Blogs from Bruges, West Flanders, Belgium, Europe - page 9

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Europe » Belgium » West Flanders » Bruges October 12th 2011

Decided to get out of dodge early aka Bayuex and find our way to Bruges earlier then we planned.. after some train hopping and missed reservations we made it here earlier .. which is great because so far we are loving this little city.. The hostel has a "chill out" room and we are probably going to watch the film "In Bruge", seems rather fitting for where we are :). I would like to shout out a few thanks 1) Toni, thanks for the heads up about flip flops in the shower, good call 2) Susan, thanks for the back pack and little cloth bags inside, they have come in handy. Beers are super cheaper here compared to snobby Paris and Bayeux, thank goodness :) Belgium beer rocks my world, off to drink some now.. ... read more

Europe » Belgium » West Flanders » Bruges October 2nd 2011

After Paris, I boarded the big blue bus to officially start my trip of Europe. My Busabout ticket covers 33 destinations in 9 countries and allows me to hop on and off the bus as I please – so I choose how long I stay at each destination and simply book my seat on the bus to get to the next stop. I can also skip places if I don’t want to stop (but ofcourse I want to go just about everywhere!). So buckle up and share the ride with me, first stop Belgium. A medieval town complete with cobbled streets, winding canals, grassy green fields and endless chocolate shops.. it almost sounds like a fairytale doesn’t it? (well that’s what the guide books think), welcome to Bruges, Belgium! I arrived mid-afternoon and kicked off my ... read more
Chocolate Museum Fun
Feeling like one of the Von-Trap Children
The Picturesque Canals

Europe » Belgium » West Flanders » Bruges August 21st 2011

My parents had made the long trip across the world for an extended holiday in Europe and for our first trip outside of the UK Hannah and I were taking them to Bruges for the day. It was still dark outside when we had to get up and get ready for the drive down to Dover to make our 8AM ferry crossing. We were at Dover port in good time and had a short wait before driving onto the ferry and setting of towards Calais. My parents were excited to be heading over to mainland Europe, they had never been anywhere besides Britain before. As we approached Calais we headed back down to the car and got ourselves ready for the hour and a half drive to Bruges. When we turned on the radio Mum was ... read more
Bruges
Bruges
Bruges

Europe » Belgium » West Flanders » Bruges July 5th 2011

A few days late, on this one.... On Saturday we went to Bruges, Beglium and back to Brussels to see the city at night. First though, everyday has to start with a good breakfast, and what better way than ice cream on top of a waffle, with chocolate on top!!!!... After this delicious and nutritious breakfast, off to catch the train... It was probably about an hour train ride from Brussels to Belgium... Im not sure how to describe Bruges, other than its a beautiful that was probably quiet, until a Colin Farrel movie made it more known to the world. The easiest way to get around these cities is to look up, and by that I mean look towards the skyline, and see what's sticking out... Doing that got us to our first and only ... read more
Michelangelo
DSC00172
DSC00175

Europe » Belgium » West Flanders » Bruges June 23rd 2011

Day 006, Thursday June 23 1630 (4:30 pm) Cows, everywhere, left Bruges, now on the train from Antwerp to Amsterdam, incredibly comfortable private seating in first class. Antwerp was only a 30 minute stop over from Bruges, which I think I’ll miss as much as London. Despite being extremely small in size, Bruges seemed as equally full of tourists as London, and just as beautiful and rich, culturally, and far more densely packed. With a population of 20,000 it is likely, at any given time, that there are most tourists in the city than locals. All the streets were cobble stone and could really only fit one vehicle in any given direction, additionally there were never any street signs indicating which way traffic would be flowing. Thus leading to multiple occasions where I found myself pondering ... read more
Bike troubles.
In Bruges!
In Bruges 2!

