May 23rd
This morning we all woke up and had breakfast in the hotel. We leave early every day so as to maximize the value of each day. First we saw the gigantic Gothic church in Köln, which is rather famous and featured in quite a few movies. I climbed it with Liam and Nick for a couple Euros and it was worth it to get the view over the city. Afterwards we drove for a few hours to Brussels. We had a lunch break here for a few hours, so we got up to as much as we could. The Rathaus was a spectacle and I also found myself at the famous fountain of the little angel peeing (it's in a tiny corner, not advertised much at all). We popped in and out of shops, Belgium is famous for waffles, beer and fries. It ended up pretty much dumping rain on us for most of the time. I hid under a small awning with Mark, Emily D., Emily H., Parker, Shannon and Joel. We had a good time together before going back to the bus in the early afternoon. Another short ride on the bus took us to Bruges, where we spent the 2nd night. I love Bruges. It's considered the Venice of northern Europe because of all the little canals weaving through the city. The people are welcoming and chill, the food is good, the architecture antique and original, and the vibe itself is unique. We ate dinner at what seemed to be a local brewery before having some free time to see the night-time version of Belgium.