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In Bruges

October 27, 2015 By Lauren 14 Comments

Belgium was another bonus country for us on this trip. Our wonderful friends from Chicago, Katie and Jared, were going to be coming to London in October and wanted to see us for the second part of their trip. Belgium was one of the countries that was proposed since it would allow them to avoid the hefty airline exit taxes from Heathrow and allow Chris to visit the starring city of one of his favorite movies, In Bruges (which he, of course, made me watch as soon as the plans were made and quoted frequently in the weeks leading up to our visit). In Bruges is a dark comedy, and the joke throughout the movie is how Colin Farrell’s character Ray thinks the city is a… well, let’s just say, not so nice place (his words are more choice). When, in actuality, it could be the prettiest place I’ve ever been in my life. It really is a fairytale town with cobbled streets, old stone houses, gothic squares, narrow canals, peaceful parks, charming pubs, and elegant chocolatiers.

We stayed in an old, historic house through Airbnb and spent a full day wandering the streets of Bruges, constantly saying to ourselves, “Stop it, Bruges! You are too much!” We couldn’t comprehend how the city could continue to get more charming and picturesque around every bend. We climbed up the bell tower (the site of the infamous last scene of In Bruges) to get a bird’s eye view of the little city. We visited the Basilica of the Holy Blood, which houses a vial brought to Bruges during the 12th century Crusades that allegedly holds a cloth with the blood of Jesus Christ (also featured in In Bruges).

Scenes from our strolls around this fairytale city
The Bruges bell tower
The bell tower had a strict one in, one out policy
366 steps to the top
An aerial view of Bruges
The square below (also featured in the ending of In Bruges)
Where the holy vial is housed
A painting showing the reverence surrounding this vial

More sights in gorgeous Bruges

Belgium beer is internationally known and Bruges has some absolutely delightful pubs. The places we went to all had hundreds of beers on the menu, and flipping through their tome-like beer menus always left us in awe. We did our best to do this world-class beer justice, but ended up only working our way through only a fraction of the 1,600 beers available here. [Interestingly though, I saw a brewery that posted this sign to boast about their high-ranking beer. Check out who the top rankers are though…Go, Midwest U.S.A.!] We also had a chance to do a tour of the only brewery still left in the center of Bruges, De Halve Maan (The Half Moon). We learned a lot about the beer-making process and what makes Belgian beer so special.

We found one of our favorite pubs, De Garre, on our first night in Bruges
Their tripel van de garre is only available at this pub
This Belgian brewery was boasting, but check out the top three
Brewery tour at De Halve Maan, maker of Brugse Zot
Getting crazy even before our first taste of the freshest beer ever at the brewery
We all really liked the dubbel (Dutch for double) beer they brew here
A common expression when deciphering a Belgian beer menu
Outside the super cool pub Cambrinus
Puzzled once again at what to order
Great choices showing the relative scale of Belgian beer
Decorations showing the abundance of brands here

To soak up all that beer, we also sampled some other famous Belgian fare. Although fries were originally French, the Belgians perfected them and made them famous. Then there is the Belgian waffle that fills the air with the most delicious smells around every stand. And the outstanding mussels that are usually two to three times the size of those I’ve seen in the U.S. Finally, there is the chocolate. Belgian chocolate is internationally renowned for its quality and inventiveness. We perused the upscale shops (most of which offer free samples) and tried innovative varieties like milk chocolate with lemongrass and ganache with vodka, passion fruit, and lime. We also bought fantastic bars on the cheap at the grocery store.

The best frites ever-with curry mayo- at Chez Vincent
Chez Albert for Belgian waffles
This waffle is so good it doesn’t need any toppings, but I was looking to up my fruit intake after all those frites
Love waffles
Our Belgian feast the first night and some amazing curry-spiced mussels
The designer chocolatier BbyB has a Pantone-like menu
Chocolate, chocolate everywhere
This was the most innovative chocolate shop we found
Rows and rows of pretty chocolates

With all that beer drinking and frites eating, we decided to go for a long bike ride on our second full day in Bruges. The border with the Netherlands is about 15km away from Bruges, so we rented bikes and pedaled through some of the most gorgeous countryside I’ve ever seen. Trees with fall leaves lined either side of the canal that we followed, and cows, horses, and sheep grazed in green, mossy grass. Adorable cottages and colorful windmills periodically dotted the landscape. Sadly, we were too busy riding to snap pictures, but I don’t think they would have done this bike ride justice anyways. Our destination of Sluis, Netherlands is a touristy little town chock full of restaurants selling mussels, which are famous in Belgium for their preparation but actually are sourced in this area of the Netherlands. We shunned the restaurants on the main drag with their 20+ euro mussels and opted for the cafeteria in the upstairs of the fish market. For under 10 euros we got more mussels and frites than we could eat and ate among locals rather than tourists.

