

By the time we were finished with Rubenshuis, it was just after noon. We then decided to move on to Bruges, which is where we will be staying for the next two nights.

Waiting for the train

SO TIRED.

We got to Bruges around 2:30. All we can say is, "WOW." This city is absolutely gorgeous! It's very quaint and everything is covered in brick!

We went straight to our Airbnb to drop off our backpacks. Then we went right back out to grab a snack and explore the city center.

Our view on our snack break

City Hall

Belfort

We got a 48-hour City Card, which allows us to visit most of the museums for free*, along with a canal tour. Since we are really only here for less than 2 days, we wanted to start using it as soon as possible. We had time to visit one museum this afternoon, so we went to the Historium. This was a audio/visual tour of Bruges in the 15th century, by telling the story of Jan Van Eyck's famous painting, "Virgin and Child with Canon van der Paele". It was definitely an interesting exhibit, which used video, audio, and different smells to show visitors what it was like in Bruges during it's Golden Age. They also had an Occulus Rift portion to the museum, which of course couldn't be passed up. ;)

View from the balcony

After the museum, it was beer time. So we went down to one of the restaurants on the square to enjoy some beer. We also met a super friendly newlywed couple from New Zealand (well, the wife was from the U.S. and the husband was from France but they live in NZ). We chatted for a while, and even got some great suggestions of places to go for when we're in Paris!

Being a tourist

By 8, it was time for dinner. We found a cafe near the place we are staying, and enjoyed a lovely sunset!

We have a full day ahead of us tomorrow, and it's going to be filled with all sorts of amazing activities here in Bruges!

Finding Comfort

In between the torrential downpours last night, we went out to get dinner at a nearby brewery named Brouwerij Troost (translates to Comfort Brewery).

We started off with a couple beers. Adam had their Smoked Porter while I had their Saison. The Saison was probably the best tasting one I've had by far. It was light and sweet! Adam also really enjoyed the Smoked Porter. I also gave it a try, even though I really don't like dark beers, nor anything that tastes smoky. And to my surprise, it was actually pretty good!

Then we ordered a couple burgers. Adam had the Troostburger, which was topped with pancetta, gorgonzola, and aioli. Super tasty! I decided to go with the veggie burger, which was made up of lentils, quinoa, mushrooms and parmesan cheese. It was topped with avocado, lettuce, pickles, and a spicy mayo. The patty was bland, but the toppings helped.

Brouwerij Troost definitely lives up to its name, because not only were the beers the best I've had on this trip so far, but the atmosphere was a lot of fun too. So with some good tunes (think Michael Jackson and Fleetwood Mac) and fun conversations, we decided to stick around for another drink or two.

After a few beers, it was time to go home. But first, I had to leave our mark on the bathroom wall!

I'm already looking forward to the day we'll be able to come back for more!

The Past Few Days

We've had a relatively low-key weekend, starting on Friday, which has actually been nice! Being able to see some things here and there while also getting to relax hits the spot.

Friday

Friday was overcast, but a little humid with some sprinkles here and there. This actually seemed to have caused swarms of flying ants to come out, which was weird! First, we rode around a beautiful park nearby - Frankendael Park. It had gorgeous pathways (for both walking and biking), open spaces for picnics, lovely gardens, a historical house - the Huize Frankendael, sculptures, and really cool garden homes!

Huize Frankendael, now a restaurant

One of the garden houses. We want one of these one day!

We then decided to go to a local brewery that we heard about a few days earlier, called Brouwerij ’t IJ. It is located right next to an old windmill, which made it even more better! I will say that the beer in Amsterdam is pretty disappointing…all the restaurants here will serve Heineken or Amstel or Belgian beers, but there’s nothing local. I guess that goes to show that we’ve gotten spoiled living in Portland. ;) So visiting Brouwerij ’t IJ was a real treat! They had a wide variety of beers and tasty snacks. Adam had a blonde ale and Belgian-style ale, while I had their seasonal summer blonde and wit beer. So good! The two Dutch guys next to us didn't seem impressed that there were so many tourists and one even questioned me how we found out about the brewery, but whatever. We had a good time, and made conversation with some people from Minnesota...all while swatting away at all the flying ants. We've also decided we'll be going back at least one more time before we leave.

Saturday

Saturday was a very cold, rainy, and windy day, so we spent most of it inside. We started off by visiting the Amsterdam Museum. Although we got lost trying to find our way out for a lunch break, this museum was very interesting! It goes over the history of Amsterdam, and how the city has gained it's identity, with endless and beautiful collections.

After the museum, we walked over to a nearby theater to see Ant Man. The movie was alright, but the experience of seeing a movie in a foreign country was pretty cool! The movie had Dutch subtitles, so the movie wasn't dubbed over. Lots of people whispered throughout the movie, and even some people got kicked out for being obnoxious which was a little irritating, but the popcorn was certainly delicious (way better than the crappy kind we typically get in the States, IMO), and everything was cheaper!

Today (Sunday)

We tried to spend as much time as we could outside today, since it's predicted to rain for the next 4 days. So after soaking up some morning sun at a cafe, we rode our bikes to the Olympic Stadium. Amsterdam hosted the Olympics back in 1928, so it was cool to be able to see the track!

On your mark, get set....go!

And he's off!

And then he finishes!

The Marathon Tower - the first-ever Olympic flame was lit here. Also, heralds blew their horns when they saw the marathon runners approaching from this tower.

True Olympic star ;)

We also walked around the stadium, which had a lovely little park. So we decided to have fun with it!

Best thing I've done on this trip

Vicious geese

Following the Olympic Stadium area, we biked over to Vondelpark to grab some lunch and people-watch. Then we hopped over to the Museumplein to just walk around. There was also a free art show that honored Vincent van Gogh (his death day is a few days away from 125 years ago), so we took a gander before heading home for the day!

With Rembdrant

With Van Gogh

In the art show