In Brugge

While in Germany, our goal is to explore and travel as much as possible. 

Traveling by train is simple, quick, and quite cheap. 

This weekend brought us to Brugge, a fairly small town in Belgium--all week I dreamt of chocolate, cooler air, amazing sights, waffles, and the finest beer in the world.

I can 100% attest to the fact that Brugge delivered. It delivered indeed. 

Michael was able to leave work a little early on Friday so we could have the evening to explore. 

That evening, we ate a delicious meal of mussels and frittes 

and set off to explore with no agenda in mind. 

The city was ours as we wound through quiet cobble-stoned streets lined with canals, marveling over the perfect reflections cast in the water.

It was truly unreal. 

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Saturday morning we awoke to a violent storm, which, like most coastal thunderclouds, ended as abruptly as it began.

Let the eating commence!

I waited forever for this old man to move. Finally gave up when Mike started getting cranky.

For 7 euros we took a brisk boat tour through Brugge's canals. The 'tour' was in 5 different automated languages and I felt like a tourist- snapping pictures as quickly as possible before he went on to the next sight. Not one quality picture came out of the ride. But I did take this one before we left...

I love the red trim found on many Brugge facades 

More exploring, more beverages to be conquered, fries & chocolate to be consumed. 

mmmmm... Delirium... 

Beer in a champagne bucket? Don't mind if we do.

As if this posting isn't inundated with enough pictures already-- in the afternoon we tried something 'different' and took a photography tour.  Mike patiently waited while I took a million pictures at each stop our guide brought us to. 

We learned more about our camera than we have in the two years of owning it! 

Cue barrage of attempt at Artsty- Fartsy photos:

This is Fidele. She has rested at this window for 11 years now, looking over tourists on their boat tours and is a bit of a Brugge institution. I did not want to leave this spot!

The doors here are the BEST. One could make an entire photo book solely featuring doors. 

First Bump

Later that evening we had the most fantastic meal of (more) mussels and surprisingly, the best spare ribs we've ever had. Move over, dirty south... Belgium has you beat. 

And oh, we're still on Saturday so more pictures to come.

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Sunday the weather was BEAUTIFUL 

(meanwhile, in Frankfurt, our friends were sweltering with heat in the high 90s!) 

We rented bikes and set off for another town only 5 kilometers away called Damme. 

The ride was incredible, taking us through tree-lined paths along the canal where swimmers were training for a triathlon. 

Cows and sheep lazily munched on grass and watched us as we rode by. 

We saw windmills. I'm obsessed. 

And we continued to ride.

All the way to Holland, actually 

(which wasn't as much of a terrific feat as it sounds. It was only 45 minutes away.) 

Ate lunch, turned around and rode back. More pictures of windmills, for now the gray skies had cleared and the resident (GIANT) horse was posing prettily for the tourists.

Back in Brugge, we had just enough time for another beverage and to stock up on all-things-delicious to tide us over until the next excursion, hopefully this winter. 

Someone asked, "Are you guys on your honeymoon? You just seem like you are."

I found his question endearing-- 

we love life, we love our time together, we love diving into a new culture.

Brugge, we'll be back soon. 

Week of Cemeteries

Not much for words today-- stir crazy and needing to get out of the apartment. But, I have been meaning to add pictures from last week's HausFrau adventures so here they are, most likely without much commentary. 

Martha and I explored an old Jewish cemetery that was ravished by German soldiers during the Nazi regime. They intended to completely destroy the headstones but the project was thwarted when bombing of Frankfurt began 8 days into it. What's left is about 1/3 of the original amount. It was a mesmerizing, hauntingly beautiful place. 

Afterwards we desperately needed eiskaffee... then randomly decided to visit a cathedral and walk the billion steps up to the top.

A couple days later I was feeling especially melancholy and a little homesick, so naturally, I decided to check out a different cemetery. Great pick-me-up, huh?

But actually, it was even more beautiful and serene than I could have imagined. 

Walkways dense with trees and growth, paths that could be explored for hours. 

Scatter my ashes here, please. Then stick some monumental angel on top of it so others can enjoy photographing it hundreds of years later. 

2 Month Checkup

We've been happily living as expats for two months now, so I thought it appropriate to documents my thoughts on what I'm thinking is still the 'honeymoon' phase. The weather's lovely and summer is in full swing here in Frankfurt, complete with festivals, bike rides, and picnics galore. I'm glad we moved when we did so that I could have ample time to fall in love with this city, this culture  (which I have.)

What I'm loving right now: 

--Staying out late on the weekdays-- joining the rest of the city in the mass migration towards parks/river banks to partake in picnics and drink bottles of cheap wine.

 Going to the grocery store hungry = purchase of too much junk food

--Drinking my normal afternoon iced coffee with a not-so-normal bonus lump of vanilla ice cream

--the friends we've made; our willingness to try new things, to be able to text each other and be meeting up within 30 minutes because our schedules are just. that. open.

We dubbed ourselves the "HausFraus" (house wives) this week. I think we'll keep it. 

-Planning for upcoming travel adventures with Annie & Mike's parents

-GERMAN FOOD! It's 10:15 and my mouth is watering for some schnitzel. Actually, today is Friday, which means I'll meet Mike for lunch at the Friday market for the best bratwurst and potato salad we've found thus far.


Different Routines:

-- We stay up WAAAAY late now, at least till midnight (gasp!) At 'home' we were in bed by nine, and it was really hard for us to gather up energy to do anything on week days. Not anymore.

-Trivia night! I'm loving our new Monday night event, even if I can only contribute two answers in four rounds

-- Traveling on weekends-- No weekend will be left behind. Each is carefully planned out with places in need of exploring

--Meeting Mike for lunch during the week


I totally miss: 

--My teacher friends

--Parentals

--The beach... and St. Augustine summers in general

-- Diego (!!!)

--Spicy food... particularly of the Mexican variety (food just isn't spicy here...)


I didn't quite know what to expect when moving here, but so far, it's quite lovely. 

My goals for this next month are to hunker down and learn more German, make it to the beach, and maybe (maybe?) exercise some more.

:)