Using our Eurail pass for the first time on the trip, we hopped on the metro that would take us to the Noord (North) station where we could hop on one of the hourly trains to Brugge. On a very full train we barely found seats and managed to get in a nap on the way.
After about an hour we arrived at the station and with the horde of other tourists we crowded our way down the tiny brick lanes to see the city.
Every thing here feels miniature. None of the buildings are more than three short stories high and the streets barely allow a single small European car through. The buildings have a mix of material from white stone slabs to brick, but the step-roof architecture prevails as a symbol of the city.
In Brugge one feels comfortable and cozy. Its a rather large town (about 100,000 residents) but is so tightly compacted around the city center and the canals that one could walk a majority of the streets in a day.
Bicycles bounce along the cobbled streets next to small cars and horse-drawn carriages while walkers use both the sidewalks and streets to make their way, dodging the oncoming four-wheeled vehicles that challenged them. Renting a bike would have been a good idea and it was only €4 an hour. Instead we decided on the €6 1/2 hour boat tour through the canals of the city. We went under the most shallow bridge in the city and listened in Dutch, French and English to the history of the city's architecture and canal system.
After the boat tour we decided to wander our way down the narrow and haphazard streets back to an area we saw from the boat that contained beautiful restaurants and an old fish-market turned jewelry bazaar. Of course we had no idea where we were going and ended up aimlessley wandering the streets until we figured we should ask to be pointed the right way.
But on the note of wandering aimlessly, I've decided that is the absolute best way to see a city. Marking out exact places to see and the routes you'll take to them while trying to balance time and pleasure just makes a mess of a day. Usually you get lost at some point, and that leads to stress and you feel like you're missing out on something then when you finally arrive you're frustrated and tired and stressed and definitely not going to enjoy it as much. But choose 1 or 2 places and allow yourself to get lost and wander between them and you'll have a superb time. Not only do you then stumble upon sights you would never have thought to go see, when you do find the right place its like a gift you weren't expecting. A true treasure rather than a stop on the map.
So that's how we did Bruge. We wandered the beautiful streets, came upon the beautiful main square in perfect timing for a capuccino break, then wandered our way throughout the streets admiring the unique architecture and just feeling the city. Doing this we always wind up in random local housing areas but in those we get to see the real people of the city, making it more than an area swarming with tourists.
We stopped in at a number of churches including Federatie Sint-Donatianus, one of the 10 Brugse parochies and we stopped at a hostel for a few delicious Belgian beers and some fun conversations about the city of Brugge in comparison to Brussels.
Throughout the day Brugge showed itself to be a beautiful city with many quaint streets to wander throughout. It has great character and in the back alleys some great places for food, drink, and conversation. The main areas are very touristy and expensive but it was a great day trip!
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