Amsterdam, here I come!

Joris Sport just came to pick up the keys and their guy is now on his way to pick up Citronnade. So, I'm heading to Amsterdam on the train in about half an hour and should be there sometime this afternoon. I'll finally get to meet Mara Miller, who has been a lifeline of sanity with helpful advice through all this.

I'll call Joris Sport once I get to Amsterdam to find out if they've analyzed the problem so I know whether I can spend one or two days in the Netherlands. But I don't think I have to be back in Brugge to pick up the bike until Thursday.

Although I didn't plan on staying in Brugge for five days, I can't say I'm sorry it happened. Hostels are uaually not comfortable places, but the Bauhaus hostel in Brugge was fairly well-kept. See the picture above of the girls' dorm room where I slept.


And Brugge is an incredibly pretty town. It's laced with canals like the one on the right, and has some of the best-preserved medieval architecture in Europe. I loved the way all the rooftops are terra cotta tiles (see the photo below).


I really like Belgium. I've met so many nice people here.

For example, this morning while waiting at the Bauhaus hostel bar (see picture below) for Joris Sport to come get the keys, I met a young couple -- a young man from Pakistan (whose name I forgot to ask how to spell but phonetically it would be Kachif) and a young woman named Nina who has parents from Azerbaijan.

They came to live in Brugge in 2002 and are working hard to set up a business that imports marble from Pakistan. They have a cleaning contract with the hostel for the time being and said they love Brugge and Belgium because the people here are so friendly. When I asked how they met, "Kachif" said "I dreamed about her and looked for her until I found her." Nina blushed at this, and I laughed and said "He's a real romantic, isn't he?" She nodded and smiled.

What a wonderful interlude to witness on my way to Amsterdam!