After the fourth day, it feels as if we’ve already collected enough memories for a lifetime. Days filled with sharing M&Ms on the plane, beautiful canal tours, sweltering restaurants, beautiful cathedrals, standing ovations, long bus rides, laughter, and new friends will forever be treasured memories. Nonetheless, we’re only halfway through the trip, and the fourth day did not disappoint.
We survived the first concert, but it’s safe to say that we’ve become a little… discombobulated. Still, after a night’s sleep we all felt refreshed and boarded the buses for a day in Brussels.
After a couple of hours in the buses, we got off to take a look at the famous Atomium. We took some quick selfies, then continued on our way into the city. Soon enough, we reached the Charlemagne, where we listened to a very informative presentation about the European Commission, the executive branch of the European Union, and the EU as a whole.
After we got lunch on our own, it was time for one of the most exciting parts of the tour: the musical instruments museum. When asked about what they were looking forward to the most on tour, many people answered with the museum. The experience began with a demonstration with lutes, but everyone knew that the audience was really just waiting for a chance to try the historical instruments themselves. After watching my friends play the viola de gamba, flute, and harpsichord, I stepped up to play the natural horn. Truly, it was an amazing (and amazingly scary) experience to play a new instrument in front of my friends who I so admire, but I will never regret doing it. After the demonstration, the rest of the audience got a chance to try the instruments, and we were set free to explore the museum with an audio guide.
After the museum, we went on another walking tour, and then ate dinner. Then, we boarded the buses to go back to Bruges.
To end the day, we had an evening walking tour (our fourth walking tour of the trip) of Bruges.
Now, I’m looking forward to a good night’s sleep, so I’ll be signing off now. So excited for what comes next!