Bruges
see it, and ... get back well!
In a variation of the well-known movie title in German, that was our aim ;-)
I think, an explanation is necessary for non-Germans:Bruges is ...
... beautiful - almost magical!
Please take a look at the image gallery I was afraid the lens on my camera would explode, I took that so many photos - just a fraction of them are published here.
Bruges is ...
... bicycle capital of Belgium (at least that's what they call themselves)
And you really have to pay more attention to cyclists than to cars in the city center.
Bruges is ...
... full of cobblestones
If you pay close attention to the beautiful facades and (as just described) to the cyclists, it can happen that you step into a hollow on the way, which is painful throughout the whole body (happened to me quite often)
Bruges is ...
... a shitty place
Ray: Bruges is a shitty place.
Ken: Bruges isn't a shit place.
Ray: Bruges is a shitty place!!!
Ken: Ray, we just got off the fucking train, could we hold off on judging Bruges until we see the fucking place!?
Ray: I know, it's a shitty place.
This is the opening dialogue from "In Bruges (See Bruges...and die?)" from 2008 with Colin Farrell and the outstanding Brendan Gleeson.
I saw this movie years ago (and luckily I watched it again right before the trip! Another one of those 'coincidences' where the movie was repeated exactly one week into our trip...). After watching this movie it was clear to me: I had to visit this place. I'm now also sure that the tourist office in Bruges at least co-financed this movie because there were so many shots in the film, that didn't focus on the characters but on the city's buildings and panorama.
Bruges has ...
expensive restaurant prices and fairly cheap beer prices.
Although we are spending a lot of money on vacation this year,
with the exorbitant prices in the restaurants,
we suddenly felt our wallets tighten like a vice,
and preferred to go to a Thai restaurant in the evening,
whose prices were appropriate for the very good food.
Nakhon Thai - Philipstockstraat 12 / just around the corner from the market square
Shortly after arriving we had already ticked off many clichés about Belgium/Bruges:
We saw the Belfort (watch and bell tower) 10 minutes after our arrival.
The tower can only be reached on foot... via 366 steps.
And before you ask: NO, we did NOT do that...
(if you don't know:
This is the tower from which one of the protagonists from the above-mentioned movie falls to his death...)
The famous Belgian fries: Eaten about 30 minutes after arrival - and they ARE as damn good as they always say!
Geuze and other beer (see also 'Asterix with the Belgians'): well, it took about 2 hours til we got it and it takes getting used to! Tastes like someone poured effervescent powder into the beer.
By the way, Belgian beer is much stronger than normal German beer. The 'lightest' one on the beer menue had whopping 5.2%!!
I can only pass on the recommendation of a Bruges acquaintance I met some days before: The pub 'De Hollandse Vismijn' (Vismarkt 4 - corner of Brambergstraat, just behind the town hall)
If you do not shy away from local charm, you've come to the right place! The tourists are mostly sitting on the terrace, while the locals are sitting inside (and there was a real atmosphere!). Of course we sat inside ;-)
We did the obligatory canal cruise early on the second day.
Here we were lucky again that our boat, unlike others we have seen,
was only half full, so we had enough space for ourselves.
Tip: Go as early in the day as possible, otherwise the boats will be very crowded.
In the gallery you can see some pictures of our trip.
As accommodation we had the 'Grand Hotel Casselbergh' (which gets its name 'Grand Hotel' by the way
completely right when it comes to the premises and the service!).
Here too we booked through Secret Escapes and actually saved over 65% of the original price.
So we can completely second the TV advertising at this point!
However, I have to give the hotel big deductions in the "B grade":
According to the hotel, the Breakfast should cost 25 euros per person.
And you get for it: 4 types of cold cuts and 2 different types of cheese
and jam from small convenience jars.
Fried and scrambled eggs, salmon that tasted very bland and two types of juice.
Think for yourself whether it would be worth 25 euros to you...
Parking in the underground car park also costs €25/day.
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