Bruges 6
-7 December 2019
his morning we left Amsterdam for our train
trip to Bruges in Belgium. It was a
short stay in Bruges as both the Stevens and we had been here before. We came mainly to see the Christmas Market
and we were not disappointed.
It was raining when our train arrived in
Bruges. As the train station is about 2
miles from the center of Bruges we took a taxi to our hotel, the Ibis Centrum. While we waited for our rooms to be ready, we
sat in the bar enjoying a rather unique beer – cherry chouffe. It is a cherry beer with port, and has hints
of strawberry, almond, spices, and sweet port.
A rather unusual combination and one was all any of us could handle.
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| Sint Janshospital |
While it was still raining, we decided to
walk to the town’s center market square to find a restaurant for dinner and
enjoy the Christmas Market. As we walked
into town, we passed the Sint-Janshospitaal (St. John’s Hospital) dating back to
1270. Until it closed in 1976, it cared
for both citizens of Bruges and people who became ill while traveling. Today it is a medical museum detailing the
hospital’s existence. Across the street
from the hospital is the Church of Our Lady from the 13th-15th centuries.
It has the tallest tower in Bruges and the second tallest brickwork
tower in the world (Landshut, Germany has the tallest).
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| Welcome to L'Fonteintji |
We found a lovely restaurant, L’Fonteintje,
for dinner. It was in an old brick house
where we were seated by a cozy fireplace.
The food was excellent and the wine superb.
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| Christmas Market in the Rain |
After dinner we walked through the Christmas
Market. Tonight was the opening night
and it was crowded and boisterous, especially the bar serving Glühwein and
beer. We of course had to sample the Glühwein
and I thought they had the most attractive mug of all that we had procured on
our river cruise.
The next morning we walked back into the
town’s center to find a restaurant for breakfast. Along the way we walked up to the St. Bonifacius
Bridge (or the Bridge of Love). It is
said to be the most picturesque spot in Bruges with wonderful views of quaint
canal homes and the Church of Our Lady.
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| Quaint Old House on the Canal |
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| The Bridge of Love |
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| Canal with Reflection of House |
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| Courtyard of Church of Our Lady |
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| Very Narrow Street in Bruges |
In town we found a nice little café, Le Pain
Quotiedien, that, while they did not have Belgium waffles, did have a nice
selection of pastries and egg dishes.
After a quick walk through the Christmas market and the purchase of some
more chocolates, we headed back to the hotel as we had a car driving us to
Brussels at 1 PM. And we were so glad we
were leaving. As this was the first
weekend the Christmas Market was open, the flood gates of people opened up. I have never seen this many people in such a
small area. It was like the crowd
leaving the Superbowl! There were
busload after busload of people coming to do their Christmas shopping. It was all we could do to navigate the narrow
streets back to our hotel. I’m so glad
we saw the Christmas Market last night (even if it was in the rain). We would have never gotten close to any of
the little booths today.
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