Short But Sweet
My time in Bruges was short but sweet. Literally — the Belgian chocolates I had were the best chocolates I’ve ever had in my life. Bruges wasn’t initially on my bucket list of places I just had to see while I’m abroad. But, boy, am I so glad I went there because it is absolutely beautiful — and it’s always the ones not on your list (like Vienna) that end up being your favorites.
After our Sunday morning saying farewell to Amsterdam (read about it here), we made our way to Belgium, driving through the countryside. There was grass, sheeps, clear blue skies and white fluffy clouds, ponds — it was idyllic.
We pulled up to the coach park right outside the first bridge to the medieval town of Bruges was. Upon crossing the bridge, we see a huge lake with old buildings in the background and tons of swans around it, and a horse-drawn carriage passed by us. Our tour guide, Willan, brought us around the town, bringing us through the winding narrow roads, showing us the Lake of Love (the myth is if you are single, you will get married within the year if you throw a coin in there, and if you are married when you throw your coin, that you will get divorced within the year — so your pick!), a medieval church, the smallest bridge in Bruges, the canal houses (some which had ivy growing on the walls — my favorite) and finally the main square of Bruges as seen in the movie In Bruges.
The main square of Bruges was my absolute favorite. If you like the old architecture of Amsterdam and the colorful buildings of Copenhagen, you must visit Bruges. Colorful buildings with pointed rooftops lined the square, as flags waved in the slight breeze. The sky was probably the most blue sky I’ve seen. Coincidentally, there was the Bruges Beer Festival going on the day we visited. Belgian beer is supposed to be fantastic so of course I tried some, and while I’m not a fan of beer, I will say it was a lot better than American beer! Willan also pointed out to us a great stand to get Belgian French Fries. French Fries originated in Belgium, not France actually, and this stand sells amazing and hot French fries that you can bring with you while you are strolling around. Look for the food stand right near the Salvator Deli sign by the huge (clock tower building) to try these yourself if you ever visit!
Another thing to check out if you visit: Belgian chocolate from Neuhaus. My friend Maurilo was recommended by his friend to go to Neuhaus for the best chocolate. We hunted this place down and asked the cashier what were their best chocolates. She asked us a bunch of questions to try to determine our tastes, like whether we liked milk or dark chocolate, if we liked coffee, if we liked truffles. The ones she gave me to try were: a dark chocolate truffle, a truffle with champagne, a chocolate with mousse, a dark chocolate with lavender in it, and a regular dark chocolate. I got two of each, and my favorite was probably the truffle with champagne! The dark chocolate truffle was obviously a runner up.
The rest of our afternoon was spent wandering the streets of Bruges. Maurilo and I set off to find a canal where boats go. I particularly wanted to see the colorful canal houses and we had only explored the main squares of the town. The sun was shining, illuminating the rippling water as boats flew by us. We walked over a little bridge that had 10 photographers, perched with their tripods, on it.
While I wish I had had more time in Bruges, I’m glad I made the best of my few hours there, and am more glad that I decided to randomly join a tour to Amsterdam that stopped in Bruges, where I found a beautiful town and great new friends that I had dinner with last night in London!