Goedendag Brugge!

I've heard a lot of praises about Bruges, so I had high expectations coming to the city. All the cities that made an impression to me were cities that I did not expect to like so much.  Bruges was the city that I entered with high expectations and still, it exceeded my expectations.

Day 24

Picturesque houses in Bruges

After waking up late in Amsterdam, I contemplated on which Belgian city I wanted to go to… Antwerp, Bruges, Brussels or Ghent. I was thinking of stopping by Brussels then spending the night in Bruges. But since all I wanted to see in Brussels was the Manneken Pis statue, I decided to just go directly to Bruges. As I rode the bus to my hostel, I couldn’t believe my eyes... The red-brick houses with crow-stepped gables and the medieval buildings were so photographic.  It was incredibly cute, it hardly seems real.

Lovely canal with
Church of Our Lady

I stayed at St.Christopher’s Inn at the Bauhaus. The hostel was very youthful; the walls were plastered with postcard-filled wallpaper and finding my room was like going through a maze. The hostel was cheap and since I like Bruges, I was thinking of spending another night but the shower was too cold that my toe nails turned blue.

After I settled in at the hostel, I decided to have my dinner first before exploring the city. I had a 3-beer sampler (free with the meal) at the hostel’s restaurant Sacre Coeur. Belgium is known to brew really good beers and I was happy with my 3-beer sampler.

After a huge dinner, I strolled around the cobbled streets of Bruges.  Known as the Venice of the North (although Amsterdam is also considered as Venice of the North), there are a number of canals around the city. As much as I would like to use another adjective, the best way to describe Bruges is romantic. The buildings and houses were medieval, the canals were picturesque and the streets were quiet.

The Belfry of Bruges

Bruges is very small, it easy to just walk around. Hardly consulting a map or my GPS navigator, I passed by the 83-meter high Belfry. This 13th century bell tower is a famous landmark of the city and now leans over 1.5 meters. I also stumbled upon the Onze Lieve Vrouwekerk (Church of our Lady). Standing 122.3 meters, this tall church houses Michelangelo’s Madonna and Child sculpture.

Even without a tour or entering one of the medieval structures in Bruges, I was very much contented with my night in Bruges.

Day 25

Sint Janshuismolen

I couldn’t decide whether I wanted to climb the Belfry, visit the chocolate museum or see some of the wind mills. I decided to visit two of the four windmills nearby, the Sint Janshuismolen and the Bonne Chiere windmills. Then I re-visited everything I passed by the night before, while having some chocolate waffles. Belgium is known for their chocolates and Bruges has the best chocolates in Belgium. Being a chocolate lover, I went chocolate hunting and bought a lot of chocolates. Imagine how I managed to stuff all the chocolates in my backpack.

Vlaamse frieten!

Then, on my way out of Bruges early in the afternoon, I made it a point to grab some Flemish fries before my long road to Paris.