Love, Waffles and Everything else in Bruges

I had been to Belgium on a uni trip a few years ago but we went to Brussels. Love, Waffles and everything else in Bruges is my love letter to Belgium; after that Brussels trip that left me feeling like I needed to see more.

Back to Bruges. I was on the Eurostar website (just to see what was going on there lol) and I saw a few trips to Paris, Bruges, Brussels and Lille. I’m not particularly sure how but Bruges was my choice, Mr E went with it and it was booked. We booked it as a package deal (train + hotel) and the price worked out cheaper than having to book separately.

For a complete travel guide on the Belgian city of Bruges, let’s get into it, shall we?!

You are unlikely to tire of Bruges, no matter how long you stay

Love

I can categorically say that I was not prepared for the beauty that is Bruges. It gave us timeless and romantic experiences and it did feel like we were somewhere between Venice and Amsterdam.

Little Venice of the North

On a bright and sunny day, they say that the best way to go around the city is by a canal cruise. We hopped on a little boat from Gruuthusestraat and wove around the canals for 30 mins, which was the cutest experience ever (if you get the most perfect seats which we did). We were lucky to get into the boat first which meant that we sat at the rear. I will admit, I was not really paying attention to the captain because I was taking everything in. It costs 10 Euros per person and the boat holds about 20 people.

The captain pointed out a few popular spots and I was quite excited to see the window from In Bruges where Colin Farrell shot the scene in which he jumped out of the window. So cool! The scenery was stunning, it was serene, and everything was perfect!

Another way to see the city, which for me was the best and my most preferable way was the Horse and Carriage ride.

Meet Bébé! 

She is a beauty and is well cared for by her beautiful handler who let me pet her. This ride was 50Euros for 30 mins and I say I prefer this way to see the city because the lady who gave us our personal tour was lovely and knowledgeable. She answered all our questions, showed us all the spots and clarified a few misconceptions for us.

Some Facts about Bruges

 

• Bruges has 17 churches. 16 are Catholic and 1 is Protestant.
• In the Napoleon time, more windows in buildings meant more taxes to be paid so a lot of older buildings still have their windows sealed off.
• Around the city, older houses have scary faces on the top of their doors. This was believed to drive evil spirits away.
• Unlike Brussels where French is the dominant language, Flemish (which is a Dutch dialect) is Bruges’ official language.

My most favourite spot in all of Bruges was Minnewaterburg. This beauty is literally across from the train station once you get into the city and is the most beautiful site there ever was. It has an endless garden, which surrounds its lake known as the Lake of Love. There is the Lover’s Bridge, which goes from one end to the other and it is believed that if you walk with your lover over the bridge and kiss them on the bridge, your love will be eternal.

So you can guess what your girl did haha

The serenity of this lake is unrivalled and if we had one more day, I would have sat by this lake for hours and hours doing nothing. Mr E and I found a perfect spot (which I will not share haha) but it was just away from people walking around and distracting your peace. If there is one place I recommend in Bruges, it will be the Minnewaterburg. Make sure you take a blanket with you and some chops so you can have a little picnic too!

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Waffles

This is where you will find me at my happiest. I had waffles every few hours of the day. I definitely threw my fitness out of the window on this trip and just binged on waffles. From marshmallow toppings to fruit toppings to chocolate toppings, name it, I had it all!

There is a reason why Belgian waffles are popular. Yes, they meet all the hype and more. The right amount of fluffiness as the end product of the perfect mixture of batter. I don’t have a food diary from Bruges because we probably ate out once on the entire trip. We lived on waffles and ice creams and for dinner, we ate kebabs or hotdogs or whatever street food we  found on our way home.

Everything Else…

Tours

There are a lot of tours to be done in Bruges but we chose two, which to us represented the Belgian culture. The Chocolate Tour and The Beer Tour. We did both on the same day, one after the other as they were quite short, at-your-own-pace kind of vibe and were quite cheap. We also had a 10% discount from our hotel so this knocked off some coins.

1. Choco Story Tour

Here, we learnt the history of chocolates and how the production has grown from the 1600s till date. It was about 10 Euros per person and we got free bars of chocolates.

Was it informative? Yes

Was it boring? Yes

It was interesting to note that 4 of Africa’s greats, produce 67% of the world’s chocolate population and I could see Nigeria at 7% sitting pretty amongst Cote D’Ivoire (35%), Ghana (19%) and Cameroon (6%).

2. Beer Tour

This one was for Mr E as I don’t drink beer. Mr E is a wine or G & T kind of drinker but he tends to experiment with whatever the local alcohol is. He discovered he liked beer when we went to Berlin so with Bruges, we decided to check out the Biermuseum. This is located just off Grotte Mrkt (so quite central) and costs 10 Euros per person. However, if you fancy a taste menu afterwards, you pay 16 Euros instead. Since I was just going for the experience, it was 10 Euros for me, and 16 Euros for Mr E.

Was it informative? Yes

Was it boring? Yes

(but Mr E enjoyed it and this is what matters lol)

Where we stayed

Karos Hotel (par of the Floris Hotel collection)

This was a winner for us and it is not often that I rave about the quality of European city hotels but this was amazing. Only 15 mins walk from the Bruges station, this beautiful hotel was perfect for our stay. We never had to hop on a bus or train to anywhere as the city center (and every possible landmark we wanted to visit) was within walking distance. It had a pool, a gym (win!), a play area (if you travel with your kids) and the room was clean and quite a good size!

Where to eat in Bruges

As I mentioned earlier, we really did not eat out that much as we lived on waffles and food on the go. But I must shout out to the one place we had dinner on our last night. We found it as we wandered past Grote Mrkt for the umpteenth time and we just walked in. The restaurant was Café des Arts and it is on the line of the numerous restaurants on the square.

As usual, I had the seafood pasta; Mr E had a half chicken. To drink, I had a glass of prosecco and Mr E had a beer! We sat on the terrace to eat and people watch as usual. Food was yummmmmmmmy and service was great! The perfect last meal in Belgium tbh!

We also found the cutest tea and cake shop on our way to the Choco Story tour, Jacqueline’s Tearoom. We (read: I) got distracted and we stayed for some tea and coffee. Also, we met the owner who was the loveliest lady ever! The tearoom is usually not open on Mondays but I guess our luck shined on us as this particular Monday, it was open! PS – The apple crumble was the best I’ve ever had!

Address? I’ve got you! Oude Burg 4, 8000 Brugge

Landmarks in Bruges

Bruges has A LOT of landmarks and they all add to the timeless beauty it exudes.

Walking along its cobbled streets, you are bound to find a number of hidden gems in its parks and by its sidewalks. There are a lot of classic buildings and churches and monuments, which range from Gothic to Neo-Classicist to Renaissance architectural designs. They all have so much significance to the city.

Bruges was beautiful.

The best time to go would be in May or September, just before and after the summer rush. Even though it was already sunny, it was sane and peaceful. If I had to choose between Bruges and Brussels, I would go for Bruges without a doubt. Every time I go to a new European city, I feel like it gives me something new and wins my heart. This no doubt, happened in Bruges and I will say that it is now one of my most favourite European cities to visit.

Until next time,

Bisous, ‘Bugo x