A Well Kept Man

Aside from the beer, there was much more about Bruges that beckoned me for a visit. I have only recently become acquainted with Bruges through a film (a rather dark film, not really a family movie...I'll let you figure out the title on your own, but it has Bruges in the name) and as a result of the scenery of the movie I opted to visit. As a part of my hotel package, I received a coupon voucher book which granted me a free guided tour of the city which lasted for a little more than two hours. The only awkward part of the tour was the fact that Bruges has lots of dark alleys and alcoves where one could commit mischievous acts seemingly without notice, which normally wouldn't present a huge problem as most tours involve large groups of people.

I was told there would be at least twenty people on the tour, and there were; but the tour guides split the group up by language to facilitate a more engaging conversation. As my tour choices were Flemish (or Dutch), English, or French, I opted for the English guide as two hours of French would most likely cause me to miss something important. As a result of my selfish language choice, I was paired with the tour guide who spoke the best English and we were off (yes, just me and the 60 year old woman, which one would picture if forced to describe a librarian). This is what made the tour awkward...I felt self-conscious the whole time that this woman probably thought I was going to push her into a canal or steal her purse filled with Belgian chocolates (it was a chocolate tour).

After I assured her that I was completely rehabilitated from my recent troubles with the Swiss Border Patrol, we began our tour of the sites of Bruges. Don't pay much attention to the time of day in the photographs as they obviously were not all taken during the tour.

Bruges is/was a significant economic center in its height due to the port and canals that run through the city. Much of the cocoa that was brought back from the Americas and Africa came through Bruges (and was even used as currency), and Bruges served as an international currency market exchange of sorts (my tour guide claimed that Bruges actually means "purse," or "bag" similar to the Spanish word "bolso" or "bolsa." She also indicated that many other countries stock exchanges have names stemming from "Bruges." Wikipedia and other sources seem to support this theory, although I am guessing that Bruges is just the most organized place to claim the stock exchange origin story...) Anyway, the city reminds me of Venice and Amsterdam, as the canals run throughout the city providing ample spots to stop and take pictures.

The main square used to have a canal running directly adjacent to it until a few hundred years ago. In the main square is the Belfry, a bell-tower that plays different musical tunes every 15 minutes. You can climb up the inside (all 366 steps, most of the way was very narrow) to the top of the 83 meter tower (about 270 feet, or if you figure 10 feet per story, about 27 stories), which I did for some spectacular views. I recommend the climb (if you are in shape), but be mindful of the time so you aren't in the Belfry when "O Danny Boy" starts playing (I think my ears are still reverberating)! Back down in the main square are many medieval buildings (mostly shops, pubs, or restaurants) which are very fairytale-like in appearance. All of the streets in Bruges are made of cobblestone, which adds to the ambiance.

Bruges managed to escape destruction from World War I, so many of it's buildings date back to the 16th and 17th century (if not earlier). This city did not appear to be short of churches either. Apparently the Belgians were/are very Catholic so I was able to see many unique cathedrals. I chose not to go into the Basillica of the Holy Blood (which contains a vial of Jesus Christ's alleged coagulated blood on a piece of cloth...). One of the bigger cathedrals contained an original sculpture by Michelangelo, purportedly his only work to make it out of Italy during his lifetime. It now sits on the tomb of the rich man and his family inside of the cathedral. There is also a small area where the Beguines lived, a small group of lay religious women in the Catholic church. They lived a life similar to nuns, although they spent most of their time making lace and things like rosaries to help support the church, in addition to praying and providing support for one another (albeit in a less strict environment than in other abbeys).

Bruges is a lovely town which deserves at least a couple days to fully appreciate all it has to offer.

It would have been nice to visit in warmer weather to partake in a canal cruise, as well as with someone else to have someone to talk with :( The food in this part of Europe is very satisfying, but then again how can one go wrong with a whole mess of French fries with mayonnaise washed down with a cold Belgian ale???

A few weeks ago we ventured back to the small town of Château D'Œx for the 31st International Festival of Balloons. The town is about an hour drive from our apartment, and is nestled in the pre-Alps. Our excitement peaked as we passed into the valley where the balloons were taking off. After parking, we quickly made our way into the area where the balloons were being inflated...it was amazing to see the myriad of colors and types of balloons, and in some cases, shapes.

There was a hen, rooster, turtle, and even a Scotsman (who never really inflated...too much air for the bagpipes I guess). As you can tell it was a sunny day, and we enjoyed it by sitting on a ledge of the town's main church on the hill. We packed our lunch (per usual) and watched as the many different balloons passed overhead. The festival lasted for a week, with various activities and contests such as balloon races, aerial demonstrations, passenger flights, and balloon chases.

