Wheels on the bus go round & round

Well the past day has been slighty eventuful.  Yesterday I made the decision to book the trip to Bruges.  I walked into town in Amsterdam til I found a Mcdonalds with wifi and I sat there for a few hours to sort it all out haha.  I booked a bus ticket and confirmed a hostel that was 25 euros a night….not excited but at least it meant I had a place to sleep.

Got up early this morning so I had time for my free breakfast and to print my ticket before leaving.  Made my way to the train station and thankfully got on the right train to the bus station.  Had a 6 hour long bus ride with the most annoying little girl sitting behind me who liked to sing really fast and really loud in a language I couldn’t understand.  To make it worse she had a cough that sounded like that terrible barking and while standing up singing would then proceed to couch in my general direction.  Gross.  Everyone around me is sick, 3 girls in my room last night were all hacking and sneezing and now I feel even worse today.  Nope backpacking sure isn’t glamourous at all…..

But I finally made it to the Bruges, had a good 25 minute walk or so to find the hostel and luckily I made it just before dark.  Upon dropping my things off I wanted to head to town to find food as all I had all day were snacks.  I found the city centre and got lost along many cobblestone streets.   Everything here is old and beautiful though the people didn’t seem overly friendly.  After reading a map made by young locals it doesn’t seem to be the overall impression either….the locals don’t like to be bothered with tourists hmmmm.

From what I have seen there is nothing “newish” here….no Mcdonalds, no Starbucks, nothing I recognize.  Everything is in Duth/Flemish and French.  OY!

I managed to find some kind of burger joint that resembled a Mcdonalds and ate there.  The prices in this place are WAY to high for my budget so it’s a good thing I only have one full day and 2 nights here!

It’s really cold tonight, the coldest its been on my trip so far and usually I embrace the cool weather!  I happily strolled down the dark windy streets, meandering at my own pace after being cooped up in a bus all day.  I enjoyed the fresh air.  I do have to say that although the slower pace here is nice after Amsterdam I almost felt safer walking alone in the dark there because there were always so many people and tons of lights.  Here I found myself on pretty dark roads a few times with no one in sight.  Probablly fine but feels kinda eerie in the misty evening.  But I made it back to my hostel safely.  Guess it’s going to be an early night as I don’t have wifi and the hostel is filled with old people that just bussed in…..strange.

It’s clean, spacious and quiet but nothing special and certainly not a place with any kind of character.  It resembles more of an army camp….with old people lol.

But it’s a place to sleep, I’m not on a park bench in the cold and I’m really excited to look around in the day light tomorrow.  Minus the fact the unfriendly guy at the front desk informed me tomorrow is Sunday and everything is closed.   Hmmmm.  Double hmmm because I left my darn adapter to plus everything in and charge it, in Amsterdam so now I have to go in search of a new one.  Easy to find in big cities….have a feeling not so fun to find here.  Well at least it gives me something to focus on tomorrow.

2 nights here and then I’m off to Antwerp.  Got a conformation back from Wesley, my first couch surfer host….yay exciting.  Seems like a super nice guy and is going to show me around!  Don’t worry Dad they come with references haha ;)  He checks out.

Had lots of time to reflect on the bus today.  On my travels, on how I’m doing, on life.  Lots of time to be in your head when your alone.  But thus far I haven’t regretted the decision to travel alone one bit.  Yes at times I miss someone to take photos with or to know the person your sitting next to on the bus but being alone really forces me to put myself back into the world after being kind of introverted the past few years.  It’s not easy and I certainly don’t have it down pat yet.  Things defiantly start to get more fun when I put myself out there.

Anyway kind of rambling cause I have nothing else to do but I don’t have much battery left on here so I might as well catch up on some sleep tonight.

Miss you all.  Hope things are well and your keeping warm back home.  I hear it’s been snowing brrrrr.

Much love xoxox