Beautiful Bruges

When I was a child, we often went on holiday to visit relatives in Denmark, and that journey always started with the ferry trip from Harwich to Esbjerg. Childhood memories are strong, and going on a ferry always feels exciting and… well… like a holiday!

James and I boarded the P&O ferry at Hull on Wednesday, on a blustery, sunny evening for our mini cruise. As the ship leaves Hull, it has to go through a lock. The lock is about the size of the ship – huge – and the ship fits in it snugly while leaving only a couple of inches either side. It’s a fascinating process to watch and takes about an hour to leave the Port of Hull.

We splashed out on a cabin with a window. Cabins without windows are very disorientating, especially when you wake the next day and it doesn’t feel like morning because you can’t see any daylight. The cabins are very compact and bijou. Years ago on a short trip to Denmark with mum and Lydia (aged 3), Liddi walked into the small cabin and said, “are we in the lift?”. We also decided to stay a night in a Bruges hotel, to give us 2 days sightseeing, rather than just a few hours.

We arrived in Zebrugge early on Thursday morning, and took the short coach drive into Bruges. We headed into the narrow, cobbled streets, and found our hotel tucked just behind the main central square. In such an ancient, historic city it was also lovely to be in such a contemporary, smart, sleek hotel with a cute balcony. I would definitely recommend Martin’s Hotel.

We headed out to see some sights and started with the famous boat trip while the sun was shining and travelled around the beautiful canals. A perfect excursion (apart from the obligatory chatty American tourists). There are loads of beautiful examples of 16^th century buildings alongside the canal and all around the city. The oldest bridge dates back to the 12^th century. If you want lots of history and old buildings – Bruges is definitely your place.

We managed to fit in a couple of essential museums. What is Belgium famous for? Chocolate and lace and….er, chips! The chip museum all about potatoes and how to make the perfect chip (yes, it’s a real science) and of course a sample of chips. Then, the chocolate museum all about cocoa beans and the history of chocolate to drink, cook and eat and then a demo of typical Belgium moulded, prauline filled chocs, with a very small sample. Both fantastic and definitely to be recommended. What about the lace? Er, mostly gave it a miss, but secretly I’d love to have a try.

That evening, James and I indulged our love of fish, and found a great little fish restaurant in a cellar near the fish market (obviously) where we had king prawns, and other fishy stuff. Messy but delicious. Then off to The Druids Cellar for some live music.

The next morning we started the day with a large Belgium waffle.

That gave us the energy to walk up the 366 narrow, steep steps to the top of the belfry which is one of the city’s most prominent symbols in the market square. It was built in 1280 and then added to over the years. It’s 83 meters high and has fantastic views from the top. For me that’s a double edged sword – I love to see the views, but I struggle with heights. According to Wikipedia, it leans about a meter to the east. Luckily I didn’t know that!

After lots more walking and looking at lovely old buildings, we stopped for a late lunch and I introduced James to the Belgium delicacy of ‘moules frites’ (mussels and…..obviously….chips), which we finished off with a glass of Belgium beer. We felt very Belgium!!

The time passed all too quickly and we headed back to the train station, and the bus back to Zebrugge. We boarded the ferry for our last night away, to enjoy a leisurely trip across the North Sea back to Hull and back to reality.