Epic Honeymoon - Day 43 - Bruges

Having seen most of what there is to see in Brussels (of course, there’s always more to see in every place!), we decided to use our last day to take a day trip out to the gorgeous town of Bruges.

Our AirBnB host had left us with a train pass that she suggested we could use for exactly this purpose, which was so lovely of her! It was a multi-trip pass, allowing 10 trips to Bruges, and there was just enough left for us to do a return journey. Unfortunately, we found out at the train station that the pass was for students / under-30s, or something along those lines. We were therefore unable to use it and had to purchase our tickets the old fashioned way!

We coming in!

It’s not a cheap day trip, at €60 per person, return, but highly recommended for the unparalleled country scenery. Sitting almost on Belgium’s northern border with the Netherlands, Bruges somewhat straddles the two in culture and language. But they all speak English too, so not to worry if you aren’t up to scratch on your Dutch. Having spent a bit of time in South Africa for my job, I noticed some similarities in the language, given that Afrikaans is about 95% Dutch. And it’s always funny to see Dutch or German sentences that are easily understood in English but written in the former; like this advisory on the train, above, which looks like "We coming in, in Bruges".

As soon as you get off the train and out of the station (to the north-east), you cross the R30 which looks a lot more major on Google Maps than it is, and dive head first into this little gem. There’s a tourist information booth before exiting the station that will provide a free map with various suggested walking routes and sights to see as your wander around the town.

Absolutely gorgeous sights.

Our route took us along the Minnewater, admiring the beautiful autumn scenery and reflections in the canal. We passed by the Begijnhuisje, an active convent for Benedictine nuns, and then through the southern parts of the city centre and passed Sint-Janshospitaal and the Church of Our Lady Bruges (which was under renovation during our visit).

Sint-Janshospitaal.

Church of Our Lady Bruges.

The cobble-stoned streets led us via a huge variety of shops and we eventually made our way to Markt, the centre of Bruges.

Markt - the main square in the centre of Bruges.

We browsed the various restaurants along the perimeter of Markt, each offering a varied set menu. We chose one that seemed alright, but it later turned out to be an error in judgement. A bit like our experience along Rue Grétry in Brussels, the food was perfectly edible but really not what we were hoping.

Lunch on the Markt.

Not bad, but also not great.

To the south end of Markt stands the magnificent Belfry of Bruges with its marvellous 83m tall tower. You can climb up the tower if you so wish, but down at ground level, you can explore a myriad of information about Bruges in the reception area.

Belfry of Bruges.

After lunch, we made our way down Wollestraat, browsing the local shops here and there, eventually stumbling across The Beer Wall, which is the impressive entrance to 2be. Quite the popular little drinking spot, nestled in the back corner along the Dijver, you have whet your whistle with a variety of different beers in served tasting trays, along with notes about each beer’s bouquet. Because Avy was drinking with me (I didn’t fancy getting tipsy alone), we went with the Light assortment, as she’s not really a beer drinker – no IPAs for her palette.

The Beer Wall!

Ah yes, this looks like the place to be!

Across the bridge and to the left, you can find yourself at what is called on Google Maps “Brugge Fotoplaats”. It’s just the opposite corner of the river to 2be, and some of the more famous or common postcards employ this view in advertising the beauty of Bruges.

Brugge Fotoplaats.

We looped around through the shops and alleys and came to Burg Square. Here, you can find yet another wonderful gothic building in the Bruges Town Hall. Built in 1376, it now houses a museum to Bruges’ art and history.

Bruges Town Hall.

To the side of the Town Hall stands the Basilica of the Holy Blood. The phial kept here, under constant watch by dedicated priests, reportedly contains some cloth which has soaked up a few drops of Jesus Christ’s blood. Of course, nobody can ever prove if it’s true or not. You cannot take photos of the phial or, indeed, near the procession to view the phial. You can only join the queue and get your 3 to 5 seconds checking it out before you shuffle away. Photos of the rest of the Basilica are allowed, but the phial is protected as securely as you can imagine something like this would be protected.

Basilica of the Holy Blood.

Basilica of the Holy Blood.

The evening was drawing near, and so we wandered back down Steenstraat, ducking in and out of various shops, and following all the way down to the end of Zuidzandstraat before taking a left. We took this route back towards the train station, but it turned out to be mostly residential. That was nice though, to see part of Bruges not specially catering to tourists.

A more residential side the Bruges.

One final glance to soak up the beauty.

With one last gaze over the river, we bought tickets (from a grumpy and unhelpful ticketmaster) and boarded our train back to Brussels, ready to pack our things and head along on the next way-point on our epic journey...

A juicy Hamburger is calling my name on Day 44!