We’ve been in Bruges for two full days now. Yesterday we were completely chilled out and didn’t go into the town until after lunch time. We walked in instead of getting the bus and in a fit of optimism we both underestimated how cold it would be walking around the town. It was a beautiful sunny day so it was a bit of a surprise to find that there was quite a chill in the air. If you were in the shade coupled with a brisk breeze it was freezing. Also we made the mistake of sitting outside to eat. The restaurant was just next to the large tower in the main square. The tower is known as the Belfry of Bruges. The food was good but we both made the mistake of ordering ‘blonde’ beer. I knew from Lynnes face at the first sip that she wasn’t a fan and as it turned out, neither was I! It tastes strong and I imagine it to be very much an acquired taste but not one I’m in a hurry to acquire myself. Life’s too short to be drinking stuff that makes you pull a face like the one Lynne pulled at me on her first taste. It’s also too short to be looking at a face like that too!
We didn’t hang around long after eating as in spite of the sunshine we were both borderline hypothermic and needed to return to base to recover. That was it for the day really although we did pop into a local Aldi (life on the edge) on the way back. Whilst there we saw they had on offer a 15 pack of Jupiler beer for sale at €11. We had been drinking this since our stay in Ypres and we both liked it so much we bought two lots of 15 to take home with us. Needless to say that by the time we got back with a bag of shopping and two 15 packs of beer it had become a bit of a struggle to carry them all. The price we pay for our greed!
2nd full day in Bruges has been just as chilled as the first and once again we didn’t walk into the town until gone 12.00 midday. It was a lot warmer today and a lot more pleasant than yesterday. We decided to search out a place we ate in last time where they do fantastic Belgian Waffles. It didn’t take long to find and we ended up sitting at the very same table as last time served by the very same polite young man. Knowing how predictable I can be I probably ordered the same dish as last time but I can’t remember. As I wrote that line, Lynne confirmed for me that, yes, I ordered the same as last time. Predictably predictable.
After eating we went to check out whether we could get to the top of the Belfry of Bruges. It cost us €10 each with the over 65’s concession. What we hadn’t bargained for was what hard work it was getting up the 366 steps to the top. The stone steps were seemingly endless and got progressively narrower as we got closer to the top. When we reached the top I was disappointed to find the views slightly obstructed by stainless steel wire netting. I guess they don’t want anyone getting ideas of jumping like the guy in the film ‘In Bruges’ with Colin Farrell which incidentally is a great film if you never heard of it. If you ever watch it, sorry for the spoiler! So I did manage a couple of photos through the netting but nothing brilliant.
Coming down was a lot easier and we headed back to the camp site. During the day we had talked about going home on Wednesday and we were agreed we didn’t want to. Back at the van I checked online how much it would cost to change the ferry booking and the reply came back to say that to travel on Sunday instead of Wednesday would be £0.00. Next we checked to see if we could extend our stay at Memling Camping and keep the same pitch. So now we’re here until Sunday and more than happy about an extra few days in the sun.
Wandering Wildman 