Belgium

My mom and I flew into Brussels and then hopped on the first train that we encountered that was heading to Bruges; apparently we chose the slowest commuter train possible. The trip was nice but we didn't arrive at the hotel until around 10pm.

I made a quick run to a nearby kebab restaurant and brought dinner back to the hotel. As it turns out, a couple of feathers in your chicken kebab is all it takes to make a mother vow to never eat kebab again.

Bruges really is a very pretty city. There is a reason why it's sometimes referred to as "The Venice of the North."

Pro tip: come here and take this photo early in your visit and then put your camera away and spend the rest of your time drinking beer here.

We really enjoyed our three nights in Bruges. Our hotel was located on Burg Square so we didn't have to walk very far to see anything and we were surrounded by beer, waffles, and french fries. My mom really enjoyed shopping for souvenirs and I managed to find a couple of these.

On Wednesday morning we found a proper train to Brussels (more than twice as fast as the first train) and checked into the hotel a few hours before we expected Becca to arrive. My mom was pretty worn out so we left her in the hotel and Becca and I explored the city. We only had one full day in Brussels and that day was a holiday (May 1st) so the public transportation was only partially running; thankfully, taxis are quite cheap in Brussels.

My idea was to have breakfast at a beer bar. Stinky, French cheese and sour, spontaneously fermented beer (mmm, fruity with a hint of vomit!) are both horrible breakfast ideas. The girls survived.

The Delerium Cafe is a great place to get a beer and use the toilet if you are wandering around downtown Brussels. Unfortunately, after 5pm it's intolerable due to the hordes of 13 year old kids getting drunk.

I have literally worn one of these CBS shirts in every country that we have visited since the 2012 National Homebrewers Conference. It seemed especially comfortable in Belgium for some reason.

Brussels felt very much like an inexpensive version of some random neighborhood in Paris. Our bags were filled with chocolate and beer when we boarded the Eurostar train for London.