Well I started the day off with a morning jog, yes I know it is very energetic, but with all this Belgian beer and chocolate a girl has got to do, what she’s got to do.
The jog was very rewarding though; I took a road from the hotel out toward the perimeter of the city. The city is surrounded by a canal, and on the banks majestically stand Dutch windmills – although technically they are not Dutch J but I am not sure whether they have another name. I also came across one of the gate houses into Bruges with a drawbridge over the canal. It was lifting up as I was there to allow a barge through the canal.
After I got back to the hotel, we headed out into Bruges. We were headed for the market, which happens every Saturday. I thought that it would be in the aptly named Markt Square – the trading hub in ye olden dayes, however it wasn’t. We meandered around until we found it toward the southern end of the town. We were getting hungrier by the moment, and we weren’t disappointed. At one of the markets there was a food section with caravans and stalls selling cheese, yoghurts, freshly baked breads and rotisserie meat – freshly cooked. The options were endless, whole chicken, bits of chicken, pork, pork ribs…. all going round and around! There were also these yummy teeny potatoes cooked with bacon. And these formed the basis of our breakfast: pork, potatoes and fresh bread, which we ate on a park bench while watching the world go by.
After walking through the markets we quickly returned to the hotel, for although the sky was blue and clear it was not quite as warm as it had been the day before, so we need to pick up a jumper. This in between weather is very difficult to dress for.
The next stop on our itinerary for the day was Belgium’s most famous Belfort (Belfry). It is 366 steps to the top (yes we climbed them all) and offered spectacular views of the city. We did have to queue for little while though before we started our climb. And while we were queuing we watched several ambulance officers carrying defibulators and stretchers begin the long ascent! As no one was brought back down on the stretcher I figured someone must have had a touch of angina. Nevertheless the wait and the climb were well worth the speccie views.
We took the “scenic route” (got just a little bit lost) to the last brewery in Bruges – The Halve Maan (half moon). A family owned and run brewery still in operation that provided a wonderfully entertaining insight into the making of beer and its history in Belgium. Interestingly the brewing regulations for Belgian beer are very strict, only natural products allowed, no chemicals – as such you will never get ‘exactly’ the same beer. There are lots of different types that can be aged like wine for up to 6-8 years. As the beers are never technically exactly the same the percentage e.g. 6% is allowed to vary 0.5% either way. The tour ended with a tasting of course.
A quick snack for lunch and we headed to Begijnhof; a walled in complex home to a 13th century community of unmarried or widowed women. These women became a lay sisterhood, who did not take vows but led a devout life. Years later, and today it is the home to Benedictine Nuns (17 of them, habits and all). The area is the in the south of Bruges and has beautiful tree lined canals, and gardens. The church in the complex was much plainer than others we had seen.
This weekend had a bit of “how many churches can we see in one weekend” feel to it. Yes our next stop was also a church. Another majestic building – The Church of our Lady. Employing many architectural styles it has the tallest spire in Belgium, but this is not its only claim to fame. We entered the church to the sounds of a Philmonic Choir singing – the sound was breathtaking. The church like all of the ones we had seen was Catholic and had the unmistakable smell of incense, this in combination with the hundreds of candles throughout the church and probably some dust as well created the perfect amount of particles in the air to catch the sunlight as it streamed through the windows. But I digress, as I mentioned this church has another claim to fame. It contains the only piece of Michelangelo’s work to leave Italy while he was still alive, the famous Madonna and Child. It remains on of only few of his pieces outside Italy today.
After walking all day we decided a relaxing ride around the canals by boat would be the shot. Fortunately a large group ahead of us had two spare tickets which they gave to us. Woohoo bargain!! As well as resting our feet it gave us another perspective on the town and its history. Including Europe’s oldest hospital – built in the 12 century, that continued to operate until 1976 (now a museum).
Ooooh I forgot to mention, chocolate and hot chocolate (made with real chocolate), from one of the many chocolatiers around. It was so good!!! I have showed great restrained and limited myself to two little choccies and 1 hot chocolate a day J
We had a cheap dinner in (from a grocery store with no plastic bags at all!!!), washed down with a selection of Belgian beer, which a ye olde timer, help us pick out.
It doesn’t get dark here until around 9pm – so it is quite amazing how much you can fit into a day, although this does leave you completely….. stuffed, and ready for bed.
The BBQ: There wasn't enough food provided so we got a portable BBQ pack bought to us and we cooked up a storm :)
The sidelines: We mainly went behind the changerooms between matches and played 4-square with a tennis ball we found, but after luncg we sort of just sat around and watched a few matches and again - "re-hydrated" :)