Brugges

Sunday is a slow start day, and today was no exception. Hotel breakfasts so far have been full of mind-boggling choices- anything from a standard cooked breakfast with bacon, eggs (scrambled or boiled), mini sausages, cheeses of many varieties, fresh cucumber, tomato, chopped capsicum, cereals, fresh fruits, salmon, salami, and breads of many types . There’s always an offer of freshly brewed coffee (which has become a favourite), or tea and choices of fruit juices. After yet another hotel breakfast, we packed our bags and headed for the main station. Don’t trust what the tourist office tells you. After asking the where I should go to buy a train ticket (she told me it was Sunday and ticket offices were closed), I discovered the ticket office was open. Again, another very helpful ticket operator was available to show us where to go and what time our train was expected toleave. On the platform, there was another crowd waiting. We were a bit worried, but it all turned out fine. The conductor showed us where we could store our bags without getting in the way of others, and we settled ourselves to a comfortable hour and a half ride to Brugge.

There is a bus ticket office at the front of the station. By buying return tickets for 1.20 Euro each, we have our transport between the station and our hotel sorted. We also found that we needed to catch one of two buses to our hotel. What a stunning city. I am now going to hand it over to my camera to give you an idea of what we were taken by.

 

We took a walk up the 366 steps of the Belfry in the city hall, now known as the Brugge-museum; this gave us a panoramic view of the city.

We had a ride on a canal boat for under 8 Euro each. Our guide was really helpful in orientating us more to the city. We took a walk through the town’s winding alleys and bridges and fell upon a free harp concert being advertised. Why not? It was well worth the 35 minutes.

We were starting to feel a little peckish. S had noticed an Italian restaurant on the way into town. We found it was quite busy, but this was a sign that it was good. We were patient, and were soon served with our choices. Best choice today? cassata ice-cream. Mmmmm