Bruges, Belgium

I took a day trip from Amsterdam to Bruges over the Queen's Day weekend, mainly to see this very popular tourist destination in Europe, and also to avoid the riot that engulfed the Dutch city. Bruges is small enough to go everywhere by foot as long as one is shod in sensible footwear. It is very well-preserved with architecture going back to the 14th and 15th centuries. Because of this, Bruges is well-visited, mainly by Europeans, which resulted in tourist prices everywhere. I had my best lunch during my 10-day stay in Amsterdam at well, not Amsterdam, but Bruges. I wanted to try the seasonal (spring only) and highly-prized white asparagus, which the locals call "white gold", and ordered it done in the classic Belgian way at a local restaurant. The thick white asparagus were steamed, drizzled in extra virgin olive oil, and paired with mashed hard-boiled egg tossed in melted butter and chopped basil leaves. That was the best asparagus ever - soft yet still slightly crunchy and juicily sweet. It cost me 14.95 euros for three sticks but they were worth every single cent. The mussels with white wine was also a dish I had been wanting to have, after my tasty experience with the French version. The mussels in white wine pot was good but overshadowed by that wonderful appetiser of white gold. On hindsight, I should have stayed one night at Bruges to thoroughly enjoy the small town, avoid having to rush for the unpredictable inter-city train, and of course wolf down a few more sticks of asparagus.

One note about the inter-city rail was that the timetables were never always adhered to, causing some trouble for passengers, especially non-Dutch, non-Flemish and non-French speaking folks, like me. A 4-hour train ride could turn into a 6-hour train ride because the rail company decided to drop everyone off at border station on Dutch land, requesting passengers to wait for the next train at another platform, just so that repair works can be carried out on the tracks. And when confused passengers grabbed a train conductor to find out what was going on, the poor Belgian guy could only say "I don't know. I am Belgian. I don't know the Dutch system." I am not particularly impressed by the European way of running their train system.