While we often with solemn and apparent gravity look strangers deeply in the eye and explain that a life of extended travel is as much about the trials and tribulations of every day working life and that this picnic we’re currently having surely is no picnic, that is only part of the story. The, for us, undeniable truth is that there are distinct benefits with changing venue every so often and by so doing placing more of the world’s experiences within relatively easy reach. Put differently, pretty much every part of the world you’d like to visit is available to you from wherever you are, but it is admittedly a lot easier when you are significantly closer.

It was therefore not a coincidence that we decided to let the laptops enjoy a well-deserved day of rest while in Belgium to go and visit the Flemish historical theme park most commonly known in English as the town of Bruges. Still smarting a bit from the nearly averted financial disaster of taking the Thalys train from Amsterdam to Brussels, we looked for buses that could shuttle us to our destination. No such bus route could be found however and the answer appeared in hindsight to be simple; No reasonable bus operator would put a route where the domestic rail system offers such frequent and affordable transit. While waiting on the platform, we were two of literally hundreds of people awaiting to embark on the same train for which we had no assigned seating. As we were standing there, like Rocky Balboa gearing up for the fight, sharpening our elbows to muscle our way on board to get seats, the train rolled in and the mystery was solved. It was a massive double-decker commuter train put in service for the single solitary purpose of moving as many people as possible. We stepped on the Belgian milk run that is the train to Knokke by way of Ghent and Bruges.

Thinking only about enjoying a sunny and rather warm September day in Bruges, I wasn’t even bothered by hordes of tourists, the unabashed appeals to our worst instincts procuring knickknack or overpaying for sights, activities and least-common-denominator tourist foods. We were content to just be present in the moment and stroll around in this quaint and picturesque town, finding references to the movie In Bruges and trying our best at taking pictures that even remotely captured the experience of being there. To wrap up our casual and eminently enjoyable day doing nothing of significance, after devouring a lunch so filling we later skipped dinner, was appropriately spent by a canal. There we were immersed in history at a patio right by the lazily flowing canal drinking a beer by a brewery who had been doing just that since 1074, Affligem. Presuming I get to celebrate my 100th birthday, I plan on attending their millennia celebration.

So, yes, we do work for a living. At least to a degree. But we also must not lose sight of the privilege of being able to, on a whim, to go and relax for a day in a stunningly beautiful and historically and architecturally interesting part of the world we don’t always have around the proverbial corner.