Firstly, let me apologize for the lack of posts in the last week. We have been adjusting to traveling and we rarely have wi-fi. Never the less, I want to become very regular in posting as to keep viewers like you happy. Let me start off the conversation by giving you all a background story into our travels, as you have only seen our posts about Paris, France.

After we left Paris on the 7th, we enjoyed an almost impossibly good stay in Amsterdam where we lived in a luxurious house boat on one of the canals. We were in a Jewish district right down the street from the Anne Frank museum, and across the canal was a bar established in the 1600’s. Our boat had no wi-fi but of course, we were able to handle it (first world problems, you know :P). Aside from that, the city was one of the most glorious I have ever been to. They had many Indian restaurants which were a pleasure, and their adorable clothing shops were scattered about the city. In complete truth, I liked Amsterdam many times better than Paris because it was less large and looming, if you know what I mean. In a certain sense, Paris almost made you have high anxiety over trying to see every monument and museum, when really, it’s much more enjoyable to take it easy. Amsterdam is only hectic in the sense that you are hearing ambulances every minute and worrying that you are going to run into a bicycle every minute of the day. I promise, you will become alert and accustomed to it. On the other hand, Amsterdam is so well preserved. It is almost exactly the same as it was in the 1600’s if you forget the cars and a few modern buildings. I loved the old, beautiful feeling you get there. The best thing, really was their stroopwaffles. Yes. They are small Dutch cookies made in the same grid pattern as waffles, but with a thin layer of caramel between them. They can be found everywhere throughout the Netherlands, and in most places, for quite cheap, maybe a euro and fifty cents. I definitely enjoyed tasting the differences in the stroopwaffles. They taste slightly different in each place you get them, but all varieties are good.

After we headed out of Amsterdam, we scam camped outside of Camp Zeeburg, which was an interesting experience. We now have a huge RV, which is not what we bargained for. If you read of my earlier posts, you will know that we originally decided to pick up a small Marco Polo camper van. Unfortunately, it was wrecked by the previous renters the morning Dad went to Dusseldorf to pick it up. So, for now, we have this obnoxious RV that is impossible to park around a city, or even to park to scam camp. Back to the point, after we left the Camp Zeeburg area, we took a short and beautiful drive to the little town of Egmond Aan Zee, where my dad stayed as a small child. From what he knew, it was a beautiful town with a treacherous sea, so he was surprised to see the beach speckled with people on holiday as far as the eye could see in both directions. After that, we decided to try out swimming in the ocean. I was skeptical at first. “How much fun could the North Sea actually be?”, I thought. As it turns out, pretty fun. At first the water was cold, but as I progressed into the waves, it became pleasantly warm. It was a safe and shallow beach, and I could see why everyone chose to come there. I invited everyone in, and we had a splendid time splashing about in the waves, and swimming out further to wave at a passing boat or two. That is my best memory from this trip so far.

Later in the day, we drove in the dark cobblestone roads in the countryside, searching for a place to scam camp. At about 11:00 PM, we did find a place. We set up our beds and went to sleep, dreaming of oceans and stroopwaffles. In the morning, we got up quickly and drove down to Den Haag. One of the best things about the Netherlands is that it is so incredibly easy to drive from place to place. So easy that we were able to reach our destination within 2 and a half hours of waking up (including an hour-long stop at McDonald’s for their free wi-fi). Once we arrived in Den Haag, we had trouble parking, seeing as we are driving a massive RV, but we we’re able to manage, and got into the M.C. Escher museum very quickly. One thing you must know is that this museum, despite it’s size it can be compared to the Louvre. After visiting the museum, Escher is my favorite artist of all time. What fascinates me is his use of illusions, playing tricks on the viewer’s perception. M.C. Escher wasn’t a mathematician, but he was able to observe the patterns of the natural world, and use them to his advantage to create a puzzling work of art never seen before by modern artists. I am an artist still developing my style, but I am drawn to the art of M.C. Escher, and like him, I want to create something new and visionary.

Later in the day, after visiting Den Haag, we took a nice, long drive into Belgium. If one thing is for sure, I have fallen in love with Belgium. From its countrysides, to its medieval cities, Belgium is heaven on earth. Right now, I am in a campground right outside of Brugge. The weather since 6:30 PM has been windy and stormy with rain flying sideways, and booms of thunder echoing through the city, but earlier, the weather was sunny and sweaty, and overall reminiscent of the summer it is. It was a perfect time for our bicycle tour.

