Three Days in Bruges

Two full days and two half days to be precise. We started off on Wednesday,being dropped off at Stoke Mandeville station by a neighbour, to catch the train to Marylebone. Then by Underground to St Pancras for breakfast before catching the Eurostar to Brussels. From there it is just under an hour by local train to Bruges. The bus station is next door to where the trains arrive, for the short journey across town to our hotel. The Ter Duinen Hotel is situated on one of the canals, ten minutes walk north of the centre.

We still had most of the afternoon to start exploring, and we headed as most people do, for the Markt. On the way, before we reached the busy centre, we found a lovely quiet cafe called Servass Van Mullem, so we stopped for a coffee and fabulous cake, really more like a desert.

When we reached Markt, the square was filled with banks of seating for an event the following day. So views of the famous Belfry were partly obscured.

We walked around the Markt in beautiful sunshine, so we took the opportunity to take lots of photos.

On the way back to the hotel to have a rest, we found Trattoria Trium, an Italian restaurant that our guide book recommended, so we booked a table for that evening. We had a superb pasta and I had a nice Belgium beer. It was still light when we came out, so it was nice to wander around in the dusk.

We took a picture of the cafe Servaas van Mullem (closed for the evening) that we knew we would visit again.

Burg square was just wonderful in the fading light with few people around.

Thursday morning started sunny but chilly. We decided that we would try to beat the queues for a boat trip around the canals. We were able to follow waterways all the way from our hotel.

There was boat only half full waiting to leave, so we jumped on board and we were off round the canals.

For the rest of the morning we wandered down to Minnewater and lingered on the bridge overlooking the canalised lake called the Lake of Love.

We sat in the park before looking round the hushed area of the convent complex of  Beginhof.

We had a late lunch of Frites on Simon Stevin square before finding a good spot to watch the Ascension Day event called The Procession of the Holy Blood. There were huge crowds on all the streets, most of whom were on those banks of seats on Markt, or on rows of seats along each road. We stood behind two rows on Steenstraas and had a fantastic view. It is a huge procession including bands, horses and two lots of sheep! It was much better than we had imagined.

The only trouble was, we were standing on the wrong side of the road to make our getaway near the end. We were actually in the middle of all the roads round which the procession wound. It was after some time, we found a break in the seats and made a dash across and find a detour round the canals to take us back to the hotel.

That evening we had a good dinner at one of the many cafes that overlook Markt. I had a Belgium beer called Kwak that at E9.50 is a rip off, even if it does come in a fancy glass and wooden holder. Mine was taller and thinner than this one.

After the cloud of the previous day, Friday started sunny. We headed for the Belfry on Markt as I was going to take the 366 steps to the top. Although we were there quite early, there was a queue. There are only 70 people allowed up the Belfry at any one time, although I thought there were a lot less than that. So after a wait of 50 minutes I finally made my way to the top. Alison had gone off for a wander on her own. It did not seen as high from the top as other towers I have visited. But then you do get a closer look at the surroundings. And in the sunshine there were some good views.

We met at midday and it was nice to have a drink at the previous night's cafe on Markt. Cloud had arrived again, so we went inside the Church of Our Lady.

We were also going to go in the Cathedral, but as it was closed at lunchtime, we went off for lunch at Servaas Van Mullem. The cakes this time were a Delice and a Mocha.

In the afternoon we did go in Saint Saviours Cathedral, and it was pretty impressive, particularly the treasury full of pictures and artefacts (I had found a free guide to them all which was lucky) and the tapestries.

I had printed off four walking tours of Bruges before we left, so in the late afternoon we wandered into a quiet part of the town, having first bought nougat and truffles at the Chocolate Crown. Our walk took us past canals and then to some pretty houses and the church on Jeruzalem.

Dinner that evening was at an Argentine steak house called El Churrasco. My steak was the best I have had for years. And the Belgium Jupiler beer was excellent. We finished the evening with a desert from the van on Simon Stevin square. We had Churros which is a waffle stick freshly deep fried and sprinkled with sugar. Very tasty.

We just had the morning in Bruges on Saturday. We walked to the other side of the canal from the hotel, and then followed another canal that branches off at the end of Langerei. This was a lovely walk in the sunshine, passing many nice bridges.

We left the canal at St Jakobstraas and passed the church of the same name.

We revisited our favourite places, including Minnewater and Beginhof, before the important final  job of buying chocolates. There are apparently 49 chocolate shops in Bruges, and I think Alison must have been in every one.

We had planned that lunch would be at our favourite cafe, Servaas Van Mullem. We had a tasty quiche and salad, and bought cakes to take home. It was then time to pick up our bags at the hotel and start off on our way home. We had been very lucky with the weather. Most of the time it had been very cool, except the warm sun of Friday morning. But it had kept dry the whole time, except for some extremely light drizzle for half an hour that day. The travel arrangements all went like clockwork, and Eurostar was very efficient. An excellent short break.