This event reminded me of the Battle Creek, Michigan Balloon Festival, although one could argue this one in the Alps was a bit more picturesque due to the snow covered peaks and Alpine chalets (although the Tony the Tiger balloon does go a long way to making a close contest). I counted about forty different hot air balloons, although the program indicated more than fifty balloons. In the main launch area we saw many balloons fail to take off as the day progressed, most likely due to increasing winds that seemed to change the balloons direction during the day.

At one point sky-divers leaped from balloons and performed aerial acrobatics while parachuting back to Earth. I think you have to be a little bit nuts to jump out of anything that high in the air, but they compounded their craziness with purposely spinning themselves around and performing circus-like maneuvers. The event was a very relaxing one, as we just enjoyed the beautiful scenery and allowed our minds to float up into the sky with the balloons....

This is part two in a series of getting my wife off of my back...she seems to think this blog is some sort of diary (do I look like a fourteen year-old girl writing my personal thoughts about the cute boy in science class? Don't answer that...). Anyway, after leaving Barcelona I boarded the high speed train which was much more exciting than it should have been (I am a train dork...I love 'em, always have). The train reached a top speed of 300 km/hr (that's faster than I can run, honest!) which only caused me to get more geeky. I must admit though the weirdest part was watching the Spanish thriller movie about some weird mom who thinks she is being haunted by a ghost (thank goodness I know Spanish, otherwise the movie probably would have been lame, oh wait...it was anyway).

On to Madrid...I arrived in Spain's capital city and immediately set off to find my hotel which proved to be quite easy as it was near the train station (and even nearer the Scientology building in Madrid! I thought about going in to look for Tom Cruise, but decided I wouldn't be able to keep a straight face while listening to their spiel so I continued on to my hotel). I spent much of the next two days exploring all of the wonderful churches and museums of Madrid, while realizing how much colder it was than I expected. Thankfully there was enough sun during the day to keep my bird legs warm, and plenty of Spanish café con leche (that's coffee with milk for the Español challenged). I even managed to get caught up in a protest of sorts as marchers walked down the Gran Via (Main Street) with signs calling for some politician's arrest. It was quite fun!

The Prado was definitely one of the most moving experiences as I was able to see many of El Greco's works (a personal favorite) as well as many of the other Spanish masters. A stop at the Musem Reina Sofia allowed me to see the massive Guernica, one of Picasso's most poignant and thought provoking pieces (the painting itself is about 11 feet tall and 25 feet wide...you feel quite small while absorbing its many messages and motifs). Madrid is home to the Royal Palace, which I decided to leave for another visit as I was trying to avoid going inside on such a beautiful Spanish day (albeit a cold one).

As the strain of living in Europe was weighing on me, I opted for comfort food while in Madrid. While my lunches were more typical of a Spaniard (tapas or light sandwiches), my dinners were very much in line with what I would eat in America (although not North American in origin). The first dinner I had in Madrid was at a Mexican restaurant (guacamole, tacos, Mexican beer...just like home!), and for my second dinner (different night, promise) I ate at an Argentinian restaurant (steak, baked potato, empanadas, Argentine beer...I miss grilled food!). I decided these were acceptable "Spanish" meals as both cultures (Mexico & Argentina) speak Spanish, and have major influences as a result of the Spanish (even if the influences were a little forced)...so don't judge me. :)

Another highlight was the fountain/memorial to Miguel Cervantes, author of the famous Don Quixote (and his pal Sancho Panza). This story is a classic and I strongly encourage you to read it if you haven't...it will change the way you view the world (hehehe). That's me next to the man himself Don Quixote! As you can see from these pictures, I may or may not have decided to grow facial hair that week as I was without my wife, and thus without someone complaining about the way I looked. Unfortunately the facial hair saw its demise soon after Alli's arrival back in Switzerland, but it was nice to have as the weather in Spain was brutal and I forgot my scarf. Regardless, I thoroughly enjoyed my time in Spain as it was a place I always wanted to visit. I can't wait to get back and see more of Southern Spain, as well as maybe go back and see a few of the things I missed...

This is how our French lessons seem some evenings...it's like we're quibbling over nuances in words that will never be overcome no matter how hard we try.  I swear we Americans hear things differently, oh well.  At least from now on I'll be able to take Alli to a French restaurant and order in French...certainly this will make her fall head over heels for me!

