In Bruges

As I sit in a hostel in Galway, Ireland, I once again play catch up with my blogs. So much has happened in the last few weeks and I am so behind on blogging. My apologies; I’m making the most of my one short life (my reference to a quote by Lorna Jane; it will make you rethink certain decisions as it did me). So now that I have Internet and I'm sitting waiting to go out and find food, here is my blog on my time "In Bruges".

Streetscape

I arrived in Bruges in the early afternoon of the 28^th, ready to go out and explore this quaint little town which I had been advised to go to rather than Brussels as it was more picturesque, laid-back and just generally more enjoyable (whilst also being safer). I had also seen a little of the movie “In Bruges” and decided it looked absolutely stunning. Furthermore the accommodation in Bruges was much cheaper than in Brussels making my decision rather easy. I was looking forward to a smaller town that ran at a slower pace; I was readying myself for the next part of my adventure in Paris.

The Provinciaal Hof

I left Koln at around midday and disembarked the train in Bruges (after changing trains in Brussels) and found my way to the bus station, boarding the bus with about 4 other travellers all headed in the same direction; St Christopher’s Bauhaus Hostel. The hostel was a small way out of the centre of town on a lovely little cobbled street. It was more like a hostel complex; it had two or three buildings, a bar, restaurant and laundry facilities, though no kitchen (which would’ve iced the already impressive cake). I made my way to my dorm room and then back downstairs and onto the street. I was up for a good wander and explore having gotten a good map and some suggested sites to see, most of them involving chocolate or beer, the two Belgium staples.

The Belfry

I made my way down to the main square passing the Provinciaal Hof and then arriving around the back of the infamous Belfry that I didn’t actually end up climbing. I took some photos, dodging the hundreds of tourist doing the same thing and then made my way down to a different square. I was aiming for a place called “The Chocolate Line”, which according to the hostel was the only chocolate shop in Bruges worth a taste. I can assure that this is indeed the case, and I managed to befriend the girl behind the counter and she gave me a selection of the most interesting but delicious chocolates I had ever tasted. You don’t think that Lemongrass chocolate or chocolate with sun dried tomatoes and avocado would work, but amazingly it does in the best way possible. However it is a bit of a mind bender when you pick up a chocolate, knowing that you have both a coffee flavour and a sun-dried tomato flavour, expecting the coffee but getting sun dried tomato. Cue confused/shocked look, giggles from onlookers and me shrugging my shoulders and continuing walking and eating as I decided that it was still quite nice.

Cute church

I made my way from “The Chocolate Line” down a different street towards the other side of town, which I soon found was actually back towards the hostel but on a different side of the canals. I wasn’t lost but I was confused for a little while. I had decided that I was aiming for “The Chocolate Story”, a chocolate museum that apparently gave you chocolate on entry, the start of the tour and the end of the tour. I was in. However, I arrived shortly after closing time so put it on the (never completed) list for the next day and decided to wander through the back streets towards the hostel. I had put my name down for a beer tasting that evening. I figured what better way to meet people than over Belgium Beer?

Streetscape #2.

It was possibly the best move I had made in the last few days. As we sat down at the table the group quickly sorted itself out. There were more Australians along with some American travellers from the Bus-about tour and the atmosphere once we warmed up was great. Over the next few hours I go to know the other Australians; Tom and Justine, Pat and Sam and we continued the fun into the bar later on after the tasting. The young American running the tasting had enough energy that had he been able to, he would’ve been bouncing off the walls and with his expert guidance we became very merry and the group ended up on the other side of town at a bar later on.

Canals

The next day I met Justine and Tom at breakfast as we had decided that we would go and explore the town a bit more. Justine and I wanted to see the windmills and Tom (and later Pat who we met whilst wandering) wanted to do a brewery tour as apparently they gave you another free beer tasting. We never actually made it to the brewery however as we decided instead to walk around the outside of the city back towards the hostel and sit under the windmills. Tom felt like wine and chocolate, and after stocking up at the supermarket we fell about under a windmill in the sun for the rest of the afternoon, listening to music, chatting and having a generally relaxed time. The afternoon ended as we made our way back to the bar as we all wanted to use the Internet and do some planning for the next few days as most of us were moving in our own directions in the next few days (in my case the next morning). Happy hour started at 5 and we decided to use the Internet until then after which we would find dinner and continue the party. The night got well under way and once again we continued the party well into the hours of the morning.

Beer!

The next morning after a quick packing session I had breakfast and headed on my way to the train station. I was heading to Paris and wanted to get there with some time to spare in the afternoon so that I could begin my sight-seeing and exploring. I was fully prepared for the next 3 days to absolutely  destroy any energy reserves I had left so was looking forward to a few hours on the train to rest and relax. I made my way from Bruges back to Brussels, and then into the international ticket office where I met the most charming salesman of my trip so far, explaining that “he wouldn’t normally tell people but first class was only 2Euro extra” after I definitively said I wanted second class. Sometimes I really love being tall and blonde and my appreciation for last night’s makeup has gone up incredibly *giggles*. He told me that for those 2 Euros I would get food and drink and more leg room. I was sold. As such, the train trip to Paris was incredibly comfortable and I arrived in the afternoon ready to find my hostel, ditch the pack and start seeing the city.

Windmill

Thus ends my time “In Bruges” and as such this blog entry. Prepare yourselves; my Parisian adventure is next!

Until next time,

Love Love!

Clem xx