Leaving Amsterdam…just not getting very far.

We all have breakfast together. Jim and I walk Nick and his family to the train station where they have Eurostar first class tickets with assigned seats. Jordan, Jim and I are still scrambling to figure out how we are getting to Bruge. It would take 3 or 4 trains to get there so we spring for an additional $100+ Euro to go in an Uber. I am so jealous of Nick’s direct trip and his extensive advance planning.

We leave an hour after them in our van, but I can see on the “Find My” app that they haven’t left the train station. Turns out there was a power outage that delayed their departure by over an hour. By Antwerp though we are neck in neck, us on the highway and them on the train tracks. As we pass Antwerp we keep on going - but they seem to be stalled. Soon Nick tells us that there was a suicide ahead of them on the tracks and their train was stopped. They may be stranded up to two hours while they clear the tracks and investigate.

Jordan meanwhile is busy creating cartoons to depict their adventures - as we sail along.

Jim, Jordan and I arrive in Bruges, and soon learn Nick and his family are rerouted back to Brussels to await any decision. They are promised to leave soon and partake in some provided nourishment (if you can call it that).

Fortunately, they don’t fly out until tomorrow morning. Nick had built in a little safety cushion…thank goodness.

And then…the train is completely cancelled!

We all start scrambling to check buses, metros, taxis, Ubers and Bolt. By now it’s 8:30 p.m. - their flight home is early in the morning - and best case, they are 3 hours from Paris. Bolt and Uber both said the earliest they could pick up was after 11 p.m. - putting them into Paris around 2 a.m! Ultimately Nick found a taxi driver to drive them from Brussels to Paris and they are on their way.

Meanwhile, the three of us have dinner, explore the quaint town and settle into our very nice hotel - Grand Hotel Casselburgh in Bruge. And we have left the craziness of the big cities behind. I seem to be able to avoid all bikes (and Jim) here.

There are darling little stores and tons of chocolate shops.

This is all chocolate shaped as nuts and bolts with a dusting of chocolate.

We did like the big red doors.

Meanwhile we are tracking our Paris bound family. They are definitely moving in the right direction. I ask if all 4 of them are in a regular size taxi - YUP.

Once I know they have arrived at their hotel - just before midnight - I relax and go to bed.

A really crazy day!