In Bruges

The bus driver who picked me up this morning was so frazzled and in tears; he had spent an hour in traffic due to roadworks, and he was not a happy camper. He swore and shook his head for most of the 4 hour drive from Amsterdam to Bruges (Belgium), and regularly got onto the microphone to tell everyone just how much he disliked his employers. I found it really amusing, but as I was sitting behind him I had to try really hard not to let him see me smiling in case he turned his swearing on me. When we arrived I thanked him for driving us, and he looked at me and said ‘I’m a bus driver, it’s what I do’. 🙂 I sometimes forget that even when people seem totally unhappy, they’re actually in their element living their best life, it just doesn’t look like the way I would do it.

Bruges is the prettiest place, like a gingerbread village. You would not be at all surprised to see Disney characters dancing around you, or people in period costume; it is that kind of place. It was nice to arrive while there was still lots of sunlight left, so I dropped off my things and went for a wander. Today was 2 degrees during the day, dropping to -1 in the evening, but it’s a damp cold, so you feel it seep into your clothes much more than the dry cold of Finland, even though the temperatures there are much lower. Luckily I have lots of layers and cold weather things. The Christmas markets open tomorrow, so I can check them out before I catch the train to Brussels.