Must be: Brugge, Belgium (travel review)

Greetings Must Be Readers!

Over Thanksgiving break, I had the opportunity to travel to Brugge, Belgium. Why Brugge? Why Belgium? To be honest, it was kind of a shot in the dark, throw a dart at a map kind of thing. I was looking for places to stay for a holiday in Europe (anywhere) when I found this incredibly cute and affordable Bed & Breakfast in Brugge.

Sint Niklaas B & B offered a quick walk to the city center and spectacular views. Seriously, stay here if you go to Bruges. Veronique is the hostess of the B&B. Veronique is helpful when needing advice on places to eat. She's lovely and makes the PERFECT fried egg in the mornings. Breakfast was a rather traditional European breakfast consiting of sliced meat, cheese, breads, yogurt, bowl of fruit, juice, coffee, and some granola/cereal. I never left breakfast feeling hungry. The other guests staying at the B&B were pleasant company in the mornings. You'll get a pin to enter into the front door so you can come and go as you please. I felt bad that a few nights I came in near midnight.

My room was very comfortable and had a spectacular view of the Belfort Tower. It was a bit awkward being on the very top floor that required going up very steep stairs. If you have a physical disability that makes stairs difficult, I would discourage you staying in the Belfort Room.  It's a split level room, so more stairs. But if you can make it up stairs stay in this room. It's AWESOME! Be prepared to carry your own luggage. If you're really struggling, Veronique will help. Watching her glide up and down the stairs is a sight to behold.  Unfortunately, this place is not pet/dog friendly. But it more than makes up for it.

My second day in Brugge, I booked a PhoPhoto Tour Brugge. TAKE THIS TOUR. No matter your level of photography skill TAKE THIS TOUR. I took the Hidden Brugge tour. When I signed up, I didn't realize it was the off season and that I would be the only one on the tour, but I was. I think even if I weren't it would have been an excellent tour. I'm a beginner/intermediate photographer... aka super amateur with a bit of skill. Mr. Andy helped me to figure out the ins and outs of my camera (that I've had for 4 years). I learned a lot... even if I haven't implemented as much as I should lately. Mr. Andy is incredibly kind and has some great tips for places to visit. The Hidden Brugge tour took me into some back alleys and side streets I would have never thought to go down. It made walking back from a different tour late in the week a bit easier. During the first part of the tour, we had a camera crew following us around and interviewing Mr. Andy and his wife, Mrs. Andy who joined us with their dog Blake. So there's a chance I'll be on Belgium TV. Mr. Andy and his family are wonderful and I hope to see them again.

My third day, I took a FREE walking tour with Legends Free Walking Tours. They offer several different walking tours for free, just a donation at the end.  I took the  Historical walking tour. If I had more time I would have done a few of the others ones. It was great. Jonahs was the guide and he was entertaining and informative. The tour lasted almost 2 hours, but I was so interested in the stories and the history that I didn't realize that my leg/hip were trying to fall off.

That evening, I managed to score a ticket to see The Dead South at Charlie Rockets Hostel. I only recent discovered this band. At first they were completely sold out. So I messaged the band, not thinking I'd get any sort of response. THEY BUT ME ON THE BAND GUEST LIST!!! I was so stoked. I got see them prior to their performance, but I was too nervous to talk to them beyond asking for a napkin (my beer spilled). Apparently, they're pretty popular in the EU and they had just been in Frankfurt before going to Bruge. I hope they come back cause they were AMAZING. Such a fun show. The tiny venue was packed and the temperature was HOT! But what a fun event. I'm beyond grateful that they were kind enough to put me on their guest list. I should send them cookies.

My last full day in Brugge was spent wandering around and taking photos of the city and the Christmas Market. It was a small market and not much there that was interesting to me. They did have an ice skating rink. I went to the Old Chocolate House and got an awesome hot chocolate and a delicious waffle. Pretty sure I had a waffle every day I was there.

