Brugge

Bikes, Boats & Beer: Exploring the Best of Brugge
By Don Miller, Staff Writer

Visitors to Europe frequently envision quaint little villages with twisting cobblestone streets, medieval architecture, Old World ambience, shopping for unique items in small specialty stores and leisurely dining at sidewalk cafes while sipping their favorite beverage. Do such places really exist? You bet!!! Throw in numerous bridges that crisscross canals meandering through a totally walkable city, chocolate galore, Belgium lace, 400 kinds of beer and you only begin to appreciate what a fantastic discovery you have made by visiting Brugge, Belgium.

The three most common ways to tour Brugge are by boat, by foot and by bike. Boat tours operate daily from March through November, usually last about thirty minutes and have several starting points including the back of the Belfry Tower, C Tourists cruise down one of the many canals criss-crossing Brugge. ity Hall and near the Church of our Lady. Tours run from 10:00 am. until 6 p.m. and cost around 6 Euros.

A great way to orient yourself to Brugge is to take your own walking tour. First head to the Burg and the market which are both basically large city squares almost adjacent to each other. The market in particular has scores of sidewalk cafes plus a lot of the buildings in this area have historical importance. Climb to the top of the Belfry Tower for a commanding view of the city. Behind the tower you will find the closest canal. Spend a couple of hours strolling along the peaceful waterways and bridges, find an attractive outdoor cafe and try one of those 400 beers (peach beer) they brew in Belgium. Reflect upon the fact that 1000 years ago Brugge was a major international port, a hub of Northern European commerce but by 1850 it was the poorest city in Belgium. Today Brugge is once again booming due to tourism. We visited during July (the high season) as well as during the annual Cactus Festival. Who in the world would imagine a city in Belgium had a Cactus Festival? Amazingly, the only crowds we really encountered were at the market/Burg area during the middle of the day.

For those interested in somewhat more strenuous activities, Brugge has at least three companies offering bike tours of the city and surrounding countryside. We selected Quasimundo Bike Tours. The owner, Jos Teughels, enhances your experience with colorful anecdotes and his encyclopedic knowledge of local history. They offer four trips.

The first is a 2 1/2 hour morning ride through the backstreets of Brugge, over the bridges and along the canals.
If you chose the four hour Border ride. You will see windmills, Flemish villages as well as stop at a traditional rural pub to sample local beer and /or a Belgium Waffle smothered with fruit, ice cream and whipped cream. You can justify the decadent culinary experience by reminding yourself you are on a twenty mile bike ride and certainly you will burn the calories. The tour finishes with a ride back to town along a beautiful tree lined canal.
Brugge by night provides an entirely different perspective of the city. No more cars, fewer people and the city lights reflecting off the canals is an memorable experience.
The beach tour only operates during July and August. It leaves late in the morning and returns late afternoon. About three hours are spent on the beach. If these beaches are anything like the beaches just a few miles north in the Southern Netherlands near Domberg, this would be a great way to spend the day.

Brugge is blessed with at least two decent hostels. You might like the Passage Hostel because of the central convenient lo Tour boats await more customers in Brugge, Belgium. cation. The dorm rooms are average but very comfortable, the bathrooms okay but the restaurant (Grand Cafe) downstairs serves excellent meals. In fact, it seems to be one of the most popular places in town not only due to the quality of the meals but the average entree is only 5 to 10 Euros for a hearty feast. Their bar is well stocked and if you are with a group, everyone should order a different beer (based on their recommendation) and pass them around. The quality is excellent but the variety is mind boggling. We did have two complaints, however, about the hostel. The more minor one was the breakfast that was to be included. They did provide toast, jam and coffee but this was definitely on the low end of hostel breakfast offerings. The second and more irritating problem was the restaurant/bar was really smoky which made breakfast so unpleasant we left to eat elsewhere and occasionally the smoke would rise to the dorm rooms upstairs. If a hostel is perhaps a bit too basic for you, they also run a budget hotel next door that looked quite nice.

Another hostel in town is Charlie Rockets which we only briefly visited. Apparently it is built over a Tex-Mex bar that serves Mexican food, pizza, beer and a few Belgium specialties. The bar seemed remarkably smoke free which obviously is a big deal for us and the hostel guide we have used with great success gives Charlie’s a thumbs up.

Two restaurants in town might be worth your dining Euro. For dinner, De Hobbit serves a variety of dishes. The ribs in Thai sauce, the giant prawns and mixed kabob were all excellent. For dessert, apple pie with whipped cream followed by a lemon and raspberry tort. Thank God we did all that bike riding.

The second restaurant is De Torre situated right along a canal. The building in which it is located was originally built in the 1700's but has now been renovated in an "art-deco style". If the weather cooperates, dining is available on the terrace adjacent to the canal.

Brugge is a fabulous tourist destination for people of all ages and interests. If your passion is culture and history, museums and buildings hundreds of years old are bountiful. If shopping is your thing, Belgium used to be a world leader in cloth manufacturing. Today Belgium lace is internationally admired and numerous shops should satisfy the most discriminating buyer. If you are more active, you can walk and bike until your shoes wear out or your pedals fall off. Brugge can easily be reached by train from Amsterdam, Brussels or any other major European city. Trains arrive hourly and the train station is an easy walk into town. Brugge has become the number one tourist destination in Belgium and it is an absolute must for any European traveler.

**All Photos by Kim Miller

If You Go

Passage Hostel

Dweerstraat 26, Brugge

Phone 32 50 340232

Fax 32 50 340140

info@passagebruges.com

www.passagebruges.com

Charlie Rockets Hostel

Hoogstraat 19, 8000 Brugge

Phone 32 05 033 0660

Hobbit Restaurant Grill De Hobbit