Bruge for a day - Then train to Brussels, October 12 & 13

Bruge, October 12- A Full Day. 

      We had a great night's sleep in our medieval bedroom and woke to a cool day - in the low 50s.

      The day started with a really big breakfast! David believes in giving his patrons protein, fiber, fruits, & vegetables. So, we started with fruit and yogurt, a separate fruit cup with nuts and freshly-squeezed orange juice. That was followed by two eggs with mushrooms, cherry tomatoes & parsley. Then, came a third course - stewed oranges, fried bananas and blueberries. And...latte! Wow!

     We strolled in a different direction, along one of the canals where there was a market of antiques and trinkets.

        Our first tourist stop was in the Burg, a square with a basilica and other buildings of a variety of arcitectual styles. A wedding had just begun; the bikes of the attendees were decorated with balloons.

The Belfry of Bruges (13th C)  This is where we saw the art exhibit.

        Our second tourist stop was at the Markt, a big square with the Belfry of Bruges made even more famous by the movie, In Bruges. We went into a free art exhibit in two of the big halls.

      On one side was an exhibit by Ria Verhaeghe, called Mama and dedicated to her mother, one of 40,000 Hungarians refugees who were settled in Europe in 1950. Her mother was a child who was resettled in Bruge.

     On the other side, was an exhibit by a group of artists with disabilities - physical (blindness, for example) or mental. Mark talked with the curator about one of the artists who is actually staying with him and who will have an exhibit in London.

 

Passageway to the restaurant, Malesherbes

    We had a WONDERFUL lunch at a French bistro, Malesherbes on a tiny passageway. The restaurant has only 6 tables, so we made a reservation. The owner/chef has had the restaurant for 36 years. She and her partner do all of it - including

washing the dishes. She took Mark into her kitchen to show him and it's amazing she could produce the food she does in that space. Impressive. We met, and chatted, with a lovely husband-wife team who live in Amsterdam. He's from Australia and she's from Botswana. Mark had a sea bass with leeks; Barbara had lamb with scalloped potatoes, green beans and mushrooms. Both were excellent.

    After that, we took a canal boat tour with an entertaining young man who spoke the spiel in English, French and Spanish. It wasn't a long tour, but pretty good. We went right past "our" guest house and under "our" bridge.

   As the day went on, Bruges got more and more crowded. Tour groups from busses and cruise ships abounded, and it is also a weekend. After the boat ride, we sat for a latte and then walked the rest of the day, getting out of center Bruges and then back.We came upon a canal with canal boats and big boats. We also came upon one of the 4 remaining city gates. We walked 4.5 miles today. A very good day.

On to Brussels, October 13

    Today we started out with another amazing breakfast put on by David and his daughter, Fleur. 

    We took a last walk around and visited the Church of our Savior, another beautiful church.

 

  Then we went back to our boarding house and took a cab to the station. The time on our ticket did not match the train schedule. So, we checked the board and got on then next train going to Brussels. It was not a direct train as our ticket had indicated, but...this is because we used a platform for the tickets, I think. Tip: Go with the train line itself. But, no harm done. It just was longer journey by about an hour and a half.  The ride itself was comfortable and uneventful.

    We arrived at Brussels Central Station and walked to our hotel through crowds of Sunday walkers. It was only about a 15 minute walk and we found the OPO hotel which was formerly a Post Office. The room is fine and the location is excellent. It has none of the character of the medieval room we had the last two nights.

    We walked to a fish restaurant nearby, but it the wait would have been long and we didn't want to sit outside as it is in the low 50s. So, we walked to another restaurant, Yummy Bowl which Mark read about. It turned out to be a vegetarian/vegan restaurant in an unremarkable setting, but the food was delicious. Mark had the Dragon Bowl; Barbara had the Glory Bowl.

"Manhole" cover - Brussels

     On our way home we chanced upon the Grand Place of Brussels, considered one of the most beautiful squares in the world with old guildhouses, City Hall and Maison du Roi. It is so much closer to our hotel than we had expected.

Grand Place

Grand Place