Hi Everyone
We spent some of our last days in Europe in a lovely city over near the west coast of Belgium called Brugge. Upon arrival, I must be honest, I thought not another old medieval walled town as we have seen a few over the past 2 months but I was wrong as there is so much more to Brugge than first meets the eye. The entire historic centre is a Unesco World Heritage site.
Our hotel was right on the canal a lovely spot.
The first full day we decided to take a tour of the city by bus just to see what it was all about. This proved to be a very good idea as we had no idea the size of Brugge and the many interesting things to see. We also obtained a book from the tourist info office which advised the reader on 3 different walking tours that explained the history and importance of the various points of interest as it guided you through the streets of Brugge. Walking tours on a couple of days were very much needed as we did indulge in some of the more fattening delights as the area is also famous for its chocolate and waffels.
Another day saw us take a canal boat tour of the city to get a different perspective of the sites, not as good as the bus tour.
It was amazing, as with most of these types of cities, just how much is hidden behind the facades of the buildings. We stopped for a beer as you do-Brugge is also famous for its numerous different beers all of which are drunk out of a special glass made especially for it. On one of our walking tours all of a sudden the doors of a building opened up and hundreds of school kids poured out most on bikes heading home, even a couple of teachers passed us also on their bike in skirts and high heels - a very different world. We also came across a beautiful secluded garden that belongs to the Jesuit College that is also hidden to the outside world but if the door is open you are welcome to visit.
Brugge is a city of cobble stone streets, medieval buildings, quaint bridges, numerous canals, large and imposing squares and hundreds of shops selling you anything from the touristy magnet to the most expensive rolex watch and of course at every bend loads and loads of history.
We did venture on the train, a 15 minute ride, to the coast. This was the the west coast of Europe and were hoping to maybe have a swim.
We got there to find that it was low tide and that means, not like we know low tide to be, that you have to walk for about 300m at least to get to water from the sand(shore). It was totally amazing to see the water so far off shore. Also even though it was warm there was hardly a sole on the 'beach' and about 2 in the water.
Didnt venture in as it was just not that inviting but on returning I wished that I had but that is an opportunity missed.
Brugge was a lovely way to say goodbye to Europe, except for our one night stay in Calais so that we could drop the car off and catch the ferry to Dover, England.
Calais
A town that, for me, you would only go there if you had to.
We stayed the night and sorted out everything that we had collected over the last 2 months travelling in a car. Boy did we have some stuff.
We crammed what we could into our bags and what we could carry as we had to take it onto the boat and across the Channel and then into a smaller car for our trip to the South West coast of England to a town called Brixham.
We did leave behind a large amount but plenty of time in the next month to collect more.
Trip on the boat was a bit rough, felt a bit squeamish, but seeing the white cliffs of Dover made it all worthwhile- they are beautiful. It has been overcast and wet for a fair bit of Northern Europe and we were heading into the same weather in Dover when the sun shone on the cliffs and gave us a true image of the cliffs in all their glory- just lovely.
Brixham - something totally different..............
love Ann
We spent some of our last days in Europe in a lovely city over near the west coast of Belgium called Brugge. Upon arrival, I must be honest, I thought not another old medieval walled town as we have seen a few over the past 2 months but I was wrong as there is so much more to Brugge than first meets the eye. The entire historic centre is a Unesco World Heritage site.
Our hotel was right on the canal a lovely spot.
 |
| View of the room from the other side of the canal. There is no way this room with no protection from the water would be allowed at home. |
 |
| view from room early in morning down the canal. |
The first full day we decided to take a tour of the city by bus just to see what it was all about. This proved to be a very good idea as we had no idea the size of Brugge and the many interesting things to see. We also obtained a book from the tourist info office which advised the reader on 3 different walking tours that explained the history and importance of the various points of interest as it guided you through the streets of Brugge. Walking tours on a couple of days were very much needed as we did indulge in some of the more fattening delights as the area is also famous for its chocolate and waffels.
 |
| Evidence of one of the reasons why we had to do a lot of walking tours of Brugge. |
 |
| One of the many hundreds of chocolate shops throughout Brugge. |
Another day saw us take a canal boat tour of the city to get a different perspective of the sites, not as good as the bus tour.
 |
| The type of boat used on the canal |
 |
| Some of the views from the boat tour above and below |
 |
| Another form of transport, of course for the tourists, are horse drawn carriages. Was not totally wrapped in the poor horses having to walk the roads but did see that they were very well looked after. |
It was amazing, as with most of these types of cities, just how much is hidden behind the facades of the buildings. We stopped for a beer as you do-Brugge is also famous for its numerous different beers all of which are drunk out of a special glass made especially for it. On one of our walking tours all of a sudden the doors of a building opened up and hundreds of school kids poured out most on bikes heading home, even a couple of teachers passed us also on their bike in skirts and high heels - a very different world. We also came across a beautiful secluded garden that belongs to the Jesuit College that is also hidden to the outside world but if the door is open you are welcome to visit.
 |
| This is a Brugse Zot beer from the De Halve Mann Brewery, the last surviving working brewery in Brugge Not a very nice beer very cloudy and strong tasting. |
Brugge is a city of cobble stone streets, medieval buildings, quaint bridges, numerous canals, large and imposing squares and hundreds of shops selling you anything from the touristy magnet to the most expensive rolex watch and of course at every bend loads and loads of history.
 |
| One of the lovely bridges that cross the canals |
We did venture on the train, a 15 minute ride, to the coast. This was the the west coast of Europe and were hoping to maybe have a swim.
We got there to find that it was low tide and that means, not like we know low tide to be, that you have to walk for about 300m at least to get to water from the sand(shore). It was totally amazing to see the water so far off shore. Also even though it was warm there was hardly a sole on the 'beach' and about 2 in the water.
 |
| This is a view of the "beach" if you look very closely on the righthand side of pic are the waves and the left is the shore the dark lines in between are small rock breakwalls like speed humps that get submerged in high tide. Not a good pic but it was very hazy on that day. |
 |
| This is the other view of the beach with row after row of ugly multi story buildings and in front of them the small sheds that you hire out for the day to get changed in-no amenity blocks like we have. |
Didnt venture in as it was just not that inviting but on returning I wished that I had but that is an opportunity missed.
 |
| We were very lucky to be in Brugge for the tail end of their summer festivals and were in the main square when one of the two best bands in Brugge came marching down the street. Apparently it is very prestigious to be a member of this band. |
Brugge was a lovely way to say goodbye to Europe, except for our one night stay in Calais so that we could drop the car off and catch the ferry to Dover, England.
Calais
A town that, for me, you would only go there if you had to.
We stayed the night and sorted out everything that we had collected over the last 2 months travelling in a car. Boy did we have some stuff.
We crammed what we could into our bags and what we could carry as we had to take it onto the boat and across the Channel and then into a smaller car for our trip to the South West coast of England to a town called Brixham.
We did leave behind a large amount but plenty of time in the next month to collect more.
Trip on the boat was a bit rough, felt a bit squeamish, but seeing the white cliffs of Dover made it all worthwhile- they are beautiful. It has been overcast and wet for a fair bit of Northern Europe and we were heading into the same weather in Dover when the sun shone on the cliffs and gave us a true image of the cliffs in all their glory- just lovely.
 |
| Calais at low tide |
 |
| White cliffs of Dover |
Brixham - something totally different..............
love Ann
No comments:
Post a Comment