Three Nights in Bruges, Belgium – SUN, 17 JUL 2022 – WED, 20 JUL 2022

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SUN, 17 JUL 2022 TRANSFER TO BRUGES, BELGIUM: The train ride itself was uneventful, as expected. I had a 24-minute layover in Brussels, Belgium to make my connection for Bruges, Belgium. No problem. Plenty of time. After all, this isn’t O’Hare. After I disembarked the first train, I looked at the tote board and found nothing going to Bruges. The line at the information/ticket counter was long enough to take me well past my departure time, and there were no apparent service representatives within sight, so I pursued the next logical option and went to the platform with trains departing at 1652. When I arrived, I showed an attendant my electronic ticket. While he was fumbling about, another customer service person approached and informed me that I was at the International Annex. That made sense as I had arrived from Luxembourg, but I needed to go to the Domestic Annex. And all this while I thought the Schengen Agreement had done away with all that nonsense! As I was passing by the tote board, I looked and learned there was no demarcation whether International Departures or Domestic Departure – just departures! I got to the platform, asked the man who was about to give the engineer the green flag if the train was destined for Bruges. His affirmation caused me to heave the small suitcase onto the coach and then scurry up the steps with the big suitcase in hand. I made the connector with 12.4 seconds – no, make that 6.5 seconds to spare. I’ll put it like this, I hadn’t even put my crosshairs on a seat (no assigned seating) when the train started to move! The rest of the trip was uneventful and making my way to a taxi in Bruges was a piece of cake.

The ride to the hotel was uneventful, and the driver spoke very good English. He advised me that I had selected a very nice hotel in an excellent location. I was expected so check-in was quick and easy; however, there is no elevator, ascensor or lift as the case might be. The desk clerk offered to take me to the room and to carry the larger suitcase. Being about 40 years younger than Uncle Larry, I let her! There are few positives for being older, so I take advantage of all that come my way. By this time, I was hungry so I asked if there were any dining recommendations and headed out for some Belgian cuisine. Three Nights – Boterhuis Hotel, Bruges, Belgium

MON, 18 JUL 2022 TOURISM: My first order of business was the visitor center conveniently located on Market Square, about four blocks from the hotel. The Market Square (Markt) began its life as a marketplace in 958, and a weekly market was held here beginning in 985. Today the large square is ringed by banks and restaurants and is filled with pedestrians and bicyclists. After getting a couple of questions answered and getting a couple of suggestions, I hopped on the City Tour Bruges open air bus and got a 50-minute tour with an audio narrative outlining the history of Bruges and providing details about some of the major buildings seen on the tour. One of those buildings was Café Vlissinghe – the oldest continuously running café (i.e., pub) in Bruges.

The first written record about it is from 1515, and it consists of two joined houses from the late 15th century. Due to renovations and rebuilding, including replacement of the wooden façade with stone, the current structure is largely from the 17th century. Google Maps put the walking distance at 0.4 flat miles – totally doable for Uncle Larry. Upon arrival, however, I encountered a sign declaring the establishment was closed for annual holiday from 18 Jul until 2 Aug. Had I arrived only one day sooner. Woulda, shoulda, coulda. Disappointing, yes, but I guess even barkeepers need some time off to regenerate. I took a slightly different route back to the Market Square area of Bruges hoping I would happen upon a little Ma & Pa café. Instead, the area was almost exclusively residential. Back at Market Square, I made my way to a restaurant where I had seen mussels on the menu (when I was a beer only customer) prepared using five different formulas. I opted for the wine and cream sauce. These were probably the best mussels I have ever had in my life and definitely the best I’ve on this trip. A side of fries, a half-liter of Belgian ale and mmmmmmmm! That sure mitigated the unexpected closure of Café Vlissinghe.

TUE, 19 JUL 2022 HOUSEKEEPING: Every summer I have to get an affidavit notarized the keep my pension checks arriving without interruption. While I was in Spain, I jumped through a couple of easy hoops to have the affidavit emailed to me – if the hotel staff printed it, it wouldn’t be on the correct color of paper! In France, I made two attempts at having my signature notarized. Both agencies were by appointment only with the next available appointment well after my departure date. In Belgium, wala! Success. I walked ¼ mile to the address provided in my Google search and found the notary AT HOME FOR LUNCH. Of course, his notary stamp was in the office, but he gave me the address and told me to meet him at 1500 hours. Not wanting to let this one get away, I began the ½ mile trek from the hotel (in the opposite direction from his house) and arrived promptly at 3 PM. He rewarded my persistence by waiving the normal fee. I asked the hotel staff how I could determine the cost, procure the stamps, deposit the letter in the postal system, etc., etc., etc. She not only knew all the postal information and had the stamps (maybe this wasn’t her first rodeo) but also deposited the letter into the system for me. I returned to the same restaurant as on Monday and was very tempted to have another try at the mussels. I showed restraint and ordered the salmon ravioli. It was quite good, but I should have ordered the OUTSTANDING mussels.

WED, 20 JUL 2022 TRANSFER TO BRUSSELS, BELGIUM: Rain! Overnight it rained, and all the patio furniture was wet, so we had breakfast indoors. Poor baby! For those of you following my blog, you might have noticed the abundance of blue skies in my photos, and you might have noticed that I have made no mention of how fabulous the weather has been – I didn’t want to jinx the streak. There were a couple of days of intermittent drizzle with overcast skies, but, for the most part, the weather has been phenomenal. The silver lining for today is some relief from the high temperatures but not from the humidity. Getting to the train station and boarding the train went without a hitch. After I was on the train, the bewilderment began.

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Photos

On the Walk to Market Square – Bruges, Belgium
Lots of Front-Line Vehicles in a Very Small Parking Lot

Café Vlissinghe – Bruges, Belgium
Unfortunately, The Pub Was Closed for to Annual Holiday