Ready for a bike ride
Well this is a pretty bike path
Fall is the best time to travel
One of the many colorful windmills we saw as we left the outskirts of Bruges
Then on to the 15 km-long, tree-lined path next to the canal built by Napolean
A countryside windmill
Mini biking break
A typical cottage we passed on the way to Holland
Our bike ride reward… a massive pot of mussels

We had four nights to work with for Katie and Jared’s visit, and the group chose to spend only one of those nights in the European capital of Brussels. We couldn’t have been happier with this choice. I had a mediocre impression of Brussels from a quick half-day trip I took in college, and the rest of the group had their expectations sufficiently lowered from our mutual friend who had spent time there. Brussels definitely has its nice spots—the Grand Palace main square is beautiful and we found some more wonderful chocolate shops, pubs, and restaurants—but it paled in comparison to our experience in Bruges.

Sights in the Grand Palace square
The famous Manneken Pis, built in the early 17th century
The crowd to see this tiny fountain (overheard at the statue, “Someone tell me why this is a thing?”)
The “only in Europe” kind of food cart
The oldest covered shopping gallery
Delicious window shopping
Visiting the location of Neuhaus that is said to have invented the praline
One of the prettiest chocolatiers we found
Complete with a nearby story selling the most massive meringues, which are displayed like artwork and sold in their own clear boxes
Embracing the French-ness of Brussels with the best quiche ever
Delirium is a pub with fantastic atmosphere
Yet another tome of a menu

One last toast to Belgium

Chris and I remarked how our time in Bruges, the bike ride to Holland, and such amazing friends made for probably one of our top three favorite travel experiences on our RTW trip so far. So I’m going to go ahead and disagree with Ray from In Bruges. This is really a fairytale place.

Filed Under: Adventures Tagged With: Belgium, Europe, Netherlands

Comments

  1. Andrew says

    October 27, 2015 at 8:52 am

    Ugh. So within a week you guys have gone to Bruges, probably my top destination choice in the world considering In Bruges is perhaps my favorite movie of all time and it looks amazing. And then you go to London to see a James Bond premier. That’s it! I’m taking a vacation.

    Reply
    • Lauren says

      October 27, 2015 at 2:55 pm

      We missed you a lot, Andrew! I know Chris would have loved to have you there. But maybe it just means we’ll all have to go for the official premiere next time?

      Reply
  2. Sara Albert says

    October 27, 2015 at 9:21 am

    Bruges appears to be my favorite city thus far of all the pictures I have seen from all your other adventures. This small “wonderland” is right up my alley. Personality galore and small and quaint. This is definitely a city I would like to visit in the future. Thanks for sharing these great pictures.

    Reply
    • Lauren says

      October 27, 2015 at 2:54 pm

      I’m so glad you liked this post! We loved Bruges so much we would go back in a second whenever you want to go!

      Reply
  3. DB says

    October 27, 2015 at 9:38 am

    mmm…beer

    That top breweries list is great. In the past three weeks I’ve been to both Founder’s and Three Floyd’s. First trips to both places and they were both great!

    Reply
    • Lauren says

      October 27, 2015 at 2:55 pm

      Three Floyd’s is so much fun! The food there is outstanding too. I was so proud of the Midwest when I saw that list!!!

      Reply
  4. Lux says

    October 28, 2015 at 9:37 am

    Bruges looks gorgeous! Like a more quaint version of Amsterdam. Adam brought me back some Neuhaus chocolates and they are definitely living up to their reputation 🙂

    Reply
    • Lauren says

      October 28, 2015 at 5:44 pm

      Lucky girl! Neuhaus is the best!

      Reply
  5. Kaylyn says

    October 28, 2015 at 1:39 pm

    “the rest of the group had their expectations sufficiently lowered from our mutual friend who had spent time there.” I think I am still hearing stories about this mutual friend’s opinion of Brussels…

    Looks like y’all had a fabulous time!

    Reply
  6. Bill Patterson says

    October 28, 2015 at 1:59 pm

    That mutual friend is so right. Brussels is mediocre at best. Belgium however, A++.

    Reply
  7. Katie says

    October 28, 2015 at 3:45 pm

    I want to go back!!! Back to the grind today and trying to minimize the post-trip blues by looking at all the pictures (and consoling ourselves with the chocolate we brought back). We miss you both tons – thanks for such an amazing time!!

    Reply
  8. Lauren says

    October 28, 2015 at 5:50 pm

    Bill, we definitely have you to thank for our extra time “In Bruges!”

    Ditto, Katie! Can’t wait for the next one 🙂 (Pattersons, get ready too!)

    Reply
  9. Bill Truesdell says

    October 29, 2015 at 1:38 pm

    Delightful post. Thanks for sharing. It makes me want to go back. The bike ride looks wonderful.

    Reply
  10. Jian says

    November 5, 2015 at 12:23 pm

    I’ve always wanted to visit Bruges ever since that movie 🙂

    Reply

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