Beer, Beer, Beer

After a short drive from Aachen, we finally arrived at our last unique destination of the trip. We pulled up to our B&B just inside the old city, arguably our best lodging deal of the trip. It was far from fancy, but we had our own room, free parking (an incredible luxury after two months of parking pains), light breakfast in the morning, and a short walk to the main square. 

We went seeking food the first night, only to get our first taste of how bat crazy expensive Brugge is. Given we were at our last stop, money was tight. I mean tight. Had to eat at Subway tight. But this minor setback couldn't detract from the preserved medieval beauty down every stone street. I was sold. We wandered over small canals and found a tiny hole-in-the-wall bar, apparently a local joint judging by the looks we got when we walked in. This ended up being our most fortuitous decision. The owner/barkeep was cold at first, but opened up when he realized we we actually knew a little bit about beer. After an informative conversation and three extremely strong and extremely delicious beers, he handed us a book called Around Bruges in 80 Beers, which features his and many other establishments paired with the 80 best beers they offer. This became our bible. 

While food was shockingly expensive, beer was quite the opposite. We spent the next 3 days following our little map of bars and beers all over the city, occasionally stopping to refuel with street food. We saw corners of the city we probably never would have, beer tasted under windmills, befriended English beer connoisseurs and bartenders in an underground bar,  and learned that "have a few beers" is an American phrase not to be applied in Belgium on a half-full stomach. 

On our way out of town we stopped through Oostend on the northern coast, hence the beach walk photo, but unfortunately it wasn't much to talk about. Brugge was a perfect way to end our epic journey. We spent all of our three days there just enjoying their true local culture away from the crowded tourist spots and main squares. I was in awe of everything about this place, and in the end it gave every other place we'd been a run for its money.