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Time to Go Home

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Well, we've had a great trip - loads of fabulous beer, good food, beautiful sights, wonderful people, and holiday markets that'd knock your socks off! As I said, this trip was a little different for us - we didn't have any grand tours or big events planned - totally seat-of-our-pants.  And it seems, when left to our own devices, we shop, eat, drink beer, wander, and sleep in.  Sounds like a good vacation to me! We we're planning to go to Ghent today (a quick train ride) and see the famous Old Masters altarpiece at St. Bavo's (also part of the plot of the movie, Monuments Men).  But it turns out that parts of it are under restoration (just like the Madonna in Brugge).  So we wandered here a bit more.  We ate lunch at a place called t'Kelderke on the Grand Place.  It's situated in a 17th century cellar - oh, so charming... All in all I like Belgium - you get a little tired of frites and chocolate shops (who sai...
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2019: Day One

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Resolved: We'll lose weight this year Reality: Please pass the Belgian chocolates Resolved: We'll maybe not drink as much Reality: Ooooh, that's a good Belgian tripel Resolved: We'll get more exercise Reality: Let's go back to the room and relax Resolved: We should travel more Reality: Who am I kidding? February ski trip to Breckenridge March trip to Dallas? April transatlantic cruise May trip to Baltimore/Philly June Rails & Ales July/August tbd annual road trip September trip to Munich for Oktoberfest (also Prague and Berlin) October trip for 2nd annual convocation  November trip to California December trip tbd for next NYE
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Happy New Year's Eve!

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Last year we had the ultimate NYE in Vienna - a huge Cinderella Ball, black ties and ball gowns - that's really hard to compete with.  This year we're much more subdued.  First of all, we had no plans - we're totally winging it!  Second, we knew we were never gonna make it until midnight...we've been drinking way to much and sleeping way too little on this trip.  Our only plan was to get some Belgium chocolate and a good Belgium beer - Check!  We headed to the BrewDogs bar and had a lovely line up of beers and some good eats. We had a good year!  We loved the ball in Vienna and toasted our friends from all over the world.  We took a day trip to Salzburg and met new friends from Melbourne - always a possibility when you're drinking beer. We finished the renovations on our house.  We went to Kauai and saw the Jurassic Park waterfall and sooo many rainbows.  We took a river cruise from Budapest to Bucharest - saw amazing artwor...
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In Need of a Good Night's Sleep

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As I mentioned, Joe and I are both a little on the snorty/sinus-y side.  And last night we had quite a symphony gong on. Have you seen the GEICO commercial where grandpa's nose plays Flight of the Bumblebee?  You can see it here .  Well, I'm fairly certain I'm a snoring virtuoso and performed 'Flight" flawlessly last night. But Joe? Joe is a fucking maestro and kept me awake with his playlist of Messiaen - Vingt Regards, Mvt 6 , Liszt's Totentanz , and possibly Beethoven's 5th. Anyhoo - we had a fun day today.  We explored some more of our neighborhood and took in a couple of beer halls that were on the to-do list.  Some really good beers and a nice lunch at Moeder Lambic And then on to where everyone on earth seemed to be: Delirium Village - nine or so bars in a group with more than 2,000 beers.   We finally escaped most of the crowds and had a nice dinner at Drug Opera - across from the opera hall.  Tick off another item fro...
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The Grand Place, Manneken Pis, and Beer

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Brussels is a compact city; the center is completely walkable.  Yesterday when we left the train station and went to the taxi stand for a lift to the Marriott, the driver was disinclined to take us on such a short drive, so we lugged our luggage (likely why it's called that) through the center to the hotel.  During this trek, we passed through a sizeable plaza that I thought was the Grand Place (Grohn Plahce)...silly me. This is the Grand Place : It is huge!  It's been a UNESCO site since 1998,  It's ornate!  And Gothic!  And Neo-Gothic!  And glittering!  And loud!  And, well, grand!  The town hall, the King's house, and several guild houses populate the square.  We made the loop around the square and then headed down a side street towards Brussels' most famous statue, the Manneken Pis.  Designed and put in place in 1618/1619, this little pisser is said to reflect Brussels' sense of humor and indepe...
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Today Was a Travel Day

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Our VRBO in Brugge was lovely, and I'll miss the linen sheets our owner provided us.  This morning we got up early - wait, who am I kidding...I got up early and did three loads of laundry, stripped the bed and gathered the used towels.  Our owner didn't have a checkout request list, but we've stayed in enough VBROs to know what's generally expected. We loved Brugge, and after nearly exhausting our beer choices there - hahahahaha, draws breath, hahahahaha - not even close, we took the train back to Brussels today.  An easy hour-ish ride.  (Joe and I are both sinus-y and didn't sleep well, so having a quiet hour on a gently rocking train was nice.) The weather's gone a bit rainy, and, without the sun, it feels a colder - all the more reason to get to Brussels where the city is alive and kickin'; warm and welcoming.  It's so Parisian here, that I would not be surprised to round a corner and see the Eiffel Tower.  Of course, it's lit up for the holid...
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Our Last Day in Brugge/Bruges/Brugges/Brugs...Whatever...

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It's because they have such a varied past - so many rulers, so many languages, so many spellings.  Whatever the reason, Brugge (how the train station spells it) is a fabulous fairy tale place.  One legend - and my favorite - tells of how some of the richest families made their money on gruit , a mixture of herbs and spices used as bittering agents in beer making.  These families cornered the gruit market and were making money hand over fist.  That is until someone discovered hops were cheaper, sustainable, came in a variety of strains, and could be standardized.  Soon the Richie Riches were out of money, Brugge lost its standing as gruit central, and no one had much money to renovate or update much of the town.  Lucky for us, it got stuck in time, and is now the charming, picturesque, and fabulous beer-making locale we've totally enjoyed for the past few days. We've enjoyed mussels, frites, a canal tour, several wonderful beer ...
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