In Bruges

This weekend I hitched a ride to Bruges with the boys from 1upToys. They were on their way to a newly opened Carrefour near the city to demonstrate their V-beat toys. I was dropped off at the edge of the city center around 10am, and for the next 7 or so hours I wandered around the fairytale city that is Bruges.

It was a bright but cold day when I arrived at the border of the city. I was psyched to try out my new camera a la tourist style. The city did not disappoint with its picture perfect canals and archetypal Flemish architecture. As I walked through the streets I must have passed by a million old churches, chocolatiers and lace shops. Influenced by my graduation project on revealing secret places in old cities, I kept trying to go down every small alleyway to see what kind of places laid in wait for me. I didn't find too many amazing secret locations, but I did squeeze myself through a couple charming alleyways. Learning to read Utrecht made me hyper-aware of all the symbols engraved and embedded around the city. One recurrent symbol was the crescent moon.

The film, In Bruges, was still pretty fresh in my memory, so I tried to compare the physical city with the scenes I remembered from the film. It was fun to stumble into the market square and think "oh! this is the belfry tower where *** fell". At points I did feel like I was in a sort of purgatory, especially near the end of the day when I was extremely tired and cold. The city was large enough that I always felt a bit lost and overwhelmed. My horrible sense of direction and refusal to read maps made my walk through the city strange and circular...always seeing new things while unintentionally revisiting the old things.

Before traveling to Bruges, Daniel made me a list of things to do in the city, including braadwurst on the square and a tour of a beer brewery. On arriving at the market square, I dutifully followed Daniel's instructions and ate an amazing broodje braadwurst with mustard. The flavors are indescribable, and my mouth is watering as I write this. One regret I have on visiting Bruges is that I did not climb the belfry tower.

Past the square, I ended up walking into several delightful courtyards, past boat tours (much more charming and enticing than those in Delft), and an antique flea market by the water. Around 1pm, I arrived at the beer brewery and bar/restaurant de Halve Man, recommended by Daniel. I took a tour around the facility and learned about the brewing process. One fact that stuck out was that Belgian specialty beers often use coriander as an ingredient for it's hangover preventative and aphrodisiac properties. This made me wonder if Michel (great hater of coriander in his food) would still like his Leffe if he knew...At the end of my tour I was given a complimentary Brugse Zot (brewed at the brewery) and was sent on my way back to the city.

For the rest, I just wandered through the city as it got colder and darker. I took a break and popped into Our Lady's Church, did some shopping, and went to drink coffee in an unmemorable bar by the city library while waiting for the boys to join me. In the evening I was joined by Ronald and Marcel for a nice dinner in a small Italian restaurant. Needless to say, I left the city with a belly full of good food and good feelings.

Pictures to come...

Recommended to do in Bruges:
Eat a broodje braadwurst on the market square
Climb the Belfry tower
Visit and take a tour of the Halve Man brewery
Take a boat tour (something like E6.50 for an hour)

Next travel destinations:
Paris (Nov 29)
Jamaica (Dec 8)
Raleigh, NC; Washington DC; New York, NY (Dec 17th)