Hi awesome people! Wow, it's been a while since I last wrote some news... Things has just been crazy busy this last two weeks... Busy, but still AMAZING!
We went to Brugge, which is located in Belgium last weekend... We work a bit later here in the Netherlands, so we only started travelling at 8pm on Friday night... When we got to Central Station (the main train station in Amsterdam), we found out that our train (scheduled to leave @ 20:00) was cancelled... We therefore had to wait for the train to Brugge which departed at 20:50... It was a 3.5 hour trip to Brugge, and we had to get a connection train in Antwerpen... The catch to all of this was that we had 4 minutes to get off the one train, and onto the next... Brace yourself for this story...
At 23:00, we thought we were still a half an hour away from Antwerpen... Our one friend went to the bathroom, just as we pulled up into the station... After we have been in the station for a while, Casey turned around and said - "you guys, the board outside says Antwerpen Centraal?" It was our stop!!! Everyone was frantic... Started grabbing bags, and just said, Anel, get Carien, we've got the bags... I ran to the other compartment to get Carien, and we got off the train in no time... Running to catch up with our friends, I saw that my bag was missing... I then asked, and we realized that my bag was left on the old train by mistake... I flew down that stairs like superwoman, jumped back onto the train, and pushed people out of the way (yes - me, anel, actually pushed people out of the way :)), shouting, I have to get my bag, I have to get off!! I lifted my bag off the railing as if it did not weigh anything :) and jumped off, just as the train doors closed and it started moving again... That was really GRACE that I was not stuck on that train!! Have NO idea where I would have ended up :) We then started running to get our connection, and got to the perron just as our train pulled off... We missed it... But the even WORSE part was that our one friend was on the train pulling off! He tried to stop it, so that we could make it!! We went to the conductor, and asked what time the next train would be leaving? He replied by saying: "Sorry - that was the last train for the night... Next one is at 05:30 on Saturday morning!" It was CRAZY!!! But we made the most of the situation, got ourself accomodation for the night, just outside the station, and then walked around the plein in Antwerpen. It is one of the most beautiful stations I have ever seen!!!
We slept in a bit on Saturday, and arrived in Brugge just before lunch time. We stayed at the Charlie Rockets backpackers. Really cool place, and very central to the main attractions in Brugge... Brugge was something out of this WORLD! It took my breath away when I got off the bus from the station... Beautiful is a word which does not do it justice!! We went for lunch, and after that we climbed the Belfort tower (very tiny and tight steps - and a LOT of them), but when you get to the top, the view is MAGNIFICENT! You then have a 360 degree view of Brugge... Check out the clock tower, and a view from the top...
The Brugge team at the top of Belfort tower :)
One of the prettiest statues I have ever seen...
We went for boat cruise through Brugge, where we heard some of the city's history, and after that we went for TRUE Belgium waffles! Was yummy :) The evening we went for dinner at De Vier Winden... There was a jazz band playing, and people dancing... It was right on the main square in Brugge... I cannot explain how blessed I felt sitting there with some GREAT friends = awesome company, beautiful surroundings, amazing food and an unbelievable atmosphere... God is truly good, and I am thankful EVERY single moment for this amazing opportunity that came my way...
On Sunday we went for lunch at Knokke (near Brugge). It is the beach in Belgium :) It made me think of the Strand in Somerset West... After enjoying a weekend of SUNSHINE (it has been raining non-stop since we got here - the weekend was a HUGE exception and amazing blessing!), we were once again back on the trains to get back home... If you ever get the opportunity to travel Europe, I would definitely encourage you to put Brugge on your list of places to see...
Hope you guys will have an awesome Monday! Will post some more news soon!
We went to Brugge, which is located in Belgium last weekend... We work a bit later here in the Netherlands, so we only started travelling at 8pm on Friday night... When we got to Central Station (the main train station in Amsterdam), we found out that our train (scheduled to leave @ 20:00) was cancelled... We therefore had to wait for the train to Brugge which departed at 20:50... It was a 3.5 hour trip to Brugge, and we had to get a connection train in Antwerpen... The catch to all of this was that we had 4 minutes to get off the one train, and onto the next... Brace yourself for this story...At 23:00, we thought we were still a half an hour away from Antwerpen... Our one friend went to the bathroom, just as we pulled up into the station... After we have been in the station for a while, Casey turned around and said - "you guys, the board outside says Antwerpen Centraal?" It was our stop!!! Everyone was frantic... Started grabbing bags, and just said, Anel, get Carien, we've got the bags... I ran to the other compartment to get Carien, and we got off the train in no time... Running to catch up with our friends, I saw that my bag was missing... I then asked, and we realized that my bag was left on the old train by mistake... I flew down that stairs like superwoman, jumped back onto the train, and pushed people out of the way (yes - me, anel, actually pushed people out of the way :)), shouting, I have to get my bag, I have to get off!! I lifted my bag off the railing as if it did not weigh anything :) and jumped off, just as the train doors closed and it started moving again... That was really GRACE that I was not stuck on that train!! Have NO idea where I would have ended up :) We then started running to get our connection, and got to the perron just as our train pulled off... We missed it... But the even WORSE part was that our one friend was on the train pulling off! He tried to stop it, so that we could make it!! We went to the conductor, and asked what time the next train would be leaving? He replied by saying: "Sorry - that was the last train for the night... Next one is at 05:30 on Saturday morning!" It was CRAZY!!! But we made the most of the situation, got ourself accomodation for the night, just outside the station, and then walked around the plein in Antwerpen. It is one of the most beautiful stations I have ever seen!!!
We slept in a bit on Saturday, and arrived in Brugge just before lunch time. We stayed at the Charlie Rockets backpackers. Really cool place, and very central to the main attractions in Brugge... Brugge was something out of this WORLD! It took my breath away when I got off the bus from the station... Beautiful is a word which does not do it justice!! We went for lunch, and after that we climbed the Belfort tower (very tiny and tight steps - and a LOT of them), but when you get to the top, the view is MAGNIFICENT! You then have a 360 degree view of Brugge... Check out the clock tower, and a view from the top...
The Brugge team at the top of Belfort tower :)
We went for boat cruise through Brugge, where we heard some of the city's history, and after that we went for TRUE Belgium waffles! Was yummy :) The evening we went for dinner at De Vier Winden... There was a jazz band playing, and people dancing... It was right on the main square in Brugge... I cannot explain how blessed I felt sitting there with some GREAT friends = awesome company, beautiful surroundings, amazing food and an unbelievable atmosphere... God is truly good, and I am thankful EVERY single moment for this amazing opportunity that came my way...
On Sunday we went for lunch at Knokke (near Brugge). It is the beach in Belgium :) It made me think of the Strand in Somerset West... After enjoying a weekend of SUNSHINE (it has been raining non-stop since we got here - the weekend was a HUGE exception and amazing blessing!), we were once again back on the trains to get back home... If you ever get the opportunity to travel Europe, I would definitely encourage you to put Brugge on your list of places to see...
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