After a whirlwind trip around Ireland, we hopped on a plane and headed to mainland Europe for the rest of our 2.5 month journey. Our first stop on the mainland was Belgium! We booked an Airbnb for four nights in Bruges, and we were originally planning on taking a day trip to explore Brussels. However, plans changed – we were pretty tired from our Ireland road trip, and we knew we wanted more time in Bruges the moment we arrived.
Bruges is truly a fairytale town. It looks like it came straight out of a storybook. It was so wonderful to have three full days to wander the streets and get a feel for life in this Flemish city.
Arrival
We arrived in Bruges late at night after a nearly three hour drive from Galway to Dublin, a flight from Dublin to Brussels, and an hour train ride from Brussels to Bruges. When we arrived, we found out that the buses had stopped running, so we took a long walk form the train station to our Airbnb. We got some help with our route from a few locals, jumping right into our first non-English speaking country experience of this trip. At first we were hesitant to walk this far with our backpacks, but I’m so glad we did! We were introduced to this magical city during its quietest hours, all lit up at night.
Day One
Our first morning in Bruges, we took a leisurely walk from our Airbnb to the place we had chosen for breakfast, Books & Brunch.
Books & Brunch
Books & Brunch was a great experience. We enjoyed our first Belgian breakfast surrounded by shelves full of books.
The food was fresh and delicious! We also had a short conversation with owner who is very passionate about…. you guessed it…. books and brunch and also his beautiful city.
Chocolate Shops
Belgium is known for many things, but one of its primary claims to fame is its chocolate. Now, many people who know me know that I hate chocolate, but I still enjoyed popping into the chocolate shops with Daniel because they were so beautiful and their chocolate creations were so interesting to look at! I could never stay in those shops very long because of the smell, but it’s an experience I didn’t want to miss.
The Bottle Shop
Another Belgium claim to fame is its craft beer selection. Daniel has gotten very interested in the craft beer scene in the U.S., so he was excited to have the Belgian beer experience. We stopped in The Bottle Shop so that he could pick up a few bottles for us to try back at the apartment.
Belfry Tower
The Belfry Tower is probably the most well-known landmark in Bruges – it played a central role in the movie “In Bruges”. It sits in the famous (and fascinating) Markt Square.
We opted to buy the 48-hour Bruges City Card to cover our attraction admission fees. It costs around $50 and covers admission into about twenty-seven attractions for forty-eight hours. I think it’s worth the purchase if you plan to visit lots of paid attractions while in Bruges as the individual admission fees can be pretty steep. You can pick up a Bruges City Card from the visitors’ center right off the main square.
So, after purchasing our city cards, we began the climb up the Belfry Tower. It’s 366 steps to the top, and the passage gets narrow and steep, so it’s not a leisurely stroll up. At various intervals there are stops where you can take a break and read about the history of the tower. At one of the stops, you can watch the bells chime if you are there at the right time.
Pretty soon after you start wondering if you regret the decision to climb up the tower, you make it to the top and see this stunning view. Spoiler alert: It’s well-worth the climb.
After the much easier climb down the tower, we decided to hit another attraction before seeking out some food and drinks.
Historium Bruges
The Historium Bruges describes itself as a historical experience attraction that takes you back to medieval Bruges. This definitely piqued our interest, and since it was covered by our Bruges city card we made it our next stop. After picking up our English audioguides and getting our tickets, we waited to enter.
While the walk-through sets were impressive and the music and animation was interesting, we were pretty disappointed. The hour-long attraction walks you through a fictional story that is set during medieval Bruges, but we didn’t feel like we learned any history. The story was very cheesy too. This could be a great way to entertain kids for an hour, but I don’t recommend it for grown-ups interested in learning about the history of the city.
There is an exhibit at the end of the attraction that shows some of the behind-the-scenes of the making of the Historium. There is also a balcony that sits over the square that makes for a great photo opportunity.
Next up on our agenda was a food and drink break! Daniel had done a lot of research on the best places to get beer in Bruges, and he was particularly interested in visiting a highly-rated bar called Le Trappiste.
Le Trappiste
At Le Trappiste, we got a tasting paddle so that we could sample a variety of Belgian beers. We also got an assortment of snacks for dinner. We both thought this place was great, and we wish we could have gone again during our time in Bruges.
Day 2
The next morning we had bread and jam at the apartment for breakfast, and then we headed out for our day.
Friet Museum
French fries are yet another food that Belgium is known for doing very well, so we decided to start our day at the Friet Museum. I really enjoyed this museum. It is very informative and has a lot of cool exhibits to look at. Who knew that the history of the french fries could be so intriguing?
Potatoes were first harvested near Lake Titicaca in Peru. We visited this area last August (read about that trip here). I found it interesting to see how the history from two places that we have visited across the world from each other has impacted each other. This museum also taught us to eat as many potatoes as we want because they contain many important vitamins and minerals. Don’t mind if I do!
Fries originated in Belgium, but no one is certain where and why exactly they originated. One theory is that inhabitants near the Meuse River in Belgium caught fish in the river and fried them. During the mid-18th century, the winters were very harsh, so they were unable to catch fish. Instead they fried up potatoes to look like fish, and thus fries were born!
Learning french fry cooking methods!
We also learned another fun fact about the origin of the name French fry: During WWI, some French-speaking Belgian soldiers offered some of these “chips” to American soldiers who thought the soldiers were French. And the name has stuck ever since!
There is a cafe that sells french fries at the end of the museum. We stopped and shared an order. They were quite tasty, even at ten in the morning!
I think this post is long enough. I will wrap up the second part of our time in Bruges in my next travel post.
{Our time in Bruges was part of a 2.5 month trip across Western Europe. Click here to check out all of my posts from this adventure!}
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