How the World Works...

So, here's an ironic story for you. I was given an e-mail address by the school I am attending and told that I HAD to check it everyday. Here's the kicker... Everything they have sent me is in Dutch. Go figure...

On a related/ but strange side note...

I had my first paid toilet experience the other day. Wandering around Brugge looking for a public restroom is not a fun feat because public restrooms here are a rarity. To use the restroom at a restaurant or cafe you have to buy something and to use a public one in certain areas you have to pay. It's a good thing I had change on me. The first one cost me 0.50 euros (so almost $1.00). The second time it was only 0.30 euros. I'm over it now, but to say I wasn't angry when this first happend is a big fat lie. You'd like to think there is nothing worse than a giant line to get into the restroom when you really need to go. Unfortunately, there is, not only do you have to wait an additional 5 minutes but you have pay.

Also, some of their restrooms here are what I like to call "co-ed". This is equally annoying. You walk in the same door and to the right there is mens and on the other side womens. But if you really wanted to look in you could. Sometimes you even have a shared sink area. Now, I'm not really opposed to sharing the sink with boys but it really is nice to have your own. It just feels weird otherwise.

Adding to the confusion is when the signs are written in another language without the little men/women picture. You know your supposed to pick a door but you don't want to pick the wrong one because bad things can happen. Thankfully, I've been able to just follow someone else in when this has happened so far.

Brugge Boat Tour Clip

Here's a two minute video clip taken on the boat tour. I'm thinking I don't have a career in the movie making industry any time soon, but if you like architecture...it's pretty neat.


You can check it out at:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OsVBD8856wU
 
 
(If your reading this right after it has been posted...it might not show up yet. I'm still encountering some technical difficulties with this. Thanks.)

Pictures from Brugge...

I was able to visit the city of Brugge today! It is absolutely stunning. I'm posting my pictures from the trip down below and, if I can figure out how, a short clip from the boat ride we took through the city's canals. :)

A few pictures that are of paticular interests are those involving Michaelangelo's Madonna and Child. Yes, I got to see it! Anyways, hope you enjoy and you can click on the picture if you want to make it larger!

Check out all the bikes at the train station...

Canal at Brugge

Panoromic View...

The fanciest hot chocolate I've ever seen! It came with four china pieces and a silver tray!

Madonna and Child is in the Center

Yummo!

So the stereotype about Belgian Waffles is true. They are absolutely amazing! However, what you might not know is that there are two kinds. I am hoping to learn to make both. Although, this is exceptionally hard because buying the materials and making these from scratch here is nearly impossible. Instead, I think I will find a few recipes online, in dutch, and have Anne translate them for me before I go home. Maybe I will even pick up a dutch cookbook.

This morning I went to a bakery to pick up some pastries for the next few days. One of the things I tried was Raisin Brioche. AMAZING!!!! I ate mine cold but I'm sure it would test 100% better fresh out of the oven.

It looks like this:

If you would like the recipe check out this page...

http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMrnBi9fzlV2JwmBWRjg86ZQh29D2NzfOeB6BS8cNl56Tn2UiT_fWbGeBqPJHLi98BKpI3TdBSEh-wFaz9F9IQRzq7zGvrm80vNM6Hm-bqUEz193KbwC_j9MZ19D8T_mb7jXasrEce3CKy/s400/Food+379.jpg&imgrefurl=http://mzkitchen.com/%3Fcat%3D21&usg=__g5q6lIG0ZZadHxsummQgGBommUc=&h=326&w=400&sz=33&hl=en&start=17&um=1&tbnid=Y0fBmtqPYDgZaM:&tbnh=101&tbnw=124&prev=/images%3Fq%3Draisin%2Bbrioche%26hl%3Den%26rls%3Dcom.microsoft:en-US%26um%3D1.

It looks like a lot of work though and I am not sure how her recipe will turn out. I can tell you that the one I had was well worth the effort. So if anyone tries this, let me know!!!

The Japanese Garden

We visited the Japanese Garden today which was built in 1985 as an agreement of friendship between the cities of Itami (Japan) and Hasselt. It's aim is to create a lasting symbolic presence of the respective cultures in the two syster towns.

This cost 4 Euros to get into with our student ID and it is only a 5 min walk from my dorm.