September 10-14, 2022 - Brugge
This weekend it was pretty crowded in Brugge Center. If September is the shoulder season, then I sure would not want to be here in August!!! We decided to try to explore areas that were not so crowded. One of the places we were curious to explore was the dock area (since we were supposed to be on a Bike & Barge tour 2 years ago). We knew it wouldn’t be as crowded down by the docks, so we walked there. None of the Magnifique boats were in port, but we did see another Bike & Barge getting ready to depart. It started pouring rain (again) and luckily, The Mayflower, an older moored boat that had been turned into a restaurant, was open. We sat down and had a beer and wine while watching and listening to the rain. It was just so relaxing. Instead of walking back, we caught the #12 bus back to the train station. From there we caught the #2 bus back to Brugges Center.
Finding ourselves again near Bourgogne des Flanders, we stopped for the view, a beer/wine and a pretzel to share. This was the only time we found any mustard in Brugges. Everything is usually served with a blob of mayonnaise (yuck). We had dinner at Cambrinus, which is right around the corner from what will be our new hotel, Crowne Plaza. Blaine enjoyed his rabbit dish and Jeri had the onion soup.
On Sunday, Sept 11, we checked out of Duke’s Palace Residence and got a room at the Crowne Plaza Brugge. We were quite happy that they had a room ready for us at 11am! After getting settled in our new hotel (right on the Burg Square and across from a beautiful park), we just kept exploring this wonderful city. There were quite a few scheduled concerts in the Markt on this weekend and Jeri got a decent video of one of them. They just set up chairs that fill up quickly. Everyone seems to be having a great time! We had dinner at Nakhom Thai, a restaurant just around the corner.
On Monday, Sept 12, we decided to hike to find the windmills that are on the river. Blaine found them on the city map. They are on the canal, just on the outskirts of town. Really, you would never know the windmills were so close if you only stay in the center of Brugges. We climbed up to one of the windmills to observe the interesting mechanisms. There was netting on the underside to stop birds and animals from nesting in the wood. Amazing pieces of engineering! Jeri visited the Church of Our Lady, which is beautiful! We had dinner at Delaney’s Irish Pub (again, right next to the Crowne Plaza). Blaine had Cottage Pie (sort of a Shephard’s Pie) and Jeri had Carrot/Ginger Soup.
Tuesday, Sept 13 was spent at the Groeningemuseum. That is Brugges fine art museum, with works of art from the finest painters throughout history. After exploring a few of the smaller streets in town we decide to stop for dinner at Palma Burger. Blaine had Fish & Chips (seriously, our first try at Belgium Fries) and Jeri had Tomato Soup & Vegie Lasagna. Blaine sat right in front a beautiful mural of Brugges painted by Johan Lootens. The restaurant owner told us where his paintings were sold in the Fish Market.
The rainiest day of our time in Brugges was Wednesday, Sept 14. We headed to the Fish Market as instructed by the Palma Burger restaurant owner & bought 2 prints by Johan Lootens. Very hard decision on which one (or two) to buy! Hopefully, they will be in decent shape when we get get home. Blaine’s back was really giving him trouble so he decided to head back to the hotel to rest. Jeri decided to head to the Gruuthusemuseum. The Gruuthusemuseum takes you to three crucial periods in the rich history of Bruges. There is the time of Burgundian prosperity, the less well known 17th and 18th centuries, and the historical ‘reinvention’ of Bruges in the 19th century. These three periods come to life in over 600 collection items which all tell their own story. From majestic tapestries to unique Gothic stained glass windows, from elegant wooden sculptures to historic lace, paintings, porcelain, and silver..
