Bruges

This is the place to be. So much brick. Little canals. Plazas everywhere. Bikes everywhere. What a vibe.

Bruges is a delight. I highly recommend everyone to go here. The restaurants are expensive, and its definitely catered to tourists, but there is a charming untouched vibe to the city that leaves it enchanting.

We arrived mid afternoon, and after settling into our hostel, we decided to take on the city. Which for us, meant walking towards the tall tower on the skyline. We got sidetracked very quickly, exploring various chocolate shops, restaurant menus, and small little alleys that kept us turned around. Exploring the city was so much fun. The busy yet not crowded streets were pleasant to people watch. There was such a variety in shops as well. Even the chocolate shops all had a different signature to them. The architecture could change quickly as well. It seems the city was build up over centuries, so you have really old cathedrals mixed in with more modern (by European standards) residences.

We eventually discovered the downtown network is a spiderweb of corridors leading from plaza to plaza. A large centerpiece, usually a church or abbey, would anchor the plaza, and the other three sides would consist of restaurant patios and various shops. We made it to the grocery, and bought surprisingly cheap ingredients for a homemade pasta dinner.

Its actually quite bizarre how food is priced in Bruges. The town staple is Moules & Frites (Mussels and Fries), and that went for 20+ Euro at seemingly every restaurant menu we checked. When we ate out the second night, we got student discount burgers (which were incredible) from Ellis Burgers for 12 Euro. The pasta, which we used for lunch as well, was 15 Euro total.

We went for a walk again in the evening, and the city was electric. It appeared to be just a standard Friday night by our check, but everywhere was buzzing. Patios were stuffed from 9pm onwards of middle aged adults enjoying a wine. Some bars already had decent lines. Gaggles of young women, likely high school, were walking around town, too young to enter the bars, but old enough to get a good Friday night out of it. A few guys were playing some footy in a larger plaza. Everywhere you turned there was some sort of action to enjoy.

Oh and there was a circus at the hostel! Some peeps just showed up in little costumes. Some gal did a 1 armed handstand over our pasta. Some unicycle guy jumped over Grahams limbs, and pretended to fall on his nards. There was a juggler, a yoyo guy, it was good fun.

The second day consisted of another morning walk, this time to the far side of town. We found a wonderful park with the most adorable german shepherd puppy that we hung out in. We also strolled along the canals of the town, watching the boat tours, and the 1+ hour lines for the boat tours go by. Again, just taking in the scenes of the city.

For the evening, we went to a festival, Feest in’t Park. This festival is to raise awareness/ support climate change initiatives as far as we could tell. There was a cooking competition there, which was great to watch. Three frazzled families had half an hour to make an appetizer and a main out of a shared table of ingredients. Two teams went for a salad and a pasta, and the third went for dahl. Cam became very competitive throughout the competition, it appears it wasn’t up to her Final Table standards. Good fun to watch though.

There was live music as well, we saw a ska band and an afrobeat collective. A few other booths selling stuff, and then we headed back to the hostel. Made some friends (Lori, Joaquin, and Joaquin’s partner, whos name we never got), played a board games, and then went to bed.

I cannot overstate how wonderful our time in Bruges was. The hours checking out various streets and shops, with surprises around every corner, was delightful. Pedestrians and cyclists were everywhere. The aura of the town also appeared super positive. We noticed on the Friday night that while half the town appeared inebriated, there was not a single angry drunk. The only kerfuffle was when some underaged boys tried to sneak into a club. We could have spent 2-3 more nights in the city, sitting in the parks, watching the boats on the canals, or relaxing in a plaza watching the world go by.

We will be back! But onward to France now!