Belgium

We really loved Belgium, although there were some not so good parts, mainly the hostels. We had 2 nights in Brussels followed by 3 nights in Bruges. The highlights were the beer (although we didn't drink as much as I had expected), chips, waffles, chocolate (lots of that), and the weather (probably the first day without rain since the USA).

Brussels - The cities in Belgium seem to be quite small, which is great as you can walk around most parts of town. We saw most of what there is to see in one day. This included the main square (Grand Palace Grote Markt), some beautiful churches (Saint Nicholas & Sablon), Manneken Pis the statue of a little boy having a wee, St Katelijne Square, Royal Palace and a number of fountains, statues and parks. One of our favourite parts of the city was the numerous colourful cartoon murals painted around the town on the sides of buildings.
We stayed at the '2go4' hostel, which was quite modern, free internet and small dorms. It also had a few problems, they only take cash, so when we arrived from the UK we had to find an ATM before they would let us check in, the kitchen was small, the fridge was filthy and part of the carpet in the room was wet when we arrived and it took the staff 8hr to bring some towels to dry it. Despite the kitchen we did cook some hamburgers and veggies for dinner and ate with Belgium Beer for dinner. After dinner we went for another walk to see Zinneke, a statue of a dog peeing on a fire hydrant. We also spent some time in the Grote Markt, which is all lit up at night.
After all the walking we accidently slept in, meaning we missed out on the coffee in the morning at the hostel and had to rush to check out. We also discovered that someone had helped them selves to our food in the kitchen, but were kind enough to leave some bread rolls in our food bag, W.T.F!

We delayed our travel to Bruges for the morning and went out to the Atomium. This was cool. It is a building that has been designed to look like an atom. We had a desperately needed coffee in a small local (no english) cafe and a walk through a park. We then headed back to get our bags and headed to the train station, Bruges bound.

In Bruges, "If I grew up on a farm, and was retarded, Bruges might impress me. But I didn't, so it doesn't!" Not really our impression but still a very funny movie!
Our new hostel, Snuffel, how do you say it, has a lot of character. Our 8 bed dorm actually has another room leading off it so there is also another four people walking through our tiny room. Maybe after being in the USA we are used to a better standard of hostel, but this was a bit old, another small kitchen, showers about a 5 min walk away, through the pub downstairs. Then once you get to the shower, there are no doors, only a curtain, no taps, only a chain you have to pull and hold to get water. Apparently this is one of the better hostels in Bruges... It did have a bar downstairs with cheap beers so that was good. After checking in and having a shower, we headed down the street to the Markt (main square), for a walk and to get chips for dinner.
Wednesday morning we headed to the farmers market to stock up on supplies for lunch, including marinated olives, bread and roast chicken. We then spent the day wandering around looking at the sights, including a guided boat tour through the canal's and lunch in a park. We also went on a hostel led guided walking tour in the evening, before returning in time for happy hour. For dinner Damien had traditional Belgium Mussels in white wine sauce with chips.
Sitting with a few people from the tour in the bar at the hostel, one of the canadian girls bumped the table as she returned from the bar, which sent 3 full beers flying from the table to the floor, with a detour, all over Christine. It took the barman about 15 minutes to clean up all the beer and glass, a thirsty wait, and Christine headed off to get changed! Once we all had another beer in front of us it became a lot funnier!
When we went to bed, we didn't know it at the time, but this was the worst night we have had, even worse than the snoring in Yosemite! Quite late 3 guys stumbled into our room, nothing unusual there... but almost instantly, something smelt. Of course, over the next few hours, it got worse and worse, as there was little airflow in the small room. Im not going to describe the smell, as I still feel sick thinking about it, but we think it was a combination of shoe, sock and foot.
The guy (English of course) was in the closest bunk to us, Damien's pillow about a meter away. The next morning , with little sleep and feeling quite ill, breakfast was a struggle. Everyone in the room, except one girl, commented on how bad it was. Christine was ready to move rooms until we found out that they were leaving, thank god, Ugh...

Today was a really nice day, 29deg and sunny. After speaking to some nice Dutch girls we thought about heading to the beach, but without a car it seemed a bit difficult. Instead we spent most of the day by the canals and lazing in the many parks in Bruges. It is a very beautiful place. A bit of sightseeing including a Michangelo sculpture and we climbed the Belfry Tower, 366 steps. Coffee and belgium chocolate by the canal then Italian for dinner. Back at the hostel it was shower, pack and early to bed, set the alarm for 4.30am to be on the train at 5.30am.