Bruges

After traipsing France from top to bottom, Shereen and I ventured across the border to Belgium for a 3 day weekend (over a week ago as I write this). Specifically our destination was the town of Bruges, an idyllic, well preserved, medieval town, sometimes referred to as the “Venice of Belgium” due to its canals, but this being the ONLY similarity with the Italian city (and not a very good one at that, so forget the Venice analogy, Bruges is NOTHING like Venice). I’m also writing this after having watched the movie “In Bruges”, a non-classic with Colin Farrell as a hit-man stuck in Bruges. Since the plot and dialogue is terrible, the only redeemable feature of the movie is that it covers all of the key tourist sites in the city. If I didn’t know better I would think that the Bruges tourism organization funded the movie in exchange for using the film as a vehicle to advertise the city.

It was interesting driving through the checkpoint at the country border. Vacant toll booths served as a chokepoint at this vestige from before the European Union was formed. I’m not sure if they’ve kept the checkpoint due to lack of funds to tear it down or as a contingency in case the Union collapses and the need for border control returns. Our hotel was north of Bruges, in a town called Blankenberge, along the coast, with the beach running up to the door. This would have been a fantastic place in the summer, but with rain most of the weekend, the beach was no more than a nice visual.

We arrived on Friday afternoon and were able to drive into Bruges for the evening. This is the one city in Europe that has cheap parking: 2.50 Euro for the entire day at the train station, which is a short walk from the town center. The city is a medieval combination of cobblestone streets and stone buildings. Interesting despite the rain falling on our umbrellas. Our one mission was to locate the chocolate shops. Bruges is famous for pralines and chocolate chefs who concoct unique flavor combinations. We bought samples in two shops by pointing out the pieces of interest behind the glass counter. In addition to the various varieties with mint, nuts, and fruits, there were unique combinations with vodka and other exotic ingredients. Since we were a bit cold, a bit wet, and very hungry, when we saw a Pizza Hut in the square we were sucked in. Nothing like thick American pan pizza on a dreary evening.

The next day we walked in the rain through most of Bruges. First to the Gruuthuse museum (nice building, boring museum), next stopping at a small café for waffles with cream, strawberries, and cherries washed down with hot chocolate, then to a tour of the De Halve Maan brewery (tour in English, great rooftop view of the city, glass of beer included). We passed through the church in the afternoon which contains a Michelangelo statue of Mary then proceeded to climb the bell tower (the one described in Longfellow’s poem “The Belfry of Bruges”). Squeezing by those descending, we ascended the spiraling staircase, passing a glass pane in a door behind which a musician was playing the bells. At the top we were able to get a clear view of the mechanics that made the bells sing: a complicated web of cables and rods connected to the keys being played a few floors below. The area was cramped and we were within a foot of a large bell; fortunately the bell was not part of the music or we likely would have been deafened. It was still raining when we got back to the ground so we decided against taking a boat ride on the canal. The other major sites in Bruges are art museums, but having seen enough for our taste at the Louvre we stopped at the chocolate museum. And then ended our day with a dinner of mussels and fries under the awning of an outdoor café on the square beneath the bell tower. We definitely enjoyed the cuisine in Bruges better than in France: real Belgian waffles, real American pizza, Belgian beer, fresh mussels, thick-cut fries, and unique chocolate. We would go back just for the food! Despite the rain and cold we thoroughly enjoyed Bruges.