When in Bruges...

My classes haven't started, and Jonah only has class on Tuesday and Wednesday for now. This situation called for a Sunday to Tuesday trip to Bruges, which is a small (20,000 locals) town in Belgium. Bruges is often referred to as the "Venice of the North", as canals line many of its streets. Now, while I've never been to Venice, I have done a Google image search for it, and aside from the canals, there appeared to be very few similarities between Venice and Bruges. Bruges, however, has plenty to boast for itself.

There are only a few "wow" buildings in Bruges, but like Paris, the consistency of the beautiful architecture is really special. Bruges is an old Medieval town, and is nearly completely preserved from it's earliest years. There are town rules for building new structures, and there are even regulations for the placement of satellite dishes on the old houses. Because of the devotion to the preservation of Bruges, every street within a 20 minute walk from the center square is incredibly picturesque. Even with the misty and even snowy conditions, this unique town was always a sight to see.

As you probably know, Belgium is known for two or three products: chocolate, waffles, and of course, beer. Naturally, we sampled all three. ("We" refers to Jonah, Rachel, Vanessa, and myself). For me, it's hard to differentiate between varying levels of chocolate quality. But that doesn't mean that I don't know when what I'm eating is good. The chocolate in Bruges was fantastic, and the locals used it liberally and incorporated it into many different dishes and drinks.
The Brugians take pride in their beer. In Dublin, the locals worshiped Guinness and its rich history and traditions. In Bruge, the bartenders displayed a certain respect for their beer that I have never seen before. Before pouring, they rinse out the already clean glass. Once the head has formed, they use a little utensil to scrape off any excess foam from the top. Finally, they rinse the exterior of the glass if the beer had dribbled down the side of the glass.

I'm going to stop with the commentary now.

There isn't a whole lot to do in Bruges, but the slow-paced, food and drink oriented nature of the town was very pleasant and relaxing. We went on a boat tour of the incredibly beautiful canals in the early evening on our first day, and received a brief history lesson from our captain. He pointed out some very interesting details about the houses, namely how above many of the windows there were little faces, which remained from medieval times when they were supposed to ward off evil spirits. Also, there used to be no house numbers, so to distinguish each family's home from one another they had statues of different animals above the house's door. I already mentioned this, but it was fascinating to see a nearly fully intact medieval town, with details ranging from the complete lack of paved streets (all cobblestone), to the practices with marking the homes

I actually have to go to my first class this morning, so it's time to get going. More Paris updates to come.