We're not in Paris anymore

Bruges is a little over two hours and one train transfer from Paris. Aside from a frantic, confusing, 9-minute transfer in the Brussels train station, the ride went smoothly.

We emerged from the Bruges train station immediately noticing the fresher air. People were walking at a more casual pace - strolling, if you will. No sight of pidgins, but plenty of ducks and swans. We're not in Paris anymore.

When we were staring at the map trying to find the intersection our hostel was located at, a local approached me and said something in Flemish. Since I can't understand Flemish, I'll tell you what my stupid American ears heard: "Ooka dooka?"

Given our first interaction in our previous city - a tween beggar who pleaded for money like he would to his parents - I was a little wary about what "ooka dooka" meant. I must have given this local a look of supreme confusion and a bit of trepidation. She then said, "Help? Do you need help?" It's a blessing and a curse being, for the most part, a uni-lingual American. Most people can speak some English in Europe - many people as good or better than Americans - which makes travel for us easy. But it makes me feel a bit sheepish and stupid when the norm, in some countries, is to speak the better part of four languages. Yes, for this dense American, English please.

Our hostel, Snuffel Backpacker Hostel, was also a bar with the cheapest selection of good beer we've seen, ever. Duvel, Westmalle, Orval, other local varieties - all under 3 Euro. We each enjoyed a brew, then headed out to see the Markt.

There's really no other way to put it: Bruges will charm your socks off. The city center, which was made a World Heritage Site in 2000, is fairy tale-esque. One of our hostel mates described it as "like a movie set," complete with horse and carriage. (Yeah, touristy, but, lest we forget, we are tourists.)

At the hostel, we were given these maps for "young travelers" made by an organization called Use-It Europe. They have them for several cities in Europe, and they're stellar. A great mix of economical things to do, see, eat, and drink as a tourist that you won't get anywhere else. We based many of our daily activities on these suggestions - one of which was visiting a brew pub called De Garre, where for 6 Euro you can get two pours of their can't-find-it-anywhere-else-in-the-world tripel, and a small dish of cheese as an accompaniment. In the spirit of Bruges' inherent quaintness, this old,small, barely two-story pub offers a delicious brew and coziness to boot - a great way to kick off our time in the Venice of the North.

In the next post, we cycle.