We leave for Switzerland tomorrow at 7am by train. Should be fun. Bruges (Brugges, Burgse, etc) was wonderful. We still have some lingering effects of the colds we got though. Alas, we’ll cough our way to Switzerland and see if some alpine terrain is good for our throats.
We decided to head straight to Bruges. We weren’t sure if the timing would work out for us to check out the Rhine river cruise, and there were just a bunch of unknowns there. So, we decided to head straight up to Bruges. The train ride took approximately 5.5 hours and was generally really fun. We napped a bit and I listened to podcasts and an audiobook on the trusty iPod.
So then, now we are in Bruges. The first thing you might like to know about this crazy town is that there are about a baker’s dozen different ways to spell the name of this town. Bruges, Brugge, Brugges, etc. It seems everywhere I look I see a new spelling.
We are staying at a cute little hotel called Hotel Passage. One of my favorite things about this place is the super cool Bar/Cafe they have on the first level. Decent prices, super classy, quirky atmosphere and a lengthy beer list (Germany was surprisingly disappointing in this department). Also, as a guest, if you get dinner there you get a free beer (unfortunately it’s the same beer each night, so …
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As the snow falls outside (yay!), we start packing up our stuff to leave the Heidelberg area. Tomorrow, we plan on turning in our rental car, and hopping on a train. Not sure yet where all we’ll go tomorrow. Maybe a boat trip on the Rhine and a B&B in a little town, maybe just hightailing it to Bruges. We’ll see. Also, a few housekeeping things: I have no idea what access I’ll have to the internet once we leave our lovely free high-speed internet here at Mark and Kathy’s. So, if you dont hear from me for a week or two, that’s why. Also, this post comes on the tails of another one from our lovely guest author, Aaron. So make sure you see that one. Now, onto the actual post!
So, since we’re leaving Germany soon, ever since I got to Germany I’ve wanted to tell you some of my observations of things that are different between Germany and America.
This Article was written by Aaron Orr, Watchtan’s part-time contributer.
I was perusing the Kuwait Times (a daily English language newspaper) today and as I flipped toward the back to see what kind of oddities the Kuwaitis might be hocking in their classifieds I found something that floored me.
After the standard fare of used computers and a few miscellaneous items I found a section just below the ‘91 Chevy Caprice entitled “Matrimonial.”
An ad said, and I swear I am not making this up, “Orthodox parents invite proposals for their daughter, [age] 25/152 [centimeters], post-graduate engineer working in Kuwait, from parents of post-graduate engineers, doctors or chartered accountants below 30 years. Interested may contact:” and a yahoo email address.
There were 9 such ads in this paper. This modern version of the centuries-old practice of trading camels and sheep for virgins is insane. It completely boggles my mind that people in this modern age, in this very modern and wealthy country place classifieds pitching their daughters to strangers and the world at large.
At the same time, this Muslim nation continues to keep laws on …
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We went on a nice walk right out the door of Brad and Laurel’s house down through this lovely valley in the countryside. We saw a cool shaggy horse on this walk.
We’re all but fully recovered from being sick and looking forward to monday when we cut loose from work stuff and move onto the rest of our trip. We’re not totally sure whether or not we’ll head straight to belgium or maybe stay at a town somewhere along the Rhine. Time will tell. Any suggestions?
As we recovered from our colds (yes, Anna got it too, and we’re still recovering), we ventured outside our bedroom and went to visit a nearby castle. This is castle Fraunburg, built circa 1320.
I caught a cold that laid me down for the count yesterday. Today I feel somewhat better, but still sick. Yuck. It’s a lousy way to travel.
We’ve successfully made it to Germany after a 9 hour flight and a severe messing up of our internal clocks.
Also, we rented a car and are about to head out on our first experience of the autobahn.
Be Good Not Bad is all about really good web design, based on the utmost respect for web standards, accessibility and respect for the user. Based in Denver, Colorado, Be Good Not Bad is run by Brian Warren, freelance designer, blogger, homebrewer and coffee nut.