I made Bruges (French)/Brugge (Dutch)  a day trip because as my website says i am ze weekend traveller , but next time i would stay overnight simply because its  a really beautiful place. Bruges is in the Flemish part of Belgium which means the people here speak primarily Dutch or very funny German 😉 Bruges is sometimes referred to as Venice of the North. In my humble opinion there is nothing Venicey about Bruges! Only similarity are boats on the canals.

Getting there:

There are rather frequent trains from the Brussels Midi train station to Bruges. However if you arrive early in the morning like we did, you get to see Bruges in peace without millions of people around – there are cruises which dock nearby and people come by the hordes into the city.

FIrst off, buying train tickets is straight forward at the ticket machines. There is a real advantage to train travel over the weekends from Friday 7 pm till Sunday evening , because there is something called the Weekend Travel Ticket which goes for half the price of the travel of  a return ticket. You have to make a direct travel to and fro though , no stopping in between. The cost was 15,60 Euros for a return trip.

Look to the Train Schedule Board for Destinations Oostende, Knokke or Blankenberge , these go to Bruges Station. If you have some time to kill, the Midi station is very cool. Its also really clean, and there are nice shops you can browse there or even a food court – Best of all is you can wait till the last moment to go to the platform in the cold.  Do watch out that you HAVE tickets because the controlling on the train is very strict. We witnessed a passenger without ticket trying to squirm his way out of showing his ticket to no avail. He was then hauled away presumably to be kicked off the train while it was still moving .. (kidding!)

After just above an hour journey , arrived in Bruges , just follow the signs for Bus and it will lead to the Bus station, just outside the railway terminal. You can walk to Bruges Center quite easily in 20 minutes – However I took the bus because I read there is a lot of walking to do in Bruges. The ticket can be bought on the bus and cost 3,00 Euros.  Buses 2, 4, 13, 14 stops at the Markt. All other buses stop nearby. Do note that after 1pm till 6pm on Saturdays and the first Sunday the said buses do not stop at the Markt but also stop nearby.

The Markt:

This is probably the most happening place in Bruges, clearly the meeting point for people as there are shopping streets leading up to it. In truth, there is no need for any walking tours if you just want to see the sights. I was in love with just strolling around and seeing Bruges.

Probably the most outstanding is the Belfry. The early bird really catches the worm if you mean to climb the Belfry Tower , all 366 steps of it , to catch a panoramic view from the Top.

2. Basilica of the Holy Blood is the keeper of a vial said to contain a cloth with the Blood of Christ. The relic is said to have been brought to Bruges during the Second Crusade. So,my curiosity is piqued for sure. The relic is only display at certain hours of the day. Have a look at the actual timings displayed on notice. On that day it was displayed from 11.30 am – 12:00 pm and from 14:00 – 16:00 pm.

3. On to the Canals – You haven’t seen Bruges if you don’t seek out the Canals – they are so quaint and stays in your memories of Bruges. Many people do the canal boat tour , I read it was reasonably priced below 10 Euros for a half an hour ride. I opted rather to walk around and immortalize the scenes with my camera , as the weather was unpredictable that day.

4. A walk in the historical center had many interesting shops and sights – one particularly impressive is the St. Salvator’s Cathedral. (Not related to Stefan or Damon) , I stopped everywhere, at the flea market, at the chocolate shops, by the canals – all of Bruges is a real tourist dream.

 

Shopping: 

There are the ever-present chocolate shops for Souvenirs, I got some really yummilicious Belgium chocolates from here. An important note if you plan to buy chocolates especially the expensive kinds, you should try asking to try before you buy. I am not sure if all shops would let you but nothing ventured, nothing gained.

I also bought some nice hand-knitted scarves and there are these specialty shops selling hand-woven tapestries and lace to be checked out too.

Hunger Pangs:

To solve the problem of after taking in wonderful sights and shopping for knick knacks, tired legs and hungry stomach calls.  As usual many restaurants around, but this time decided to try the Belgian Specialties Mussels and Fries.

The most reasonable priced we came across was for 17 Euros for a combination.  When it arrived , it was a big pot of mussels meant for 2 persons. It was not my personal taste of the Mediterranean style , it was more Mussels in soup boiled with onions but I’m glad that to have tried it. The Fries were very crunchy and normally served with Mayonnaise but it came without and I didnt mind at all.

 

 

After a day spent in Bruges, we walked slowly back to the train station – still admiring the architectures along the way.

Going back to Brussels was easy, just look for Direction Bruxelles. Till next time Bruges – I’ll be back!

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