Um, Kim...is this a bed bug?

Kim and I made it to Brugge thankfully yesterday afternoon! So our stop in Brussels wasn't all that necessary, we should have listened to those helpful tour books we bought. It was a little sad to see how run down it was, the trash all over the street and the graffiti all over land marks and statues. We chose to get up and out as soon as possible, tour what we thought might be worth it and be on our way to Brugge before lunch. Although we were put up in a hotel, it was a far cry from what we were both expecting. Not only did we get off the train at about 1030pm, we were exhausted from the day and travel, we had no idea where we were going nor do we speak french or dutch. We managed to survive after a restless night and a knot in my stomach and held my breath as I came across a bed bug on the wall. We crossed our fingers as we left our packs in the storage room at the hotel and "toured" the city for a few hours. We were out of our hotel by 9am, the one thing we did not realize was it was Sunday so the streets were empty and silent to the point where u could hear a pin drop. Although there was nothing open or anyone around we walked around the square and in a matter of time store keepers began opening their shops and locals emerged from their hiding places. The best part of this very short stay in Brussels was a local beer tour we did in the basement of a building in the 'Grand Place'. The barteneder/tour guide/beer specialist was hilarious and very helpful, he encouraged departure from Brussels and to head to Brugge ASAP! (if that doesn't make you wanna leave, I don't know what else would...) We also met two other tour goers who were from England taking a 'university trip' around parts of Europe. Funny enough, one of the guys had just been to the U.S., to Chicago and Indianapolis, he visited his friend at near by university... Purdue!!! "Brothers and Harrys Bar were just brilliant", small world!! Needless to say, directly after we felt comfortable seeing all we could see at this place called Brussels, we were off to Brugge. We were extremely excited since we had heard so many great things and had been concerned after seeing what Brussels had (or didn't have) to offer. A one hour train ride later we made it to the small town of Brugge. Right when we got off the train I could right away it was going to be a much better experience. After trying to figure out what direction to start walking in, we made it to the outskirts of town and began making our way through a maze of quiet, peaceful, well kept streets and eventually stumbled across our FIRST hostel!! We arrived earlier than expected so we grabbed lunch at a local cafe and decided which places to go see. After dropping our packs and freshening up we headed to the market to check out some shops and local areas. Now it's Monday night so we are off to catch the train to the Amsterdam...more on brugge to come :-) see ya in the red light district!!!