Bruges

Unfortunately, neither of us has seen the movie "In Bruges," though I hear it's not bad. Maybe after we return from Europe.

I visited Bruges for a couple of days in 2005, and it was so nice I knew I had to take Sarah there.  Yes, it's touristy.  Yes, there are lots of tourists - mostly old tourists - as a result.  It's expensive and the food is often, well, touristy (expensive and not very good).  But it doesn't matter.  The entire old town area is a UNESCO world heritage site, and is a perfectly preserved/reconstructed, prosperous renaissance trading city.  It's ridiculously nice, there's no denying it.  Absolutely worth a visit, just for the romance.

Bruges was a very rich textile trading center back in, well, I'm not exactly sure but probably 1200-1300 or so.  As a result, it has lots of cathedrals, rich merchant homes, public buildings, etc.  It was also surrounded by fortifications and a moat/canals, and innumerable impressive/lovely buildings.  Canals led to the ocean (probably around 15 km away), so ships could trade directly with the city.  Unfortunately, at some point the main canal from the North Sea silted in, around the same time the Dutch became much more prominent traders out of other ports just to the north.  So Bruges declined and the area became a bit of a ghost town - or at least very quiet.  The advantage was that Bruges was of no strategic significance during the world wars, so it wasn't bombed and therefore didn't need extensive rebuilding to achieve its present, lovely state.  It's very well-preserved.

We arrived at around 5:00pm, after some cancelled and delayed trains (we're clearly not in Germany anymore), and we found Hilda's house after a bit of walking with our baggage - it's outside the old town, in an upscale, quiet neighbourhood.  (Hilda was recommended as a good place to stay by the B&B across the street from her that didn't have any vacancies.)

Hilda is a gem - a wonderful woman, native of Flanders, multi-lingual, gracious, generous, and an all-around great hostess.  After having tea and chatting with her, we wandered around town in the evening.

This is one of the entrances through the fortifications/canal to the old city - the "Butcher's Gate."

Looking away from the big, impressive buildings in the main square, the Markt, towards the touristy restaurants under the cute buildings.  (Yes, there's a market there every morning.)

Hilda recommended that we get a beer at De Garre, which is beside the Markt square down a tiny alley. Apparently the locals all go there before/after concerts or other events.  It's seriously old and authentic.  This is looking down at the bar from above.

 Open window let in a bit of a breeze.
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De Garre has a great selection of beer, and knowledgeable, multi-lingual staff.  Their specialty is a house-brand tripel, which I can very highly recommend. It's quite strong (11%), with an enourmous, whipped-cream-like head, and is absolutely wonderful.  Served with a few cubes of cheese.

Yes indeed, I do like that De Garre tripel.

At the grocery store on the way back to our room, it became clear that beer was a bit cheaper over here.  0.99 Euro is about $1.30 CDN for a Chimay dubbel.  I picked up a Rodenbach "Flanders Red" ale at the same store for 0.75 Euro - a blend of young and 2-year barrel aged beer.  Ah, Belgium.  I feel there will be several more beer posts in the near future...