belgium, belgian beer, and midieval hipsters

We took a train to Brussels and arrived with thoughts of beer, waffles, and chocolates.  After finding our way to our ultra modern BnB (which didn't actually serve the latter B), we promptly treated ourselves to some beer, waffles, and chocolates.

the grand place in brussels had incredible architecture

lunch

these restaurants lined the streets surrounding the grand place but the food was pretty mediocre.  good beer though.  definitely some good beer.

found a cool but ridiculously overpriced junk/antique store.

more good junk

one of the better beer logos belongs to the makers of delerium tremens

the delirium cafe was packed

arguably the best view of the city (free too) was actually a parking garage.

sometimes if you don't pay attention in french class, you end up getting a haircut in brussels that wasn't exactly what you had in mind.

decided to include a few of the detail shots we've been taking as a change of pace from the countless parkinglot views we normally post.

supposedly the best waffles in the city, though we ended up liking the stickier street waffles more.

but we didn't dare mention that to our neighbors

and really, at the end of the day a waffle is a waffle

the boss is still the boss, even in brussels

catching a ride to bruges

in case no one has mentioned it, belgium has three official languages: flemish (dutch really, spoken in the flanders region), french, and german.  french is mainly spoken in brussels but in bruges they speak mainly flemish.

hoofing it to our bnb with a view of st. salvator's cathedral

super modern design sometimes means you bump your super modern head on the super modern steel staircase.

our "hallway"

our front door

 bruges is often called the venice of the north because of the canals that run throughout the city.  we often called it bruges.  we're the orange door on the right

for fans of windmills, kevin, or lace chainlink fencing, we present all of the above

more detail shots

this may or may not have read bathroom

the flanders region, bruges in particular, is known for its ornate lace work.  and if that little anecdote wasn't thrilling enough for you, we visited some little old ladies who actually make lace by hand the old fashioned way, so hold on to your seats.

quite a rowdy bunch as you can imagine

who says you can't be a hipster in a medieval city

the belfry in the center of bruges is pretty impressive though the view from the top is fairly limited.

we always appreciate a bit of irony when we climb a bunch of steps up a giant tower for a mediocre view

going for a walk along the canal after sunset

toms may just be the best travel shoes (unless is rains)

favorite bar in the city, can't remember the exact name but it translated to "a little night music" and the owner plays nothing but the rolling stones

we went on a brewery tour at "de halve maan" brewery (the half moon) which ended up having the best view of the city but just pretty good beer (by belgian standards).

for our second night in bruges we stayed in another bnb across town and were greeted at the door with beer upon our arrival. the next morning for breakfast we were told "you start with bubbles" as our host handed us glasses of champagne. 

epic breakfast

saying our goodbyes to belgium we went to a nearly invisible bar hidden in an alleyway to try a glass of de garre, which is only brewed and served for this tiny bar