The first trip we took in Belgium was to the city of Bruges(Dutch) or Brugge(English). One early morning we decided to take a totally unplanned for trip, as usual. No maps, no guidebook, no guide, no hopes pinned too high.
Bruges is of historic significance as this is perhaps the only place in Belgium that remained untouched during the first World War thanks to the natural silting that blocked the city port! You can't say the same for Ypres or Brussels that were more or less flattened during the war.
We booked the train tickets on a Sunday and after an hour and 20 minutes train journey from Brussels Central - Bruges, we reached there at 9.00 AM only to find the Enquiry booth closed! It was a Sunday afterall. Bummer! A lady at the makeshift helpdesk at the train station however gave us the B&W copy of a map labeled in Dutch.
Worried, we went in to the coffee shop at the train station for snacks only to be told that the kitchen was closed due to some technical issue and only drinks were being served. The second hitch! The helpful(and only) waitress came to our rescue when she saw us pouring over the map and informed us that everything that's worth seeing starts and ends at the Markt and the Fish Markt. Well, that was a start!
We took the bus to the center of the city soaking in the view and the sun; got off the bus and entered the first souvenier shop we saw. And there was the most reassuring sight of the day - A tourist guidebook called Bruges on Foot. Yay! From there on, we pretty much did what the comprehensive book said by mostly looking at the map inside and exploring the places mentioned. It was easy identifying the structures from the photographs and walking to them all and then some.
We walked to Markt spotting the tip of the Belfry Tower way before we even reached it. It actually dates back to the 13th century! The center is surrounded by refined Gothic architecture and numerous old buildings.
The Belfry Tower is called so, becuase it comprises of over 50 bells. In Markt, you can also see the Government Palace, monument statues in the center fountain, The Burgh, the Old Recorder's House, and the Town hall.
Starting with the famous Gruuthuse Museum, we found out that it was closed for renovation, but that did not exactly interfere with the beauty of the courtyard. Also, the Church of Our Lady right in the neighborhood is so beautifully designed that your camera batteries stand a risk of running out of charge while you try capturing the beauty of it!
Missing out on the museum tour, we made do with the modern art/sculpture gallery nearby. It was weird, but quite intriguing. A curious site right outside was the antique market by the canal. Various old, rusted, shining, magnificent curios for scrap value! I did not dare pick anything up though. I know zilch about antiques.
Walking was the mantra of the day, so we walked through the Breydelstraat, Ezelstraat(Donkey Street! Can you believe it?), the flee market. The place is amazingly beautiful on a sunny day.
In the afternoon, when we tired of walking around, we took the canal ride, which takes you through Groene Rei, which is perhaps the oldest and most ancient canal here, and multiple other places.
The canal ride is bound to give you a Venician feeling if you haven't(like me) been to Venice before, but I was told that Venice is a different experience altogether. The canals and surroundings are supposed to be eye catchingly beautiful when it snows in the winters here. We rowed past the St.John's hospital, Memling Museum, the Lake of Love that can easily be renamed to the Swan Lake - it is teeming with drakes and swans, and is simply lovely! As we were running high on luck, we also saw a German film crew in action. Of course we didn't nor vied to play a part in it, but it is always exciting to watch people in period costumes, don't you think?
Wandering off can also be rewarding. We came across some really pretty statues, fountains, parks, and churches in the residential areas. A lot of modern structures are made in tandem with the older designs to preserve the old worldly charm.
It definitely had been a very rewarding experience!
Photos uploaded on Flickr at https://flickr.com/photos/mons/sets/72157602528036966/
Travel Costs:
Return Train Tickets - Euros 12.80 per person
Accommodation - A day trip is recommended
Food - Approx. Euros 30 a day
Local commute - On foot(recommended), canal(Euros 5.75)
Misc. Costs - Museum entry fee approx. Euros 20/-
Total Costs - Approx. Euros 80~ Rs. 4, 500 /- per person
Note: This trip will propose many picture postcard worthy sights, so ensure that you have enough camera rolls or batteries or memory card space to last you hundreds of pictures!
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