Brugge

When people ask me if I've been to Belgium and I respond yes, the second question is if I've been to Brugge. Although we've hit the other major Belgian highlights of Brussels, Antwerp, and Gent... we hadn't made it to Brugge. With many things, it was on my list. However, I finally found a good hotel deal and a clear weekend, so we spent this past weekend in Brugge.

Originally I was planning on dealing with heat and humidity... however as it turns out it was rainy and actually nice (temperature wise) for the weekend. A nice break from having to tour around while pouring sweat. Normally I have a set plan of everything I want to do and see when we visit somewhere. I had done research on Brugge... and decided there was nothing in particular I wanted to do. I just wanted to see and experience Brugge... and whatever we did would be fine by me. It was actually a fun plan to have.

We were on the go by about 8:30, and it turns out that even on a summer Saturday at the peak of tourist season, Brugge doesn't get up and moving until 10. It was actually kind of fun because we were the only people out and about and were able to walk around, take countless pictures, and window shop uninterrupted without crowds. The inner part of Brugge (the touristy must see part) isn't all that big, and we were able to make one big loop around it before most shops opened. As I said, no set plans for wanting to do anything, so I got to "see" landmarks and take pictures pretty early off in the day.

 Once the shops started to open up we bought some chocolates (well, DUH), some tea (I can't wait to try it out... it smells amazing!), and then got some toys for our niece (spoiled little thing). We mainly just wandered around, people watching and taking in the sights. The one thing we did want to do was to take a brewery tour. The Half Moon Brewery (English Translation) is the last brewery that is still in operation within the city walls of Brugge. The tour itself wasn't necessarily super informative, but the building itself was interesting to look at, and we got to go out on the roof of the brewery which gave us some great views of the city.

After our brewery tour we were in the mood to enjoy some of Belgium's best beers. We found a spot at a cafe outside of one of the major squares and enjoyed a few beers while people watching. It was wonderful. After our afternoon happy hour we went back to exploring the city. Brugge is often called the "Venice of the North" as it has many canals... and I could see it. Lots of canals, beautiful backdrop of the city. Our full day ended with a delicious traditional Belgian dinner of Flemish stew (think the most tender beef roast covered in rich gravy) and beer.

Waking up on Sunday we realized we had seen and done everything we wanted to do in Brugge... so we drove up the road to Blankenberge, which is a coastal town. In my researching possible travel ideas the Belgian coast was something I had thought of. The town itself is small, and is full of condos/apartments. The day was windy and cool, but I could see how this would be a fun little beach town to come spend a weekend holiday at. There is a casino (not that I care), a pier, and a traditional boardwalk. With the wind it was a bit too cool to really do anything beachy, but it was nice to have a change in scenery.

Everyone who had encouraged me to go visit Brugge was right - it was definitely well worth the trip and I'm glad we added it to our Belgium trip list.