Bruges: No Midgets or Vietnamese

---

Hallo and Bonjour,

Friday was cool because Katrina, who was visiting from Denmark, met up with me. We went to the Cantillon brewery, and went on the tour. The brewery is over a hundred years old and is family run so it's really atmospheric. You can wander through all of the machinery, view the bottling process and most importantly taste the final product. We then met up some other people and headed out to a little bar called Delerium. Delerium is a quaint, quiet bar that is just off the Grand Place. When I say quaint and quiet, I actually mean raucous and loud. The bar was packed with people and served over 2000 different types of beer!!! I pulled up a chair and started alphabetically. Kidding of course, I just got a 1L one. It came in a glass boot. You do have to turn it properly so you don't get the air bubble to burst and beer to spill all over you. The bar was great and it was a fun night for all.

So I decided that I couldn't keep Bruges all to myself so I brought along a posse to enjoy it with me. Katrina, Andrew, Cloude, Edith, Aurlie and I decided to visit the city on part of our weekend off. The train was absolutely crammed, so we had to stand in the space between the two trains. It felt like I was in India for a second. Edith and I used what little floor space we had to initiate a game of gin rummy. Knowing the proper way to play and most of the rules might have helped a little but we still had fun all the same. We arrived in Bruges and there was a carnival on with a large ferris wheel across from the train station. We detoured past it, dragging Cloude towards the Bejinhof. The Bejinhof were a series of houses that were surrounded by a large wall with a large green space in the middle. We then wandered past a couple of canals, before watching a woman nearly get run over by a horse-drawn carriage. Apparently, the combination of the driver yelling, the sound of the horse-hooves and the sight of a horse barrelling towards her were not enough of an incentive to get out of the way. We then found a place to sit for lunch and Cloude was able to have some Belgian fries, but they were not thin or in a cone so she wants to find some more. I think it's just an excuse to eat more fries but that's just me.

After lunch, I played tour guide and led people into town to the Onze Lieve Vrouwekerk (try to pronounce that, I dare you), where three drops of Christ's blood are supposed to be held in a vile. Unfortunately, it was closed for restoration and renovation so we decided to sit on some 400 year old stone chairs that were sitting outside the doorway. We then moved on to the flea market and the start of the canals and the boats that ply them. The boats are probably 3 metres long and there are at least 20-30 people in each of them and they are absolutely everywhere. Personally, I think they detract from the scenery but far be it from me to take away the chariot of the people wh oare too lazy to spend an hour or so circumnavigating Bruges by foot. I'm not bitter, honest. We got some nice photos of the canals and the belfort, and then I took the group into my favourite store in Belgium. It is housed in the 16th century house that the mayor used to occupy, situated right on one of the canals. The staircases are deadly in it as they are narrow, poorly lit and have very low ceilings. I had to matrix myself just to make it through them but it is well worth it. The store only sells beer and chocolate. How could you possibly need anything else?

After 30 minutes or so in paradise, we wandered over to the Markt to look at some of the merchant houses as well as the Belfort, before walking over to the Burg Market. En route, we went past De Biertempel (that's actually the name) which stocked 200 or so different Belgian beers. Paradise I say, paradise. It was very difficult to take photos there as a large yellow bus, not unlike the Magic School Bus, had decided to park in the middle of the square and remain stationary, almost as if it was a predator waiting to snap up tourists. We then proceeded to attempt to ditch the tourist hords that inundate the city and I came across the lovely white house with puprple doorways and lavender flowers that I had found last year. We then walked towards Jan Van Eyck Plein and just lazed by the canal for a while. It was pleasant because it was off the standard tourist circuit so we were able to sit quietly for a change without the inhabitants of a coach tearing past us filming every step they take. I love the city, but the seething horde of tourists that lumber around are intensely annoying.

After lounging for a while, I took everyone over to 't Brugs Beertje. It's the bar I discovered last year with Kristoffer that has over 300 different Belgian beers. I had one. Seriously. I went for the Bruges Zot, which I had remembered with great fondness from the previous year. I had remembered correctly. The bar is very atmospheric, and it is quite pleasant just to sit back and relax while enjoying a Croque Monsieur and a nice beer.

After the bar, we headed back to the train, and some of us were able to get seats for the ride back to Brussels. We arrived back in town, had dinner and headed out to Baraza, a bar that is a block away from the hotel. It's a great bar with large windows, sofas and vintage motorcycles attached to the walls with fishing line. I don't think sitting under one of them would be the smartest idea. The music was fantastic as well. They played the entire Daft Punk "Alive" album the whole time and it was hard not to bounce a little in the chair. I did make it home early that night, mainly to conserve my energy for the next day's adventure.

Bye for now,
Peter

Things I learned in Bruges:
-It's hard to beat a Bruges Zot and a Croque Monsieur in an atmospheric bar at the end of a long day.
-Canal water is not pretty or romantic. It just smells.
-There should be a hunting season on tourists, if for no other reason but to thin out the hordes at some sights.

---

Comments

[Teija]

It's like a fairy tale place
Hey Pete! sounds like you guys had a good time. We got to see the blood when we were there and it's definitely more than 3 drops... it's like a full vial and it's quite cool! .....Now, if only it was possible for you to magically send me some of those Belgian fries.... *drool*

[Belgium]

Belgium.info
I've heard that Bruges is the most beautiful city in Belgium. Unfortunately I didn't have the chance to visit it yet...