Brugge

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	On Monday, July 21, 2008... I woke up with a head cold but I refused to let a cold keep me from exploring Brugge. After all we are talking Handmade Bobbin Lace, Belgium Chocolate and of course Belgium Waffles not to mention the churches, museums, etc. that we wanted to see.
It was cold and raining most of the day but we found winter raincoats for sale that we wore over our lightweight jackets. If you are ever in Belgium... Chocolatiers make wonderful hot coco!		Entrance to the Berg (Town Square)



		We both enjoyed Brugge… the town, the people, the shops, and the sights but called it an early night as it was a national holiday and many things were closing at 5 PM. We thought about staying for the party in the Berg but since, it was raining, I did not feel well, and there was a castle to explore... we decided on dinner and a cab back to the castle.
Even so we got to see the party in the Berg after all...
	The cab driver was not paying attention and drove directly into the Berg. There were bands, and food carts all set up and the Berg was packed. Surprisingly we got half way through the crowd before we came to a stop. The police came over and the taxi driver argued with them. We could not turn around and we could not drive forward. We were literally in a sea of people. Eventually they moved things so that we could continue through the town square and out the other side. If only I had taken a picture! In Brugge, the streets are full of people on foot, bicycles, buses, cars, and horse drawn carriages everyday. Most of the streets are only wide enough for one-way traffic but they are two-way streets. The drivers just pull up on the sidewalk as needed to get around obstacles. These people have places to go and appear immune to the fact that they may run someone over. Once our driver was through the crowd in the Berg, we noticed we were going 80-kph in a 30-kph zone around people and cars as if it were part of the normal everyday life. We knew that all day long, tour busses and cars came around corners at what seemed to us like lightning speeds and just about every shop had a speed limit sign in their window. Life is very different there and we were glad to make it safely back to the castle where we could do some more exploring. We also killed a bottle of Champaign and I slept really well that night which is rare when I travel.
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