Bruges

On Wednesday, after a delightful and full breakfast I filled up my water bottle, snagged an apple for later, checked out, and headed to Bruges. I had a hard time finding the central station in Brussels, so started following the commuter-looking crowd coming from a narrow street. I walked through what looked like a mall, again with commuters streaming past me walking the other way. Sure enough the stream of people led me to the station. The ticket machines only take coins or credit cards, but after several attempts I realized that credit cards need to have a pin to work. So I found a ticket vendor. I must look super nice or like I know what I'm doing because at the train platform I had three different couples ask me if this was the right train for Bruges. Actually people often ask me for directions, in all sorts of languages. Maybe I'm more approachable because I'm alone.

The train ride was about an hour, with lots of pretty countryside to look at, little farms with pet-worthy farm animals chilling outside in the sun. Yes, sun!

There were a few delays on the train which gave me time to read the map, my guidebook, and plan my visit. The map had a bit of history included - in 1892 the book 'Bruges la Morte' described the city as a dark, poor, and ugly place. Which seemed to boom tourism in the town. Same thing happened after the 2009 movie 'In Bruges' where Colin Farrell calls Bruges a 'shithole', and that 'if i grew up on a farm, and was retarded, Bruges might impress me. But I didn't, so it doesn't'. Again, tourism boomed. I was told to visit Bruges and Ghent by a friend who knew I was going to Brussels. I then watched the movie. Walking around the town makes me want to watch it again. The hostel I stayed at even had official 'In Bruges' walking tours. I thought about it but instead did my own navigating around town. Another fun fact: Gotye was born in Bruges.

My first stop was to the Belfort/Belfry, or bell tower. I climbed up to the top and took in the panoramic views of the town. The stairs were quite narrow at the top, and at times you had to duck into a corner to let people pass coming the other way.

I then headed back down, picked up some fruit from the Wednesday market, had a waffle with chocolate sauce, and then went to the Church of Our Lady. It houses Madonna and Child, a small marble sculpture by Michelangelo. It's Bruges' Mona Lisa. Unfortunately there were renovations being done in the church and that section was closed.

I then wandered to find the most photographed dog in Bruges, who also makes an appearance in the movie. Fidel usually sits with his head out the window over a canal watching the boats go by. He sadly wasn't there, but a neighbor across the street had a cardboard dog in their window. I assume a mock to the tourists. There are only 20,000 people living in Bruges, so on busy days there are more tourists than locals. I imagine that gets annoying.

After a quick photo of the cardboard dog (take that!) I continued east towards the edge of town to go to a cafe that has vegetarian frites, since the traditional ones are cooked in animal fat. The place was closed as I got there in between lunch and dinner. I decided to wait until it opened, so I headed to the canal, walked up to a windmill which gives views of Bruges, and read my book on a bench. A cute little girl and her opa (Dutch for grandpa) sat next to me and drank chocolate milk. Once my hands were icicles I found a bar nearby and had two beers - Straffe Hendricks (which is brewed locally in Bruges) and a Brugge Tripel (which is a local favorite but not brewed locally).

Two British gents next to me were complaining about everyone on their ipads and phones; "pubs aren't what they used to be". Amen. A couple probably in their 50s sitting at the bar were drinking very very fast. They drank three beers while I had one. The guy was sleazy and hitting on the young bartender. They moved to a table near me and had another one. I was surprised she was still serving them. Sure enough I watched the guy lay down on the bench and pass out. His wife was mortified but equally drunk. These beers are delicious, and very strong.

After about two hours of people watching and reading at the bar I headed to the now open cafe. I got fries with mayonnaise (have to be legit and do what the locals do), and a cheese and asparagus croquette. While everything was vegetarian, everything was also fried. It wasn't worth the wait. The cafe owner and another patron talked the whole time in Flemish. All I understood was she kept saying the word 'Facebook'.

I then wandered back towards the center of town. They had just dropped off a Christmas tree in the middle of the main square for decorating. An ice rink also opens up in about a week, with lots of little wooden vendor shacks getting set up for the holidays.

On my tourist map there was a bar that said it had a fireplace. I couldn't find it, gave up, and went into a new cellar bar called Le Trappiste. There weren't many people in there and the bartender was super friendly and chatted with me the whole time. He gave me the run down of the beers on tap and I ordered a Troubadour Magma Galaxy, which he described as an IPA with Belgian flavor. It was delicious. And strong. The bartender has been a beer aficionado for over 30 years and we talked shop - he loves Lagunitas and Sierra Nevada as well. I was about to leave as I had enough boozing, but I think he wanted me to stay and chat more and told me I should try the house beer - Abbot triple. Twist my arm. After that I managed to find my way home and sleep rather well, if you will.