Weekend in Bruges

As promised, I'm back to update you on our little weekend away in Bruges. The lunch at Oud Sluis was such a big part of the trip that it got its own post. I think I can manage the rest of the weekend here. We ended up choosing Bruges as our weekend away because it was close enough to drive, we knew there would be good food, and the city is small so seemed manageable to cover in one weekend. We had also been to Brussels and Ghent a few years back and loved both cities so we were excited to get back to Belgium.

We stayed at The Pand Hotel. It is an 18th Century carriage house that has been converted into a 26 room boutique hotel. Our room was the Ralph Lauren Suite however I'm not really sure why it was called that. It was beige and cream with plaid wallpaper. It was on the top floor so you had to watch your head at times but our view was lovely!

View from our hotel window

After we got settled in, we decided to go out for a little walk and find a pub so Felipe could start sampling the assortment of Belgian beer. Let's just say, if it wasn't for hot chocolate, this trip may have been a disaster for me. Haha. We found a cute little beer bar on a side street called Brugs Beertje that was the perfect place to slip into and hang out for awhile. The place was busy but there happened to be 2 open seats at the bar. Within 20 minutes of our arrival, all seats had filled up and the place was packed! 

First up was the local brew from Brewery de Halve Maan, Bruges Zot. This was probably Felipe's least favorite of the beers that he tried all weekend. He said it was a bit flavorless.

Next up was Urthel. I loved the old man on the label and tried to talk Felipe into naming our first born after him but, while he was quite impressed by the beer, he thought the name a bit old fashioned.

Last beer for the evening. I think this may have been a favorite.

Yummy as it was, my hot chocolate presentation was not overly impressive.

Saturday morning started off with a nice breakfast in the hotel with freshly baked breads, croissants, and eggs cooked to our preference. We both opted for scrambled. After breakfast, we headed across the street the catch a canal tour of the city. Our timing was perfect because one boat had just filled up and was headed off so that meant we were first in line for the next boat. It was perfect as we took the 2 seats right up front so that we could get some photos without any heads in our way. The guide was also super friendly and had me get in the captain's chair so that he could take a photo of Felipe and I.

Me looking like a giant next to Felipe. Notice the clear blue skies in the background. Perfection.

The tour was nice. It lasted about 35 minutes and it's always great to see a city from the water. The major sites were pointed out and it was fun gliding under the low bridges. 

Looking at the famous Bell Tower that has stood over Market Square since 1300. We tried to climb to the top but the line was ridiculous so opted out. This bell tour has 47 different bells that are very active throughout the day. It made me appreciate the simple bell tower a few blocks away from our flat in Amsterdam.

 Our guide referred to this sculpture as "Woman looking for her contact". I believe it was a joke. 

 Church of Our Lady and another boat in front of us.

Headed under one of the low hanging bridges

Pretty flowers in front of this hotel.

After the boat tour, we explored the city for awhile by foot. There are so many little side streets that it is fun to just walk around and get lost. We happened to stumble across a chocolate store that I had read about so popped in and picked up a box of chocolates. Chocolaterie Sukerbuyc, which means Sugarbelly in English, is the oldest chocolate business in Bruges. I picked up a small box and have been enjoying my treat now that we are home.  I hadn't read about their tea room, "de Proeverie" before the trip, but if I go back I will definitely be stopping in. We visited Church of our Lady, however, it was under renovation so the majority of the interior was covered with sheets. We also kept seeing these medieval groups of houses around the city called "Godshuizen". They were built in the 18th Century by rich families to house the poor or people that were unable to work due to illness, handicaps, or other mishaps. The inhabitants would receive food and basic care. They are quite pretty with lovely interior courts filled with flowers and at times little gardens where the inhabitants can grow their own vegetables. They are still all inhabited, however, they mostly house the elderly. The majority of the inner courtyards are closed to the public but we stumbled across one that was open. 

