July 16 – DAY 16
Today was a very looked forward to day. I have always had an admiration for small towns and cities of Europe and historic places. I feel the most cultural and locally nd sometimes historic areas of a country are found in the smaller and agrarian parts of it. The two towns of Belgium are absolutely stunning and were highly recommended to explore on this trip. we were located in Brussels and had to take the train to Bruges so that we were the farthest point from the hotel for the night, so we could spend the day working back towards our hotel.
The train station was about a mile from our hotel so we grabbed coffee in the morning and headed to the departure point. I was particularly excited for the food and town of Bruges. We arrived at the train station and decided to spend 3 hours in Bruges. I knew this town was smaller than other places we had planned to go, but I did not expect it to have so many small alley ways and areas to explore, so I tried my hardest to get around. The town itself is known for its iconic building structures (triangle roofs) and its canals. I guess one comparison or description of this place would have to be a red bricked Venice. we started from the train station about a half mile from the downtown area. this area was built far from the city and on the other side of the river, thus we had to cross via a bridge to get to the downtown area.
The first area we came across was the alleyway going into town, and immediately we succumbed to a great appreciation of the buildings and history. The three story red bricked neighborhoods bring a type of Scandinavian and German mix of architecture to mind. We continued down the alleyway which was the main entrance to the town center, into the local square. The square itself was populated, and the morning festivities were underway, with local vendors, and musicians doing what they do best in public. We decided to roam the square which was about 400yds by 400 yds (pretty large), and then meander in and out of stores.
The primary castle/ cathedral in the town square wascalled….. and had a slight tilt to the actual building as you can see from the picture. It was visually interesting to see, and I had to sit and take in this visual conundrum to see if I was correct in my assumption.
It was time to head into the historic area of the town, and explore the architecture. With a fresh coffee in hand we headed towards the area of….. We meandered around back alley ways of local houses and cathedrals, and gorgeous historic buildings. This town was quickly becoming one of my favorites up to this point. The rivers, and back roads through neighborhoods were stunning and so peaceful this morning. We finally had made it through the city.
This put us to the backside of the town along another river where there were windmills built along the river side. They seemed to be deemed more of a tourist site rather than an actual working mechanism, but either way we were able to go up next to them and read about the design. This was our first time seeing a windmill in the stereotypical fashion. I didn’t realize how big these were, and how old they were, with some dating back almost ….. years!
It was getting later in the day, so we decided to get lunch at ….. which was in a quaint beautiful square. Though it was a little expensive for an afternoon lunch, we shared a fish, and meat entree with local fare, and this was among a setting of locals in a town square called…. Once again the experience was worth the time and money, and that is what we appreciated.
It was time to start to head to the train station while walking through many more architecturally splendid scenes. we walked towards where we began, in order to get to Ghent Belgium by….. We came across multiple town squares, and canals on the way back which allowed for wonderful pictures, and appreciation for the town. Though this town was very touristcentered , I deeply received an appreciation for their history and culture, and the overall feeling of the city in general. It was time to continue to our afternoon destination.
The town of Ghent, is a larger but equally historic town compared to Bruges. This was halfway back to belgium, which was designed that way remember in order to be closer to our hotel as the day got later. This train ride from on spot to another took…. long, and was a relatively uninteresting landscape to get there.
However Ghent, itself was one of he most interesting parts of this trip. I was not expecting this area to be so ornate and prostine, along with the fact we did not know there was a music festival/ local party going on. the event was called…… This was a great surprise, as we were able to get a firs hand taste on local fare, and drinks in a close proximity. The area itself was built along the same river Bruges was ???? and in order to get to the town square we once again had tot reverse over the river and walk almost 500 yds to the city center. It was getting a little tiring walking thus we decided that we needed coffee and upon seeing a duke donuts we had to stop and get a little pick me up.
There were many cathedrals in this town, but the town square has a set of them almost in a row where you can go in and out of the buildings and explore at your own leisure. WE decided this was the perfect way to spend an hour by exploring the ornate interiors of these cathedrals. We were not disappointed with the interiors, as the gold and black trim along white marble popped visually and quickly became one of my favorite interior designs of cathedrals. Without going into descriptions here are a couple pictures from the interior and exteriors of the churches. Absolutely stunning.
One of the primary reasons to come to ghent ( at least from a bucket list perspective), was to go to a place called Drupelkots? which is known for his hand made liquor which is a local sensation. the liquor os called…. and its almost like flavored vodka. We actually ended up making friends with the guy and he let us sample many flavors of his drink. This was a great experiences as he wa a local legend, and during a busy time of the day we were able to have the whole place to ourselves and our own tour guide from the legend himself. His building is an old historic addition along the river itself… directly across from the entrance to the downtown area. This was particularly enjoyable.
from this time it was time to head to the city center and go back to the party. we had seen everything on our list thus it was time to enjoy the rest of the afternoon having a few drinks and even a small dinner of local foods from vendors, listening to music and seeing the locals mingle. This was a great treat of an experiences and one Ill always remember. This was an amazing day, and sometimes the surprises we don’t expect turn out to be part of the best memories of our trips.
It was time to head back to the large city of Brussels, and we decided we wanted to get another beer before it was time for bed. We went to a local bar called…. and had one of my new favorite beers, called la chaufe, and this was the wheat version. We had it via draft and fell in love with it. since it was time to get ready for our next day of travel, we decided it was time to head to bed, and rest up for our next day, which was to explore the full city of brussels.
(6:06-7:00 IC 527)
WALKING TOUR:
Train station
Begijnhof
Belfry of Bruges
Basilica of the holy blood
bruges Beer experience
St James Church
Gentpoort
Kruispoort gate
Sint-Janhuismolen
Vlissinghe
WALKINg ROUTE:
Gent Sint Peters
Citadelpark
St. Michael Bridge
Saint Bavos Cathedral
Graffiti Street
Sint Jacobskerk
Patershol
GRavensteen
’t DreupelKot (try jenevuer drink)
-Korenmarkt ghent
-Sint Veerleplein
-back to Brussels
HOTEL in BRUSSELS: Bedford hotel and congress center ($130.80) CONFIRMED 148016388111
EXPENSES
7.60 coffee and pastry
1.90 grocery
34.80 lunch
3 chocolates
1.80 tea
15 drinks ghent
7.30 ghent
8 dinner ghent
7 beers
16.80 beer and wings
4.50 beer
Total- 107.80 (25.40 over + 46.50= 72 over)