That evening I attended a Beer Walk. We went to 5 different locations with a beer sommelier. Kathleen was our sommerlier guide. She was fantastic. An engineer is a previous career, she's incredibly knowledgeable about beer, the history of beer in Belgium, and overall a lovely person. I'd recommend doing this tour over other tours just because the pubs we stopped at were prepared for a group of about 15 AND we got to keep a glass at the end of the tour. I gave mine to a couple on the tour to round out a collection. Plus, I wasn't sure how I'd get it home without breaking it.


During my visit I ate at the following locations and definitely recommend them to you.

Sanseveria (Brugge) Bagel Salon. Delicious bagels to choose from at breakfast or lunch. Their tea menu was adorable. They also have a chocolate cake that is to die for. I'm drooling just thinking about it. Book a reservation if you want to visit this place. It's small and fills up QUICK. I'm glad I made a reservation. Otherwise, I'd have waited almost a house for a seat for one... would have been worth it.








Ribs 'n Beer for all you can eat ribs (I had a steak because the ribs are pork).

De Vlaamsche Pot for the BEST Flemish stew. Because I went before the Christmas holiday, it was decorated for the holiday. Super cozy atmosphere and the service was nice.

Hands down one of favorite solo trips I've ever taken. I can't wait to go back and take the husband.  If you get the opportunity to go to Brugge I say take it. You might think it's just a sleepy little town without much to do, but if you look there's plenty to keep you busy and your tummy full.

Cheers.

Must be: able to roll with the punches

Hello friends, from somewhere in the while blue yonder above Europe.

Our Dog Whisperer Sitter

We're currently in route to Iceland for the Christmas holiday. Shout out to our AMAZING house and dog sitter. It's sure to be a busy holiday for sure, but a good one. We've been excited about this for sometime (okay since booking in June).

Why must we roll with the punches, you ask?!
Because when you check in at the airport and they ask that you check your carry on baggage (an Osprey Farview travel bag/backpack) instead of carrying it on... and you do leaving yourself with just your equipment bag of breakable gear... You think, alright, my luggage is probably going to get lost or damaged. Standard operating procedure for this realist... aka pessimist. I just generally assume that my bag will be lost and typically have a few essential items in my carry on. Paradox much?

Anyway... we checked our carry on bags and made our way to security and passport control to wait at our gate. Wait...Wait... Wait... Call for boarding...Then the voice of the speakers announces (in German first) that security was unable to properly scan any checked luggage. The German speaker's faces dropped and many made negative comments. Then came the same announcement in English. That's right ladies and gents, an ENTIRE flight will arrive in ICELAND without luggage. Many in the group we're traveling with packed their warm coats (myself included) in their checked luggage.

I just have to laugh. Honestly, I'm not entirely upset about not having my belongings... for the time being. My story and tone are likely to change by morning when I want to shower and put on clean under garments. It's unknown if anyone will be compensated for this inconvenience. I won't hold my breath. 

Typically, I would be completely outraged by this situation and my anxiety through the roof in full blown attack mode. But I think I find solace that this happened to EVERYONE, not just me. We can all commiserate together. There's company in misery, right?!. A few on the group and I have decided if we don't have our jackets by morning, we'll just sit in the hotel bar and drink while the "warm ones" walk about the city. Regardless, we'll figure something out.

Anyway, That's all I've got for now.

Must be: dealing in absolutes

Greetings Must be: Readers.

Those of you that really know in real life/in person know that I'm usually a person that deals in absolutes. Hence the blog title of "Must be."  A gray world isn't a world that I'm comfortable living in or dealing.  It's black or it's white when it comes to expectations in my world. With that being said, I'm well aware that the world doesn't revolve in absolutes, except in maths. I'm capable of being flexible and patient when it's necessary. But most of the time I deal in absolutes. That's why I'm rarely ever late or why if I have expectations of something and it goes wrong I get upset. But I try every day to be more patient and accepting of the gray areas in life.

I kind of see being an absolute kind of person as my morale gage. As though, there's not room for negative behavior or toxic people in my life. But sometimes, people faulter and I need to give them room to grow/change... or my perception to change.  All in all... it's kind of a gray area. AHH. It's a paradox.

We went to Valkenburg, Netherlands last weekend... look out for a post on travel reviews. Until then... I'm going to bake some cookies.
Cheers.