What a month it’s been! Every single weekend, the duo have found themselves somewhere new, and this last weekend, the Ninja Turtle and GodzillaPin went to catch up with an old friend in Bruges. The last time they saw Matt Damon was in Mulhouse last October, and a lot has happened since then, so it’s been one long gab-fest to catch up on news, and to make more plans for later this summer.
The Ninja Turtle had very little expectations of Bruges, to be honest. Aside from hearing the phrase “Venice of the north” again and again, there was little else to really look forward to, and frankly, if a city has a reputation of being a geographic equivalent of another more famous city… well, what prospects does it have of establishing itself as a legit destination in its own rights?
Turns out, Bruges has a LOT going for it.
Between the waffles, chocolate and ice cream, Belgium cities are the shortcut to diabetes.
And of course, the Belgian beers
There is a beer for everyone in Bruges. GodzillaPin found his beer.
There’s beer, and there is beer. Belgium’s beer brewing tradition goes back centuries, and is a craft refined by the monks in abbeys, which is why trappist beers are THE BEST. If you ever get a chance, try a blind taste test between a bottle-fermented beer, and any old industrially-produced beer. One of them will have “living” taste.
Bruges is a very beautiful city.
Is this the best photobomb ever?
And this is how it earned its reputation as Venice of the North.
Seeing the fine weather forecasted for Sunday morning, the trio popped over to Oostende, a coastal town which was a 20-minute drive from Bruges. The sun was shining gloriously but the North Sea wind was still cold. The Ninja Turtle went off for a quick 5K run along the promenade while the boys headed straight for the sand.
Matt Damon soaking in the rays.
Matt Damon thought it was funny to secretly tail the Ninja Turtle for a few minutes, and to scare the daylights out of her as she approached their meeting point. It was a close race back to GodzillaPin.
Visit Bruges. It’s kind of like Venice, but with beer, chocolate, fries and waffles, which makes it a thousand times better.
A French, a Singaporean and a Swiss walked into a bar… and they drank to the awesome city of Bruges.
The 道 of our L’Art de Vivre 
What a great way of celebrating after all the hard training and racing you’ve done. To be able to see so many great places each weekend. It’s one of the ways I envy most about Europeans, you can travel a couple of hours and be in a completely different country with a completely different culture. I can fly for 3 hours and still be in my own province!
And there are a couple of pics where Matt Damon looks like, well Matt Damon!
I know, right? We were housemates back in Australia; it’s great to stay in touch with old friends over the years cos nobody else will accept you as you are like they will. We’ve all changed but we’ve stayed the same to one another. Matt Damon, Batman and Sonic the Hedgehog are going to have a huge role at our wedding that’s for sure. 😉
It looks way different from the movie “In Bruges”. Certainly a lot more pleasant and exciting!
Oh yeah, that film really gave me a poor impression too before I went there. It’s not a place to visit in winter, but with fine weather it’s beautiful.