The weekend of October 27, I went on the Anderson Tours weekend trip to Belgium with my friends Kate, Nate, and Wes. We took a bus from London and rode to Dover, so I got to see the white cliffs of Dover.
From there, the bus drove onto a Seafrance ferry, which was really more like a cruise ship, we got off of the bus and moved up to the cabin where we ate breakfast and relaxed a bit. The ferry took us across the English Channel to Calais, France where we boarded the bus again and then drove through part of France to Belgium. We arrived in Ostend (pronounced Oostend), where our hotel was located. When we got there, we explored the city a bit,
had lunch at a small restaurant where we all ate bolognese spaghetti (it was one of those experiences where you walk into the one-room restaurant, and everyone all locals, look up at you, stare for a moment knowing that you're from out of town, and then go about their business...somewhat uncomfortable, but more humorous than anything... either way, the food was good). We also checked out the Cathedral...
and got some waffles (so good!). We went for a walk along the beach overlooking the North Sea. This was one of my most favorite parts of the trip, as it was so peaceful and quiet on the beach. There were people walking along the shoreline, seagulls flying about, and a man playing a music box with a stuffed monkey sitting on top. It was such a pleasant change from the hectic city buzz of London.
That evening, we went to a smaller town called Diksmuide where we went to the "Diksmuide Beer Festival," which was really a big room with a polka band, all men wearing Lederhosen, where they served about ten different kinds of Belgian beer. It reminded me a lot of one of the neighboring towns to Winsted (my hometown in Minnesota). They have about 500 types of beer in Belgium, including flavored, such as cherry.
There were people all dressed up, dancing, and drinking beer. It was a fun night.
The next morning, we had breakfast at the hotel, checked out, and then jumped back on the coach to head to Brugge. This was a truly beautiful city. Brugge felt like walking back through time, a bit, with the old architecture, horse drawn carriages, and the quiet of the city.
It was lovely floating along the canals on the river tour through the center of the city. The guide gave the tour in French, Spanish, and English.
The entire city is surrounded by canals and tree-lined paths that follow along the water. One side of the city also had windmills along the river.
Brugge was also a great place to buy chocolates, as there were all kinds of small shops and things. We finished up the trip by buying a few souvenirs and a stroll along the canals. We boarded the bus one last time and headed back towards London. The ferry ride from Calais back to Dover was pretty rough. It was raining and violently windy, causing the entire ship to sway back and forth--it was actually difficult to walk in a straight line. Bravely, we went out to the deck for a short bit, which didn't last long, as it was scary and dark with the rain and wind.
Eventually, we made it back to London, safe and sound. It was a lovely weekend spent in good company and seeing interesting places.
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