The bus that picked us up was very expensive. We got on outside of a tall church in the center of the tiny town, and thanks to a boy my age standing nearby, we were able to sort the situation out. We wanted to reach Bern Square, and the bus driver told us he would let us off when we got there, but there was some confusion along the way. We were let off at the bus stop near a large square, which we assumed was Bern Square, but after a while, our tour didn’t show, so we made the decision to ask a man holding a map to direct us there. He told us that we were in the market square and that the Bern Square was down the street, so the chase began. We dashed around people down a cobblestone street until we reached something that looked like our destination. The directions said to meet the group at the city hall, which has been in operation side the 1400’s. Unfortunately, we were stupid enough to assume that the building that said court was the city hall, although the real city hall did look quite like a church. To make a long story short, we ended up missing our bicycle tour and having to take a much smaller one that took you out into the Belgian countryside, which was very nice. We met our tour outside of the city hall, and proceeded to claim our bicycles.

The tour consisted of our tour guide and two friends, one an accountant, and one an nurse, from Great Britain. We first rode through the city, which is a gorgeous medieval fortress, but we didn’t stay long. Most of the tour was in the glorious countryside. We first visited a canal on the edge of the city. It was originally built to go out to the ocean, but the construction was not finished, and it only goes up to the border of the Netherlands. Our guide told us about the history of the canal and it’s association with Napoleon. We were, luckily, very free to ride at our own pace, and Brugge transitions into the countryside very quickly. We rode down a small, paved path on one side of the canal. I can see where many of the famous European painters got their inspiration from. The trees lined the path in perfect rows, and the light reflected on the leaves in a sparkling manner. I remember some of the paintings in the Louvre, and I can see a clear resemblance between the trees depicted in the paintings, and the trees in Belgium. After a short ride, we reached a windmill on our right. It is an old building, but still in operation on the weekends. It was used to make grain during the middle ages. During that time Brugge was one of the top trading cities in all of Europe. One interesting fact is that the area was flooded, which allowed boats to come in from the sea, and therefore was one of the most ideal trading centers.

We got a few photos on a bridge we crossed. On the other side was a small medieval town of Damme. It’s name comes from the dams that were built around it in the time of the flood to keep water from entering the town. When we crossed over into a small square where a market is held, our guide pointed out the multiple flags flying above the area. One of the flags displayed a lean, black dog, and throughout the square we saw symbols of the same dog. It was revealed to us that there is a legend that is known throughout the town relating to the hero, the black dog. During the time of the flood, many holes were appearing in the dam. The builders could not keep up with holes, and it was proving to be a terrible problem for the people of Damme. One day, the builders saw a black dog that no one had seen before in the town, and as the people of Belgium were quite superstitious, they believed that the black dog was their savior. One man noticed that the shape of the biggest hole was similar to the shape of the dog, and so they used it as a mold to fill the dam. Now, centuries later, the legend of the black dog still remains, and it is a clear symbol of their history and culture.

Let’s skip the middle of our day, and describe the beauty that we found outside of the towns and cities. Unfortunately, we didn’t get to snap too many photos of the Belgian countryside, but I think you will like what we did get. We rode in the perfect weather away from the town of Damme and towards the fortress of Brugge. Corn was planted on the left, and from the sides of the winding road you could see the cattle and the sheep grazing. The breeze’s soft touch pushed our bikes forward easily. It felt a lot later than it really was, and time passed slowly. That is one lovely thing about the countryside. I know I keep referring to artists, but yet again, I must mention one more of the masters. Van Gough wanted to paint poor workers in the field, and he wanted to paint the common and hard life of the farmers. I can see the essence of what he was trying to capture in his artwork. I did not truly understand what his motive was to paint such simple things, but when you travel, you can really see what he meant.

Thank you for reading our blog, and if you live in Eugene, hi, and I hope to see you soon! Travel is a marvelous way to learn and experience things! If you want to see more great pictures, follow me on Instagram: Sophia.Brauner. Thank you! Gracias!

P.S. Stay tuned over the next few days as we will be doing Paris Disneyland on Monday! Expect a post by me on Tuesday or Wednesday.