A Town of Chocolate and Bicycles

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This was our first day of travelling as a group. We left the hotel and caught the Metro to the bus station, all the way being guided by Ola, our trusty tour leader. It was a bit of fun with all of us heaving our backpacks down the road and onto trains and buses. We caught a bus to Brussels that took about three hours, and then a train onto Brugge that took about an hour. The bus ride was fine, and there were plenty of crops on the way to try and decipher. Sadly I'm no match for Shane in that respect, but I think I may have spotted a few hectres of maize, maybe. My talent at spotting cows was well- tuned however, and there were plenty doing their job of eating grass and watching life go by. (Ah, if only they knew what fate awaited them).

The first thing I noticed about Brugge was the amount of bicycles. They were absolutely everywhere. I was told about this before I left home, but it's another thing to see it for real. Coming from such a relatively warm place, I'm not used to how people here use their bikes for everyday use. Now, we aren't talking moutain bikes or 21-speed racers here, these are the type of bikes we normally associate with really, really old people. No offence there, but I have no other way to describe them. What we would normally consider daggy is the norm in Brugge. Just a different way of life, and one which seemed much healthier. Mind you, people still liked to use there mobile phones for talking and texting while they rode.

Our accommadation in Brugge was a hostel not far from the centre of town. (Actually, nothing is far from the centre of town). I had never stayed in a hostel before, but had been told they were basic and okay to use. This is what I found, and didn't have any complaints. We had our own shower in the room, but there was one toilet on each floor (of about ten rooms). The walls were fairly thin and the floor creaked a bit, but for two night's stay I made do.

Once we found our rooms, Ola gave us a rundown on what things there were to see and do. Bike riding, chocolate and beer seemed to make up most of the options, with a few variations thrown in. For those who don't know, Belgium is well-known for its chocolate. There are apparently 80 different chocolate shops in Brugge, but I wasn't really going to count them to make sure. As it was about 3pm, we all went to a small cafe that, we were reliably informed, had the best hot chocolate in town. This is what I had, along with some scones and cream. The atmosphere was more like an old English tea house, with the pictures on the walls and the general decor. The others in the group got some selections of chocolates to go with their drink, but unfortunately they couldn't fit them all in. Being the generous co-traveller I am, I offered to finish them off. Yeah, I know... what a guy I am.

The rest of the afternoon was spent wandering around town looking at the shops and people. We ended up finding a pub that sold 300 different types of beer, which isn't much use if you're a non-drinker like me, but the others managed to find something they liked.

After three weeks of hand-washing my clothes, it was great to have a laundramatte a few doors down from the hostel. Most of our group took the chance to do a proper wash, and the flashy machine on offer were hard to resist. I managed to fit in some breakfast between my wash and drying cycles, then it was off to explore some more of Brugge. First stop was the chocolate museum. If you want to know anything about chocolate, how it's made, who makes it, how and why it was first produced, then this is the place to visit. My favourite bit was seeing the figurines made of chocolate and the intricate detail that goes into them. It was also interesting seeing the five-foot tall chocolate egg, and wandering if it was hollow or not. Mmmmm.

Next stop was the belfry (or Belfort) in Markt Square. It is a typical clock tower with bells that chime different tunes, and although I can't remember the dates, it looked really old. Because it has more than 23 bells that play tunes, the type of tower is also called a carillon. You first had to climb a spiral stone staircase to a level with some historic stuff, then it changed to a wooden staircase. This brought you to a level where you could start to see the workings of the clock and how the bells rang. From this point the stairs got even steeper and narrower until you reached the very top floor. The view was awesome from here and was certainly worth the climb up.

Our tour group had planned to meet in the centre square and then go off for a picnic in the park. Because it was a Wednesday, there were markets set up in the square. Everything looked really fresh and clean. Each of us picked what we would contribute and wandered off to find it. I chose the easy one ..... waffles. Once in the park we sat around and shared the food, and in my opinion had a really nice time. The sun was shining and the Belgium nature was putting on a great show.

I spent the rest of the afternoon walkingaround the town, mainly the parks around the edge of the central part. I figured this was the easiest way to keep out of harm from bicycles, haha. Later that night I decided to takes my meal (tomatoes and apples) to the main square and watch as the sun set and the building's lights took over. It was so nice sitting there watching the people go by, as well as the odd horse and carriage. That's the other thing .... the horses all had 'poop shutes' to catch their droppings. It certainly made it easier to walk the streets without having to watch out for surprises. Anyway, back to the story. As I sat there, the belfry, or carillon, was playing different tunes depending on the time. After a while I walked around the block and cames back to the base of the belfry. As it happens, there was a man sitting in the tower about to give a concert. Somehow he was able to play tunes (mainly classical pieces) just like any other musical performance, and the songs could be heard over most of the town. It was one of those times when I was in the right place at the right time, able to experience something I had never even knew could be done. Ah, only in a small town in Belgium.

The next morning we travelled to Amsterdam, having only spent a day and a half in Brugge. Depsite the short stay, I really enjoyed the place and was really glad I went there. I read where someone else called it "Beautiful Brugge", and I think that's a pretty good description.

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Photos

Drink hot chocolate.
The pic is a bit blurring, but it didn't affect the taste of the chocolate.

Figurines at the Chocolate Museum.
To eat these would be destroying a work of art.

The Bell Tower
Yes it did ring while I was up there, but not this big bell thankfully.

Picnic in the park.
Note the waffels ... a must-have in Belgium.

The butcher shop mascots.
Even though they are made of plastic, they still looked really tasty.

Comments

[Annette]

Chocolate
Now that is somewhere where I, Mum and Brett could probably live ... and Brooke for that matter. Sounds like you are having an awesome time - and great pictures. See you very soon.