Brugge, Belgium - Wet, windy but oh so beautiful!

My first moment of falling in love with Brugge was when I was standing on a bridge, overlooking a small river reflecting the deep autumn colours that dripped off the trees, like a misty water-colour painting. My initial thought was that it reminded me of the bridge in Anne of Green Gables, and I was almost expecting to see handsome Gilbert appear (Sarah Weir, I know you would understand this). Even though it was raining, the city still held a romance and history that intrigued me and kept me warm, despite what my cold, purple fingers were arguing.

 

It was a little wet. Actually that’s quite an understatement, it was bucketing down. Despite the cold and the wet taunts Mark was extremely keen to take a boat road down the canal. We were all playing along, saying that if the weather cleared up we would suss out the boat ride. There were sightings of lip pouts from Mark and frequent queries into a possible boat ride, when all of the sudden we were perfectly positioned to watch a gliding boat pass underneath the bridge we were standing on. It was in this moment, without any words passed between us, the decision was finalised that we were not getting on a boat. The passing passengers could not be seen underneath their roofs of umbrellas, except for one guy sitting exactly in the middle of the boat; we managed to catch eye contact with the man as he glanced up slowly before going under the bridge, silently pleading to be anywhere but there. The misery on the man’s face was so evident, as was the fact that he forgot his umbrella and was forced to endure the saturating boat ride. We burst out laughing and looked at Mark, whose bottom lip was nowhere to be seen.

 

The main square was adorned with a line of green awnings, each holding above their hidden entrances brick buildings with welcoming windowsills of flowers or lampshades. Peaking out from amongst the square buildings, in the distance a beautifully tall church and its steeple was visible. I love stone churches! And this one was quite vast in its size. However the walk around it was a brisk one as we were desperate to find somewhere indoors. We managed to stumble across several chocolate shops and this did the job just fine. The smell was seductive and so tasteful! We promised ourselves a hot chocolate at the end of the day, once we visited the chocolate museum!!

 

It wasn’t what I first envisioned… endless chocolate tasting, with maybe a little show bag of chocolate souvenirs.  No, not quite. However, it was still really impressive – the history of chocolate as well as enormous chocolate sculptures and the viewing of chocolate making. We managed to walk out with a delicious taster, only further feeding our desire for that hot chocolate.

 

So we ventured around a little more until we were forced into the doors of a gorgeous tearoom café, by the gushing cold wind. Wallpapered with flowers and butterflies, the warmth of the room and the smell of the baking ushered us to our seats where we ordered our steaming hot drinks. The boys weren’t even bothered by the choice of the overly feminine café, however they must have foreseen what was to come for dinner… A pub serving the tastiest stews along with the finest beer they had come across. Tim was sold that it was the best beer in the world, which I think was helped by the novelty of the glass he was drinking out of. Both glass and Tim’s joy can be spotted in the photos!

 

With the warmth of a good feed and a train to catch, we walked back to the station feeling a little more acquainted with Brugge, but perhaps a desire to come back and reintroduce ourselves when the weather was a bit nicer. It felt like I had glimpse inside a treasure chest and was able to see its stunning beauty, but did not uncover all the treasures that it was holding.

Poland Pt1 - Krakow

Our first European destination: POLAND! Thankfully, our enthusiasm to explore this awaiting destination was not deterred from the extreme budget airline experience. When we got to the airport we went through to customs where we stood watching a board, waiting for our gate number to appear. Suddenly a flashing number revealed our gate and instantly propelled Lauren and Joel as they spun around and started to run, glancing back only to ensure that we were keeping up. We had no idea what the heck was going on but we were going fast, and Joel and Lauren appeared to be at the front of our apparent competition. Suddenly we got to the gate and saw Joel and Lauren lining up, puffing. We joined them and they explained that there are no set seats, so it's first in, first served! That's exactly what happened. People starting running around the tarmac to get to the stairs of the plane first to ensure that they would be sitting with their friends or family. Fortunately, due to the amazing darting skills of our friends Joel and Lauren, we managed to get seats together and sit out the most boring flight of our life. But, the excitement of the yet to be discovered Poland got us through, and she didn't disappoint.

Landing in Krakow, we made our way to our oh-so-Polish apartment greeted by our oh-so-VERY-Polish host. He was so cute. His aged face hinted a cheeky nature, which was soon confirmed by his hidden smiles. He was so thorough at informing us about the apartment, and of course the magazine stand across the road. After his 15min tour of our 2 bedroom apartment we ventured out to the city square to find something, or anything, to eat! 

Even in the dark, the buildings we saw promised beautiful site seeing for the next day. We found a gorgeous Polish pub that sold drinks for 1 Euro and delicious Polish snacks... our love for Poland had begun - cheap and tasty!

The next day we ventured out from our Polish apartment (above) and returned to the beautiful square where we meandered through the famous Krakow markets. The setting was so picturesque with archways lining the market hall and dainty lamp posts hanging from the ceiling.

We'd decided to jump on board a free historical tour of the city and waited to meet our Polish guide, Chris who did an incredible job taking us around and adding to our wonder of the amazing Krakow. The legends and tales of the Polish city were endless and the historical facts and development of the buildings were truly amazing.

The Renaissance courtyard of the Wawel Castle. The King of Poland, Sigismund I, had it redesigned for his Italian wife and changed the original look of the courtyard to resemble an Italian exterior.

Lauren and I took a particular liking to the Wawel Cathedral and the attached chapels that stood emphatically on the hill overlooking the square. It was the site of Polish monarchs and the centre of political power. After the first historical ruler chose Wawel as one of there residences it then became a site for erecting boasting chapels, and over the centuries each ruler added or reconstructed chapels to the cathedral. What now remains is an eclectic mix of buildings including Romanesque, Gothic, Renaissance & Baroque styles.

A juxtaposition... functioning, clean and homely apartments in comparison to a completely abandoned, dissipated and deserted building, side by side.

Before coming to Poland, Tim met a lovely lady who came from Poland. He asked her for the hot spots to hit and she happily gave him a list of 'must dos'. I thank Jesus everyday for Tim's encounter with this lady (perhaps angel!?). She told him about a small cafe that we were to find and try their famous hot chocolates. When touring a city in minus 5 degree weather, the thought of a hot chocolate can no longer remain a thought, but must become a reality! So we found directions to this cafe and arrived at a corner that displayed an old, degenerated and unappealing building from it hanging a sign with our cafe name. We didn't believe that this could be this place and felt a little unsafe opening the door to walk inside. Yet, walk in we did and we were absolutely delighted. The dim-lit rooms were occupied with dark-wood tables and decorative chairs. The roof was adorned with old lamps and the walls hung stylish paintings and photographs. The entry into the second dining room was a wardrobe the sat against the patterned wall and you would have no idea of the entire second room, apart from the waiters stepping out from the wardrobe holding mugs and cups. We took a seat right next to a heater and asked for four hot chocolates. Heaven!

Our last night in Krakow involved a traditional Polish restaurant and more gasping at the wonders of the city square. We indulged ourselves with cabbage and ham soup, lamb shanks, dumplings, toasted bread and cottage cheese, complimented with a glass of red wine and Polish beer for the boys!

Next stop on the map - Auschwitz Concentration and Death Camps.