Bruges, Belgium is the first city I’ve traveled to entirely on my own during this trip. My mom and I had a hurried goodbye in the Paris metro station at around 7:00am on Saturday morning and just like that I was completely alone. Part of me wanted to go skipping down the hallway overjoyed with my complete and total freedom! The other part of me wanted to stand there petrified with no more mom to turn to.

I successfully made my metro transfers and even met two backpacker on their way to catch the same bus as me. The bus ride was comfortable and many friendly hellos were exchanged between passengers. There was room for me to have a row to myself, which I was slightly disappointed about since I was looking forward to meeting people. Our trip from Paris to Bruges took about 5 hours with one stop for a bathroom break at an all-in-one supermarket/cafe/drugstore/pharmacy/gas station. I wandered around browsing some magazines in French and taking advantage of the generous 10 minute allotment of free wifi. Back on the bus I dozed and awoke as the bus pulled over along a canal to let us off.

The tiny town of Bruges was still bigger than I had imagined but it carried all the medieval charm I had read about. The tiered rooves, windmills, the big trees and little walkways along the canal, cobbled streets, grand churches with towers overlooking the city. I couldn’t wait to get out and explore.

Found my bus!

First glimpses of Bruges

First glimpses of Bruges

It was too early to check into my hostel bed so I rented a locker and joined a free walking tour of the town the hostel was offering. The main thing I remember about the 1:30pm tour was how hot and crowded it was the entire time. I felt as if I was witnessing each of the 5 million tourists that visit this tiny town annually, here all in one afternoon. There wasn’t space to breathe. We bumped into each other, doing our best to avoid bikes, vespas, and the many horse carriages. Every once in awhile a car would even shove its way through the narrow, crowded, windy streets and everyone would suck in their stomachs and press up against the nearest wall.

The second most memorable part of the tour was seeing some of Bruges’ many swans and learning how they got there. Apparently the town keeps them as a symbolic punishment they received for killing a man with the surname Longneck. The king insisted the people of Bruges maintain swans in the town as a reminder of what they had done to his friend. He also made the people of Bruges destroy their town wall leaving them completely vulnerable and moved all trade to the neighboring town of Antwerp ruining Bruges economically- but the swans part is much more facinating.

Swan in the canal

Swans everywhere

Literally everywhere

Where’d they go?!

After standing in the heat for 2 hours and getting a good overview of the town I decided to check into my room and get out of the midday heat. The room was everything I expected, a bunch of tiny bunk beds with little curtains. Unfortunately I was on the rickety top bunk, surely waking my bunkmate up every time I had to climb down to retrieve something I had forgotten. During my entire stay everyone in the room was quiet and respectful, the beds were clean and comfortable, and the dorm showers were, well, not completely disgusting. Only one incident occurred where a girl in my 16 bunk dorm room had caught a guy from a few beds away using her bath towel- very awkward, but glad he didn’t grab my towel!

My top bunk.

After a nap I decided to wander the city some more and seek out the best spots to visit tomorrow. After 6:00pm the town was much quieter and much less crowded, the air was cooler, and the colors of the evening sun on the buildings was fantastic. The houses’ reflections on the canal were disrupted with every passing swan. Happy people were dining outside at every restaurant. It was so peaceful to wander the almost empty streets. I stopped in Market square to listen to a violinist and sketch the clock tower. I had no where to be and nothing to do. It was a wonderful feeling.

The next morning I locked up my things, filled up on the free hostel breakfast and set off with high hopes for fitting many things in in my one full day in Bruges. First to the Church of Our Lady to see Michelangelo’s Madonna and Child. By 9:30am the streets were already filling up. Learning that the church didn’t open until 1:00pm on Sundays I browsed the entrances to a few other museums in town, but feeling I had enough of that in Paris, I opted to go find the chocolate factory and museum. Though the museum was unimpressive, the chocolate demo and samples were fantastic. Smooth and rich- better then anything I’ve tried back home. These chocolate makers were quite talented, each flick of their wrist making the chocolate into identical mini masterpieces.

I went back outside to fight the crowds for a glimpse of Michelangelo’s Madonna and Child. In the cool, quiet of the church I could have sat for hours looking at her gentle marble face, but the constant flow of shuffling tour groups through the church was disruptive. Time to get out of town.

I unsuccessfully haggled with the man at the bike rental shop, but the ride was worth every penny. I followed a canal out of town towards the neighboring village Damme. The air in my face, a scenic route, and a smooth bike trail shaded by trees was the perfect combination. Since my words won’t be able to properly do this ride justice here is a slide show of my ride and some of the many animals and houses I saw along the way.

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After returning the bike and enjoying a nice dinner, I left the restaurant to find a huge group of people gathered in a central square used as a fish market during the day. Music was playing, wine was flowing, and everyone in the center of the square was dancing the tango. They moved so fluidly, smiling and laughing, switching dance partners occasionally. Men dancing with women, women dancing with women, men dancing with men. The gathering had a very “come as you are” feel. Some people were dressed very casually, others in dress shoes and flowing skirts. I loved seeing this community come together over a shared interest in dance. I sat and watched them for over half an hour, enjoying the environment. I felt very much included and welcomed even as an outsider knowing little to nothing about the tango. Perching on a low cement barrier surrounding the dance floor I sat, very content, not worried about accommodating anyone, or what anyone else thought of me sitting alone.