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Published: June 14th 2010
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BRUGES
The medieval and tiny town on Bruges in northern Belgium was just the chill out time I needed after keeping a hectic schedule of late (so this blog is short I promise).
I took a bus from France to Belgium and after a few hours I was in sleepy Bruges, which thankfully was not as gruesome as the film ‘In Bruges’. Built on waterways, cobbled stone laneways and town squares, I went exploring on arrival in shorts and thongs determined that the cold weather would go away (don’t you hate it when you’re wrong).
I was mega tired but continued to wander the streets in search of what the Belgians are known for - beer, waffles, chocolate, fries, The Smurfs and TinTin (aka Prime Minister Rudd lookalike). So, while walking I found myself not where I thought I was going, but ended up at The Fries Museum (that’s right - a museum about potato fries). Given my (and my sister Suzanne’s) strange obsession with potatoes, I checked out this small and tacky museum (with a sample of fries at the end - with mayo - may need a cholesterol check on return), and then followed it up
Along the canal
cute houses line the canal with a tour of the similar chocolate museum (free sample of course).
After that more walking was required, past the many chocalatiers, restaurants, cafes, pubs and churches. I took refuge from the cold (and peoples stares of me in my shorts and thongs) in a cute pub where I sampled the local Belgium beer and watched the first match of the soccer world cup. After that excitement I found some dinner, more local beer samples, and some waffles before turning in for an early night.
Saturday, and one of the reasons I came to Belgium was to visit the WW1 Flanders areas such as Ypres and the Menin Gate, however given it was the weekend all the babyboomer tourists from Europe had booked all the spots on the local tours, so I resorted to another day to myself in sleepy Bruges to re-energise myself. Disappointed, but still so tired I didn't care too much. Bruges is pretty touristy for the small town that it is (negative on the traffic lights, only a few cars, mostly bicycles and horse drawn carts).
To continue my theme of climbing I walked the 366 steps to the top of the bell
Main Bell Tower
worth a climb of possibly the most narrow steps encountered so far tower and the only thing high up in this flat country, followed by more samples of chocolate, beer, and fries and general wandering around. I saw windmills, churches where they are said to have droplets of Christ's blood in a vile (bit crusty now I reckon), I went to the movies, accidentally disturbed a gooses nest, got a tad lost, watched some more soccer world cup in a pub, and fell asleep on the lounge - you know - the usual.
I found Bruges can be what ever you wanted it to be. It could be cute, quaint, interesting, boring, relaxing - whatever your mood required. What I needed and got was 'a slower pace' of travelling. And thank goodness because......
Next stop - AMSTERDAM
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Suz
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Yay - the fries!
So jealous - looking forward to sampling those delicious fries one day myself!