Brugges: Chocolate, Waffles, Stew. (Real food, oh goodness yes.)
When I decided to stay for the Gay Pride Parade in Amsterdam, I also decided that I needed to get out of town for a bit before I went crazy. So I took an overnight trip to Brugges, Belgium. I picked it because 1) I hadn't been to Belgium, 2) It seemed more interesting than Brussels, and 3) It was supposed to have good food. I had a great time.
Brugges is a little touristy town in Western Belgium that is reknowned for its quaint medieval buildings. Most of them were actually destroyed and rebuilt over the past 200 years, so technically they're not really medieval but I guess it's the ambience they're going for. And since the canal silted over, they haven't been a trading center for centuries. No, with the reconstructed buildings and canals all over, they've turned their sights on tourists. They've been remarkably successful, and the place seems to be a magnet for middle-aged American and European tourists. But, for some reason, it didn't really bother me like it has some other places.
First stop, waffles. And oh, what waffles they were, with real, rich, melted chocolate and some ice cream. See, it's not hard to make me happy, really. It helped that I was in the little back courtyard of this hidden-away little restaurant, with lots of lush plants and a little fountain to keep me company.
Afterwards, I was able to see the standard sights pretty quickly: climb the church bell tower for a view, see Michaelangelo's sculpture "The Mother and Child" in another church (he worked on this as a study break while working on David), and a stroll around the Beginhof, a religious community for widows and unmarried women during the middle ages. They also had a community in Amsterdam that I'd visited. Then it was time for a little snack, so I had some French, I mean Flemish, Fries (I had to, they were invented here), with the local favorite meat sauce topping.
So, with all the things I wanted to see seen and a couple of good hours of sunlight left, I rented a bike and rode it out down a well-work path along
a canal to the little village of Damme, 6km away. There were farms and windmills (both the historic and actually functioning, electricity-producing kind), grazing cows and lush trees, and other bikers everywhere along the canal. I was having such a great time that I kept going past Damme down the path, got pleasantly lost for a while, and made my way back to Brugges. It was a beautiful day and I felt a great sense of freedom biking around for kilometers and kilometers in any direction I liked. It had also been a while since I'd done any excercise, and I had been missing it without even realizing that I did.
I arrived back to Brugges invigorated and read for a real meal, which I got at Cafe In Den Wittenkop (don't ask me what it means). It had a warm tavern-y atmosphere, playing jazz music in the background. the waiter and all the other guests were dressed sharply, but didn't make me feel bad for my baggy jeans and slightly damp t-shirt. I had a great meal of mussels and beef stew with copious amounts of free warm rolls, and I went back to my hostel, took a shower, and went to bed smiling, with a full stomach, and completely content. Like I said, I had a great time. Up to top
Brugges is a little touristy town in Western Belgium that is reknowned for its quaint medieval buildings. Most of them were actually destroyed and rebuilt over the past 200 years, so technically they're not really medieval but I guess it's the ambience they're going for. And since the canal silted over, they haven't been a trading center for centuries. No, with the reconstructed buildings and canals all over, they've turned their sights on tourists. They've been remarkably successful, and the place seems to be a magnet for middle-aged American and European tourists. But, for some reason, it didn't really bother me like it has some other places.
First stop, waffles. And oh, what waffles they were, with real, rich, melted chocolate and some ice cream. See, it's not hard to make me happy, really. It helped that I was in the little back courtyard of this hidden-away little restaurant, with lots of lush plants and a little fountain to keep me company.
Afterwards, I was able to see the standard sights pretty quickly: climb the church bell tower for a view, see Michaelangelo's sculpture "The Mother and Child" in another church (he worked on this as a study break while working on David), and a stroll around the Beginhof, a religious community for widows and unmarried women during the middle ages. They also had a community in Amsterdam that I'd visited. Then it was time for a little snack, so I had some French, I mean Flemish, Fries (I had to, they were invented here), with the local favorite meat sauce topping.
So, with all the things I wanted to see seen and a couple of good hours of sunlight left, I rented a bike and rode it out down a well-work path along
a canal to the little village of Damme, 6km away. There were farms and windmills (both the historic and actually functioning, electricity-producing kind), grazing cows and lush trees, and other bikers everywhere along the canal. I was having such a great time that I kept going past Damme down the path, got pleasantly lost for a while, and made my way back to Brugges. It was a beautiful day and I felt a great sense of freedom biking around for kilometers and kilometers in any direction I liked. It had also been a while since I'd done any excercise, and I had been missing it without even realizing that I did.
I arrived back to Brugges invigorated and read for a real meal, which I got at Cafe In Den Wittenkop (don't ask me what it means). It had a warm tavern-y atmosphere, playing jazz music in the background. the waiter and all the other guests were dressed sharply, but didn't make me feel bad for my baggy jeans and slightly damp t-shirt. I had a great meal of mussels and beef stew with copious amounts of free warm rolls, and I went back to my hostel, took a shower, and went to bed smiling, with a full stomach, and completely content. Like I said, I had a great time. Up to top
posted by Nora @ 8:22 AM
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