In going through photos on my computer, I realized I didn't really blog much about my trip to Spain aside from some Christmas Market stories. I plan to write about both Barcelona and Madrid, so this post will focus on Barcelona. The highlight of my trip to Spain hands down is all of the architecture contributed by Antoni Gaudí, a Catalan who belonged to the Art Nouveau movement and whose many buildings and structures provide a glimpse into one of the most unique and surreal masters of this movement. Throughout the streets of Barcelona there are countless examples of his work, including the Casa Milà and Casa Batlló pictured at left and right (respectively). These two buildings are magnificent examples of his talent, as well as a testament to his crazy mind. They are so unlike any building I have ever seen in my life...very cool!

The other major contribution Gaudí made to Barcelona is the still unfinished La Sagrada Família temple which has been under construction since 1882 (it should be done sometime in the next twenty years, so make your travel arrangements accordingly). It is truly a unique structure of which I have never seen an equal. The church retains many aspects of Gothic architecture but with a twist that makes you wonder just what kind of sauce this guy put on his paella. The colors he used in the stain glass are bright and vibrant, which is very much at odds with many of the European churches I have seen in the last several months. The statues on the outside facades as well are so unique to what you would expect in a church. They are much more modern and powerful in terms of the images they convey. This megalithic church definitely stands out against all of the others...

His final work I saw was the Park Güell, a garden of sorts with little fairy tale houses and mosaic tile benches. The park has different areas; one is the two houses near the entrance which make you feel like you are entering some sort of magical land, another is a wide open area which looks and feels like it should contain a market or performance stage depending on the day. There are also unique walkways and bird nests, a dragon sculpture, and tiled mosaics on the ceilings. It was a great place to just sit and rest my legs from all of the walking and sightseeing.

Speaking of walking, every day I easily walked three to four miles exploring the various parts of the city. I managed to trek all the way up to the top of the hill where the 1992 Summer Olympics were held to check out the facilities and Olympic torch. From this vantage point I was able to see the entire city laid out before me which was quite the view. I also walked along the boardwalk to the beach which has since eroded due to storms this winter. Barcelona built this beach for the Olympics, but unfortunately it no longer exists (or so I am told). There are many lovely places to eat along the coastline, many with three or four course meals for a decent price (15-25 euros).

My final exciting adventure was the weekly market just off La Rambla which I was fortunate enough to experience before getting on a train to Madrid. Each vendor was packed with every food stuff you could possibly imagine...fish, meats, fruits, vegetables, drinks, offal, nuts, candy, breads, the list could go on and on if I was more specific but I wouldn't want to bore you. I bought some fresh fruit and a fruit drink to enjoy as I meandered among the various stalls. My favorites were the fishmongers, where the crabs, lobsters, and other crustaceans were still moving...as well as the piles of fish I have never seen before. The air was ripe with the smell of seawater and the smell of fresh fish in this area, while the other parts of the market smelled of dried hams and fresh fruits. If you would like to see all of the pictures, click here to go and see them on Flickr! (I seem to be running out of room to put pictures on this page...)

In December, Alli and I spent a weekend up in Germany with our neighbors Katie and Tom from Minneapolis. Since they were able to come visit us in Switzerland we thought we'd repay the favor and go to Germany. Tom is a dentist who is on a one-year contract with the Army to do dentist things for our troops (he is part of the movement to rid our nation's finest mouths of harmful terrorist tartar, plaque, and the dreaded gum disease gingivitis). They live in a town called Rattlesdorf (at least for the next few weeks until they move into their new digs in Bamberg) in an upstairs apartment of an elderly German couple. We spent the weekend with them visiting some nearby sites, visiting Christmas markets, and drinking glühwein (a spiced German red wine that is hot and delicious!).

Our first night in town we wandered around downtown Bamberg, a beautiful town which houses nine breweries, one of which makes the famous Rauchbier which I strongly encourage you not to drink (it is smoked beer, which for those wanting to know what that means, imagine drinking a beer that tastes like someone stuck a smoked sausage in it for about a month, and then took it out prior to you drinking it. Unless you are really into smoked flavoring, especially of beverages, your stomach will thank you for avoiding it. I did try it as they sent me home with a bottle of the Aecht Schlenkerla Rauchbier, but unfortunately it was so strongly flavored I barely made it half-way through the bottle before deciding I had enough). We ate a lovely restaurant in town which Tom & Katie call Feathers although it has a name that nobody in our group seems to remember (you can probably guess from the picture above right why they call it what they do..if you can't because the picture is too busy...there are feathers hanging from the ceiling).

