We had heard that Brugge was a pretty little town, just 5 hours away so we decided to check it out for Easter weekend. We just stayed one night, but managed to do everything we hoped, except get to the WWI or WWII areas. But, with the kids along, we decided it was more appropriate to take them to the beach. All in all, it was a good weekend, but I wish I'd seen this sign in a shop window a few hours sooner:
Sometime while we we wandering and shopping I got pickpocketed. I didn't have my "travel purse" because I had the dog bag. My wallet wasn't as deep in as it should have been because I was trying to hide a gift I bought Aidan way down low. I was probably preoccupied with the dog, kids, and map and therefore an easy target for someone to reach in and feel around for a wallet. Possibly, it was a team where one person stopped to pet the dog and distract me while the other reached in. The bummer is that I normally only travel with a change purse of basics, but this time I had my whole wallet with zoo passes, gift cards, and drivers licenses as well as a bit of cash and credit and debit cards! Thank God I didn't have passports in there! We have one credit card that only Jason carries so we aren't completely SOL. It's been fun contacting banking institutions in 3 countries though! I'll be spending Tuesday at the bank ordering new cards, at the police station filing a report, and waiting at the German equivalent of the DMV. The worst part is that the kids and I are going to visit friends in Vienna on Wednesday, and I'll have to go with out any plastic. Luckily, Jason's ATM card still works so I can take cash!
No one was hurt and I didn't even realize it happened until sometime later, so that's something to be thankful for. And the weather and atmosphere in Brugge was so beautiful it helped numb the pain. It's just Murphy's Law-in Spain, Italy or France, I'd expect to be surrounded by pickpockets so I carry a tiny travel safe purse. In Belguim,where we'll just be one night, I don't bother to downsize my bag thinking it's a safe little country. Oh well. Lesson learned.
Since Jason still had funds we went on sightseeing. Here is the Belfort or bell tower in the middle of town. We were going to climb it but the line was really long so we opted for the outside view only.
We did a boat canal ride which was a relaxing and fun way to see the city.
And since Belgium is famous for it's beer varieties, we had to stop at the Wall of Beer!
This was the time I realized my wallet was gone so we decided to head back to Markt Square for dinner. Here are all the kids waiting while we decided on where to eat
Besides beer, Belguim is known for their steamed mussels fresh from the sea and fries. Here's Jason's typical Belgium meal.
The next morning we wandered a bit more and made a photo stop along a canal.
Then of course had Belgian waffles for breakfast in front of the Burg!
The waffles were REALLY yummy!!
After checking all the boxes (chocolate, beer, fries, waffles, and mussels) we decided to say good-bye to Brugge and my wallet. We headed to the beach at Oostende since the weather was nearly 80 degrees and sunny. The beach was gorgeous and huge! It was crowded but not jammed. The kids had fun in the water and on the sand and Cinnamon is proving herself to be a good swimmer!
Chilling in the North Sea
A few notes about our pup. She rocks! So far, this dog is awesome. She rode in the car wonderfully. A friend of mine gave me a dog bag to carry her in, like a little suitcase with airholes. She stayed in it without any fuss the whole car ride! We stopped every few hours to walk her and feed her, but other than that she behaved better than the kids on the ride! She's not yet housebroken completely, so this was a true test for her. Then in town, she walked nicely on the leash until she got tired. Then she was content to ride in my tote bag and sleep, like this!
At restaurants, she laid under the table with her bone or food and water and didn't bother anyone. In fact, we almost forgot she was with us.
The big test was in the hotel. I had booked the Crowne Plaza before getting the dog and too late I saw it was one of the few no-pets-allowed hotels in Europe. I was stressing about the pup whining at night, but she was great! She slept better than Lainey, in fact :). She stayed on the floor between our beds and just had one in the middle of the night pee-pee on the tile bathroom floor which was easy enough to clean up. I would dare say she is poop housebroken now as she waited all night and until nearly 9 am before we could take her outside to do that business. Not bad for a 9 week old!
At the beach, she proved again to be a super dog. We let her off the leash and she stayed right by us. She liked running on the beach and splashing in the water and rolling in the sand. She came when called and was overall just really good and fun to have around.
I think she's found her place in our house and is truly one of the family now!
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