Day ??? to ??? recap. I lost count. I know, I'm an acCountant. I retain the right to lose track of days while in Europe. Bullet point listing of the last few days:
1. Friday was another work day - but I left early to finalize my apartment in Bezuidenhout. I'm really excited about it - love the location. I did a dry run from work and the trip only took about 20 minutes on the tram. SCORE!
2. After finalizing the apartment (they agreed to all of my requests!), I came back to the temp place and then went to pick of the dry cleaning that had been there for about a week and a half. Extremely hard to get there by 6. I know I'm not supposed to be working late, and I'm not really, but it's hard to get anywhere in this city when walking in less than 30 minutes. So I was really excited to finally get my dry cleaning.
3. Negative side of that is I had to pick it up first before I went grocery shopping, which meant a 25 minute walk back to my apartment and then another 25 minute walk back to the grocery store. Plus side to that is it fits in really well with the NL diet plan!
4. I had a chicken salad sandwich, vegetables, fruit, chips and wine for dinner. Not too bad. Chicken salad had melon in it, which was strangely good.
5. Parents got in around 9 that night, famished from the train. I successfully made tacos that night for their dinner!!!! That deserves more exclamation points than that, but I'll refrain. I found a taco kit at Albert Hiejn, which was pretty good. Ground beef, seasoning, taco shells, lettuce, tomato and avocado. One interesting thing - the kit contained a package that just said "sauce" on it. Upon further investigation, this turned out to be a salsa of some sort. Not the highlight of the kit. But definitely on the repeat list for meals.
6. Saturday morning included what I would define as the turning point of me feeling at home here. My dad and I walked to my work where the dreaded car was still sitting. After some investigation of said car, I turned it on and we drove it back to the apartment. The only major issue was figuring out how to get it in the garage once we got to the apartment, but we settled that pretty quickly (only 2.60 Euros parking at the wrong garage before we figured it out). I can't describe the feeling I get when thinking about that momentous occasion - Most people reading this will think I'm nuts for being proud of a 1.5 mile drive, but I couldn't be more excited about it. I'm grinning from ear to ear.
7. After that joyous ride to the apartment, I decided that if we can get it this far, we should try to go somewhere big. Go big or go home, that's what they say. So I looked through my Rick Steves book (I'm obsessed with him, to the point where my parents roll their eyes when I even begin to mention his guidebooks) and I picked a place. I chose Brugge Belgium. We've technically been there before on a tour from Paris, but I remember getting on the bus the last time we did it and telling my parents that we didn't have enough time there. So I decided that's where we were headed and they were game. Total trip was 230 KMs one way - so we were going to find out very quickly if I could drive in Europe.
8. I booked a hotel last minute in Brugge and we got in the car for the trip. First piece of good news - I bought a back pack before we left and it works great! Held everything I wanted and wasn't too heavy or bulky. Second good news was that the car had built in GPS that was amazing! My new best friend's name is Faith - she does such a great job of getting us around road work, away from tolls and safely to our destination. She is a little insistent and sometimes downright pushy, but I understand it's all in the name of the ultimate goal. I don't know how people drive here without her.
9. We made it - no issues to speak of. Again, words cannot describe how excited I am about this. This opens up a whole new level of available travel. Bring it on, Germany. I can so drive you.
10. As to Brugge, if you have never been there, it is incredible. I love quaint old towns with tons of touristy stuff to do. Between the chocolate, waffles and beer (none of which goes on the diet), you could eat yourself across Brugge. The best thing to do there is sit at an outdoor pub and people watch - you truly see the best of Europe that way. Brugge is definitely on my list of possible places to take visitors - so if you come, you might get the chance to go with me. I could go 20 more times and not get bored.
11. Here's my review of the places Rick Steves said to go in Brugge:
a. Markt (Market Square) - RS gave this one pyramid (3 is the tops). I think that's about right. It's a great place to grab a beer and people watch.
b. Bell Tower (Belfort) - RS gave this two pyramids. I think this might be too high. 366 steps to the top for 8 Euros. You feel every single one of those steps - they are steep as all get out and narrow, with two way traffic on them. It was a tough climb, but the view is incredible. Me and mom did it today - most likely won't be able to walk tomorrow as a result, but the pictures were pretty neat. I won't do it again, but glad I did it once.
c. Burg Square (2 pyramids) - I liked this area, but didn't spend enough time to justify 2 pyramids. Further trips required to confirm rating.
d. Groeninge Museum (3 pyramids) - We have had the best luck on this trip. First Delft had a free day that my parents took advantage of in the churches. Then in Brugge on Sunday, all of the museums and buses were free! So for free (normally 8 Euros), we saw some of the best Flemish art in the world. I will say that this museum has some of the most grotesque paintings I have ever seen in such vivid detail, but the art was definitely worth the free price. I probably would have paid 8 Euros to see it too. I don't know if 3 pyramids is correct, I probably would have gone 2.
e. Church of Our Lady (2 pyramids) - On the previous trip, we saw this church with the Madonna and Child by Michelangelo, so we didn't repeat it. However, remembering back to then, I would give this church 3 pyramids. It's exquisite.
f. Memling Museum (2 pyramids) - Free again! Normally 8 Euros, I would pay to see this again. The paintings, the location, all incredible. Can't say enough good things about this - plus doing it with the RS walking tour in his book was a lot of fun!
12. Other than the above, we ate and drank in Brugge. It was really fun and I highly recommend the city. We made it back to Den Haag in one piece, car still working and everyone still happy. And we got a sampler Belgian six pack to celebrate the return and some chocolate to savor. What a great weekend!
13. No bad news on the house - hoping that option period ends this week without anyone backing out! Only a few days left.
14. Even with all of the Belgian goodness this weekend, I really think I've lost some weight. People from work in Houston will appreciate this - my Parisian jeans are really loose! Looks like when I get home at Christmas, I will be heading straight to the mall for clothes shopping.
On tap for this week - Parents are going to the flower auction tomorrow morning to witness that craziness. I'm going to work - learning more about what I'll be doing everyday. Tuesday is Prince's Day here in Den Haag, so they are going to stay here and witness the Queen ride from the palace to parliament to open up the session. Then they fly out on Wednesday :( That will be a sad day.....
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