MICHELE'S MUSINGS

Changed our plans, and decide to skip greece, and instead fly to Turkey from Italy...this gave us more time to putz around northern Europe, so we headed north to Belgium. We had no idea what we wanted to do here, so it was time to study our bible, the Lonely planet quidebook. Our first stop was Buxxles, unfortunately we had no luck finding a room (we usually buy a phone card and call from the train station). Everyone here speaks impeccable English so you soon learn to stop asking ....they seem a little insulted by the question. We found a room in Brugge, hopped on the next train, and an hour later we were there. Belgium and Holland are so small, and train systems so good you can find a train going your way every hour or less!!!Brugge is a REALLY lovely town with an interesting history. It was famous for its fabric industry up until the 15th century when its riber and sea access silted up. It went from a wealthy city to a ghost town. Operations moved to Antwerp and Brugge was abandoned and therefore perfectly preserved. The tourist have found Brugge...tour buses drop off the masses at 11 and pick them up at 4....this leaves the evenings and early morning to walk along the picturesque streets and peacful canals. I watched an old woman making lace by hand in her doorway, shuttles flying...it was unbelievable. There were many interesting small museums and mansions, and churches to explore. We returned to Bruxxels, hostel reservation made, we arrived to a rainy grey town. It is a big ciy, with nice and grimey parts. The Grand Place, a central plaza, had beutiful architecture. and historical value...but we had famous Belgian beer on our minds, and headed off to visit the Gueze museum, a working Brewery. This was really amazing to to see how they make this special lambic beer (just like they always have). No yeast is added...they rly on natural yeast from the air. They never remove cob webs or spiders, and have evenheld onto the old ceiling tiles because they believe its all the microorganisms in the environment that give the beer its delicious special qualities. They store the beer in wooden barrels, like wine for up to 3 years. Maybe if they would have made beer making as part of chemistry class it would have held my interest.

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