October 6, 2017 – Out of Bruges, Into Zagreb

Some stray notes from Bruges before I go…

  • Gruut is an herb mixture that ages before hop was used to flavor beer; Question: for Guardians of the Galaxy, can we translate Groot’s phrases into “I Am Beer?”
  • Louis of Gruuthuse commanded the army of Charles the Bold, was the personal bodyguard of Mary of Burgundy, and was a major patron of the arts, a friend of St Dorothy (which in the 1400s meant he liked flowers), amongst other things.  His personal motto was “Plus est en vous” or roughly translated “There is more in you than you think.”
  • Jan Brayden and Pieter de Coninck, two heroes of The Battle of the Golden Spurs, are the ones in the city square.

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The trains apparently run on time from Bruges.

My Airbnb host packed me a to go breakfast pack with sandwiches and fruit. I as always ate more than I should have, especially given today is a sit and travel day.

I awoke this morning with a terrible headache I have yet to shake. Part of it is dehydration. Despite buying bottles of water, I know I’m not drinking enough. It’s odd at meals that water isn’t included; beer and wine are seemingly cheaper than water, a carryover I wonder from medieval times when it was safer to drink those than from the surrounding (polluted) watering holes.

Hygiene is a puzzlement to me here in Europe as well… at least in France and Belgium. They are very stingy with napkins/serviettes. You’re lucky to get one tiny quarter scrap of a paper napkin with any takeaway meal. And washing your hands? It’s a dodgy proposition. The majority if not all of the public WCs charge a fee for use. Restaurants sometimes do as well (the Bruges McDonald’s for example was charging 50 cents). Sometimes they comp access for paying customers. But this makes it hard to even wash your hands before or after a meal. And if you happen to sneeze or touch a dirty handrail? Ring around the roses, pocket full of posies, ya know? It’s little wonder to me that the Black Plague was such a problem here. Hygiene, Europe! Get on board!

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The trains apparently do NOT arrive in time from Bruges. We got to the airport about 25-30 minutes late, mainly due to traffic through Brussels. It’s probably a good thing I’m erring on the side of catching early trains.

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When flying, I try not to check a bag whenever possible so I don’t have to worry about it getting lost, delayed, or stolen (I once had a bunch of stuff stolen by Southwest baggage handlers). But the carryon limit for Brussels Airlines was pretty strict and so I checked my duffle. It’s nice I wander the airport without a second big heavy bag slung over my shoulder. It makes taking silly selfies with Smurf statues a bit easier too.

As is true at airports the world over, food and drinks are ridiculously overpriced for us, a captive audience. I was trying to be good by having the veggie pizza slice … but then found I couldn’t resist the sweet speculoo focaccia dessert. So much for watching my weight. I guess there IS a marathon in two days and I could lie to myself that this is early Carbo loading…

Sadly, the focaccia looked better than it tasted… which didn’t preclude my eating the whole thing.  Lunch cost for pizza and dessert: 10,50 euros, plus many regrets.

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I’m in Croatia!

I opted for the public transit bus into town at 4 hkr versus uber or a shuttle. Sadly the driver insisted the 4 hkr ticket only covers a half hour at a time and the ride to town with traffic was going to take 32 minutes. So I paid the extra 4 hkr. I could’ve taken the tram then closer to my Airbnb but that would only have saved me five or ten minutes over walking according to google maps. And I needed the walk.

The Airbnb is a shoebox apartment but perfect for my needs. It’s way better than Paris. And I’m crazy close to all the things marathon related. My super nice host, Din, is an ex-pat American from Burlington, VT. He is a robotics troubleshooter but he says it’s not sci fi cool robots. It’s packaging and manufacturing robots and it’s boring. I don’t know. Robot repairman will ALWAYS sound cool to me.

Din told me food is dirt cheap here and a lot of foodie approved, Michelin and Bourdain-ian quality. He gave me a list of a few and I’m working my way through them.

Tonight I’m at Oranz and having risotto, wine, and a decadent slice of pie. To hell with the calories.

I’ll sort out marathoning tomorrow. I’ll (try and) be better tomorrow. It’s a t-minus 2 day carbo load. That’s a thing, right?

“There is more in me than I think…” and yet I think there’s an awful lot of food in me.

Sigh.  So many regrets.  Food coma in 3…2…1….