The final leg of our 5 1/2 month trip through Europe in our van. We hit two destinations, the bustling Ghent and the sweet town of Bruges.
Ghent:
We weren’t entirely sure what to expect when heading the Ghent but, we were pleasantly surprised. The town was bustling with tourists and, we soon discovered a wide range of great food, beer, and ample history. We had a lot of fun in Ghent. We made a new friend, had an interesting experience with an Aussie bloke, drank a lot of beer, and watched the All Blacks play in the quarter-final of the Rugby World Cup 2019.
It was late October and the European winter was looming. It was the first time we had truly felt the cold. The layering of our summer shirts, jeans, and a jumper was no longer cutting the mustard – it was time to hit H & M for some winter essentials. We also discovered the age-old trick to keep warm is to fill yourself up on beer – so we did just that.
We stumbled across a Belgian beer bar (funny that, considering we were in Belgium) that houses a very wide range of beers. Upon entry, you had to hand over one of your shoes. You know the bar is going to be a good time when they ask for a shoe upon entry.
We started small and cautious but it didn’t take long for curiosity and liquid courage to take hold. Before we knew it, we were ordering beer towers. All sense of caution was well gone, along with my shoe.
The next day was a big one. It was All Blacks vs Ireland in the quarter-final of the Rugby World Cup. Morgan had done some googling and found an Irish Pub that was screening the World Cup. It was 9 am and we arrived at the pub, dressed to the 9’s in our Kiwi Rugby shirts. As the only Kiwis in a pub full of Irish supporters, we stuck out like a sore thumb. Nevertheless, we ordered a full-style English Breakfast and a beer – what better way to kick off the All Blacks game.
We got chatting to a South African man, Morne. We instantly hit it off! We spoke about all sorts of things in life and played the “do you know” game when Morgan mentioned he was from Zimbabwe. We made the wise decision to continue on a pub crawl after the game finished. We spent the entire day drinking beer and eating yummy Belgian food. We had an absolute blast!
Bruges
If you like chocolate, waffles, and beer, you’ll love Bruges.
We only had one day in the small untouched medieval town of Bruges, so we made the most of it.
