Brussels (Part 2) - Brugge

Day 2 - Brugge

• With the Eurostar ticket, we took the train for free to Brugge. However, the train was fully packed so we had to stand for an hour. There wasn’t any staff checking our tickets but we had confirmed with the ticketing office before we boarded. 
  
  
• Brugge is a really beautiful place. It’s full of well-kept medieval buildings. The historic city centre is a UNESCO site.

  

  [ Brugge ]

• We hired a sturdy bicycle for 4 hours (Euro 8) near the train station and tried to follow the map I had downloaded on-line but proved to be impossible! So at the end, we just ditched the map and rode around mindlessly instead. In hindsight, we should have gone with the Quasimundo cycling tour but you need to watch your time if you are going to do that.
  
• The town centre was really busy with tourists and it’s full of cute shops. Since we only had half a day to spend, we couldn’t see all the interesting places. We cycled along the canal and stopped by Café Vlissinghe on Blekerstraat 2I for lunch. It’s the oldest pub in town. It was really by chance that we found this place so we were very lucky. It was a glorious day so we sat in the garden and had another simple lunch – just some cold cuts, gherkins and pearl onions with bread. Food was mediocre but the place was special. By then, I was really liking the ‘Belgium diet’ though! 

  

  [ Oldet pub in Brugge ]

  

  [ Brugge Town Centre ]

• We did have time to have a boat trip around the canals, it was fantastic! Also we went to a few shops, had an authentic Belgium waffle - it was really delicious – and sampled more chocolates. There are a few specialty beer shops in Brugge so my husband had bought a few bottles back home. Although we did do a lot in half a day but Brugge is really a lovely place and I would recommend at least staying a night in order to enjoy it fully. Apparently the city has a different feel when there aren’t as many people around.
  
  
  
• Dinner in Bar Bik near our hotel in a trendy studious neighbourhood. We had steak with frites (extremely delicious fries) and pan-fried fish. The best fries we have ever tasted! The food was sensational although it was expensive.