The next day we drove to some nearby sites including Banz Abbey (Bad Staffelstein), Schloss Coburg (Coburg), and spent the evening at the Nürnberg (Nuremburg) Christmas Market. The Banz Abbey is of Baroque design, and we were able to go into the main chapel briefly for pictures (this was not normal we were told) before deciding to scurry away to go play in the forest. The entire area surrounding the abbey had recently been covered with snow so the four of us went for a walk, which provided some amazing scenery. After deciding we needed to head for warmth, we drove up to the Veste Coburg for some lunch and tour of the facilities. Martin Luther hid out in this massive fortress around 1530 while the Catholic church was trying to figure out how to get rid of him. This place was so big that I think even if they wanted to try and find him in the castle, it would have taken them months to corner him...I spent most of my time trying to take pictures incognito as I was under the impression photography wasn't allowed, although it was...so I felt kind of dumb when I realized it. The castle had room after room of old furniture, glass, weapons, sleds, carvings, art, etc., and it was truly worth us all pretending to be a family so we could get the family discount and save 20 Euro (yes, Alli and I pretended to be their kids...which meant no smooching or hand-holding while in the castle, although I was allowed to annoy her and call her names).

The Christmas Market in Nürnberg was a mob scene, easily a fire hazard waiting to happen. It was nearly impossible to walk up and down the rows of booths without getting frisked (unintentionally) by someone. The highlight was definitely just sharing a hot glühwein with Katie and Tom while enjoying the crisp December evening. On the way up we also stopped at the Stuttgart Christmas Market, which appeared to be quite fun. Although we only stayed for a short time, it was worth the stop just to see how Alli's sister's special friend (that's old people talk for boyfriend) spends his December nights (he likes near Stuttgart, so we thought we'd surprise him just to make sure he was behaving himself...except we didn't call him, and Stuttgart is big, so we didn't see him, and we don't speak German so we couldn't ask people if they had seen him. Maybe next time we will plan ahead...)

For those that are wondering (especially my Colorado readers), I managed to sample four different Belgian beers while in Belgium, and brought back an additional nine for further "research." As I have only consumed five beers so far, I can only provide my opinion on those which I tasted. Needless to say the Belgian beers have quickly risen to the top of my international favorite beer list, leaving the Swiss competitors at the starting line. While the German beers will continue to be a mainstay, the world of Belgian brewing has opened my eyes to the wonders of pious men and their saintly craft.

The second beer comes from the only remaining brewer in Bruges, the Brouwerij De Halve maan (or the Half-Moon Brewery in English). I decided to take a tour of the brewery (which included a sample at the tour's finish), as well as have lunch in the brewery's cafe (with a beer, of course). For both the tour and lunch, I had a Brugse Zot, which is a more golden blonde pale ale with a nice finish reminding me of fruits such as green grapes and melon, with a spice finish (clove or coriander maybe). The brewery only filters the beer that goes out to the stores and shops, leaving the beer at the source unfiltered...which I think makes for a better experience. Definitely a great beer to have with a meal!

Beer number three was a pre-dinner beer in a Bruges pub named Leffe Blonde. Leffe is one of the easier to find Belgian beers and most likely you will be able to find it at a well stocked store near you. This ale had a nice quality that made it drinkable (much like a table wine) and enjoyed with bar snacks. It was a golden blonde with a more amber color than the others. As Leffe is one of the largest breweries in Belgium, the beer definitely had a controlled flavor which I guess is to ensure that each beer tastes the same (i.e. no variation from beer to beer). I will definitely look for this when I am back in the States instead of the usual Stella Artois I have look for when yearning for a Belgian ale.

The fourth beer complemented my Grandma's Style Rabbit Dinner on my last night in Bruges (rabbit is my new favorite meal). The beer, Tongerlo Double Blonde, is made by monks in the Tongerlo Abbey. This might have been my favorite of the draft beers I had while in Belgium. Like the Brugse Zot and Leffe Blonde, it is an ale with a fruity palate and spice finish, although the color was a deeper amber and the malt flavor was more pronounced than the Brugse Zot. It went very well with the rich onion sauce on the rabbit and french fries.

The fifth beer I consumed at our apartment in Switzerland is from the Orval Abbey. The Orval beer is a Trappist Ale (in the picture it is the third from the right), brewed by a Trappist monastery of which there are only seven remaining in the world that continue to brew beer (six of the seven are in Belgium, the other is in the Netherlands) out of the 171 Trappist orders. The beer in question is the Orval Trappist Ale, an extremely tasty ale that was dry yet fully flavored, much like a glass of champagne. It starts out with a nice hoppy flavor and transitions to a smooth, spice finish. If this can be found in the States, go for it. It is truly a great beer.