I loved all of the pink flowers in front of this one house.

Now it was time to get back to the beer. We headed over to Brewery de Halve Maan for a tour. This is where the woman that we bought our tickets from warned me that there were 220 steps on this tour. My response, "that's all?". The tour was okay. I think the highlight was getting to the roof and checking out the views of the city from up there. Who needs The Bell Tower after all?  

Looking towards Church of Our Lady from the rooftop of the brewery.

Watch your head, Felipe!

After completing the tour we had lunch in the restaurant. We both opted for the Flemish beef stew over fries. It was a bit of a gut bomb, but like most gut bombs....delicious. It came with a small side salad so I ate both of the salads and gave half of my stew to Felipe to finish. After lunch, we were both ready for a nap.

Placemat with the brewery founder's profile. It kind of looks like Abe Lincoln to me....

According to legend, a bear was the oldest citizen of Bruges so you see bears and references to bears all over. I thought it was only appropriate that I snapped an Optimus progress shot next to a bear. 

After feeling refreshed from our nap, we decided that we needed to find mussels for dinner. We asked the receptionist at the hotel's front desk and she told us where her favorite place was. We headed that way and since we were still kind of early we were able to get a seat despite not having a reservation. The mussels were good, however there was kind of a lot going one. I'd prefer a little less celery, or at least the celery chopped a bit smaller.

Pot of mussels

After dinner we walked around for a bit and stumbled across a band playing in the center square so we stopped and listened for awhile. 

The played some James Bond theme songs which I quite enjoyed.

The Bell Tower

Provincial Palace

Time for more beer and I was ready for dessert so we headed to Cambrinus, King of Beers, for some more tasting. I had a beer flavored ice cream sundae with chocolate sauce while Felipe kicked off his beer tasting. The sundae was quite tasty and I finished it before I thought of taking a photo. Apparently, I was more worried about capturing Felipe's beer experience. :)

First up, a tasting a 4 different beers. Felipe's least favorite was the pinkish red looking one which was a Kriek beer (cherry flavored). I tried a sip and will agree-it tasted like cough medicine. You can see in the background, that in addition to my sundae I also tried their hot chocolate. Very chocolatey.

One of Felipe's favorites, "it tastes like a steak in a glass and would be delicious with some bacon".

Last beer of the evening. Noir de Dottignies. 

View of the Bell Tower on our way home. Yes, this is a romantic city indeed.

Sunday, on our way home we stopped by the Passchendaele Memorial Museum. The museum commemorates the Battle of Passchendaele in 1917, in which there were 500,000 casualties in 100 days in order to gain a few kilometers of frontline. A portion of the museum was a replica of the British dougout experience of life underground, necessary when there was nothing left above. It was very eerie and I can't imagine being one of those soldiers living in these conditions. There was also sound simulation and at one time when a "bomb went off" I actually jumped. 

I'll take the top bunk.

Artillery display

Reconstructed trenches - again can't imagine being down there in the rain and cold.

Close-up of the construction. 

Now we are home and just trying to get everything ready for the arrival of Baby Z. These last 9 months have passed so quickly, and while I am reaching the point of constant discomfort, I'm also looking at my to-do list and hoping I get everything done before he gets here. I had also planned on him being late, so of course since he has decided to settle in the breech position he will actually be delivered a week early via a "gentle cesarean". I had a check-up on Friday and the midwife did an ultra-sound to be 100% that he was still head up, I knew he was as I am quite familiar with the feel of his head nestled into my ribcage right now, and she commented on his feet being straight down. She called him "a stupid little boy" and I let it slide since English is obviously not her first language. We are so excited to meet him. Felipe is ready to take him to Scotland for his first football match in November and I had to put my foot down. He thinks he has some making up to do after Optimus and I getting so much bonding time in the last 9 months. Haha. I think he will have plenty of bonding time with him and I said he is more than welcome to change all diapers in order to gain a deeper "bond" with his son.