Europe » Belgium » West Flanders » Bruges April 7th 2011

The train trip from Brussels to Bruges was lovely, looking out over the farmland lush with green grass and before I knew it the train was pulling into Bruges train station. My hostel was located on the other side of Bruges and the directions were to get on the bus and ask the driver to stop at “Bauhaus“. Following the instructions I did just that and the bus set off. Driving through the Old Town of Bruges I began to get excited, this town was beautiful with its canals and beautiful architecture, the town looked like it was created for a fairytale. We arrived at my designated stop and the bus driver gestured for me to come to the front to talk to him, the lovely chap was giving me exact walking directions to my hostel! ... read more
Madonna with Child
Gorgeous!
I love sunshine!!

Europe » Belgium » West Flanders » Bruges March 5th 2011

Saturday 5 March 2011 ...accompanied by anyone within 2hrs by fast train!! (e.g. we had breakfast with a Parisian couple who are here just for the weekend!). We thought we were cold in Luxembourg! Well, it was REALLY COLD in Bruges today - we had to keep ducking into bars to warm up! The first one we called into was the oldest (1515) pub in Bruges - Herberg Vlissinghe - where, according to local legend, Rubens once painted an imitation coin on the table then did a runner! The focal point of the bar is an ancient pot-belly stove (complete with a huge crack across the front) with a bunch of flat irons and kettles on the horizontal flue. John, who is trying to work his way through a shortlist of Trappist beers, sampled his third ... read more
...and again
In The Burg
Jan van Eyck Square

Europe » Belgium » West Flanders » Bruges February 19th 2011

De retour de Bruxelles, nous n’avons pas perdu de temps! Bon oui, tout de même un peu, nous nous devons tout de même d’assister à nos cours entre nos petites escapades! Les cours n’étant pas très fréquent et exigeant, nous pouvons nous permettre, comme vous le constatez, de se trimbaler à droite et à gauche. Dès le vendredi suivant, c’est Sylvain, l’oncle de Geneviève, travaillant actuellement à Paris, qui venait nous rendre visite à Lille. Cette fois, sur un rythme tout à fait différent de la débandade bruxelloise, nous avons été faire un petit tour à Bruges, une petite ville belge ayant été épargnée par les guerres et la destruction, et qui a su conserver tout son charme de l’époque médiévale. Nous avons donc quitté le samedi en matinée, en voiture (voilà qui est simple, pour ... read more
Le marché
Geneviève et Sylvain
Vestige d'une époque médievale

Europe » Belgium » West Flanders » Bruges February 5th 2011

***www.thetattooedtraveler.com*** If Heaven is anything like Bruges, I’ll start repenting my heathen ways immediately! It’s a beer utopia— a wonderland of strong, flavorful, light and dark beers. Many are even brewed by monks, so each sip is a religious experience. Okay, I’m overstating it a bit, but the beer is great, the variety is like nothing I’ve ever seen, and the city itself is a medieval time capsule. Stepping off the bus from the train station is like stepping back in time. We arrived at dusk, which lent an eerie quality to this medieval town. We quickly found our hotel, a former monastery, and checked in. As we climbed the dimly lit stairs and walked down the hallway bathed in the fading light of day, it occurred to me that if I were ever to stay ... read more
Street
Michelangelo
Canal

Europe » Belgium » West Flanders » Bruges January 15th 2011

Today was officially the last day on the Topdeck tour for all of us. As a final treat, we got to head into the fairytale land of Bruges (or Brugge as the locals call it). This was well worth the drive, we walked down stunning streets with very medieval architecture that wound down and around until we hit the town square. It was seriously like standing in Cinderella, in each corner of the Markt square stood a highly decorated building. There were a few places I recognised from 'In Bruges', the bell tower and the canals etc which was super cool and exciting. So we ended up looking around a few shops, searched for the Tin Tin shop but to no avail, apparently it doesn't exist anymore. Oh well. So it was cute, really cute, and ... read more
The Markt
Ells in front of the Bell Tower (as seen in In Bruges)
The Markt




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