Brugge

Welcome back, friends! It's been a while since I posted, but I haven't forgotten about you! I can't believe I haven't yet posted about our trip to Bruges, Belgium, because it's one of my favorite cities we've visited. You take a Eurostar train from London to Brussels and switch to a regional Belgian train to Bruges. Took us about two hours in total - perfect for a 36-hour weekend getaway.

Bruges has been on my "must-do" list since we moved to London. The fairytale-like architecture and houses looked too quaint to be real. And I have to say, Bruges did not disappoint me at all!

Can't get enough of this scenery

We embraced the true European spirit and just relaxed all weekend. We didn't even do our normal 3-hour walking tour of the city! We did our own lazy walk version: Wander-And-See-What-We-Find.

In the town centre

We made time for one tour though - De Halve Maan (Man in the Moon) brewery tour. We walked through the old brew house, played with some 19th-century equipment, took photos on the rooftop and drank delicious Brugse Zot ale.

Original bottle from 1856

B on the rooftop

If you're asking yourself, "What language do they speak in Bruges?" That's a very good question! It's mostly Dutch, although we heard some French (one shop lady) and German (a couple waiters). English is everywhere and it's a good thing for us, because Dutch is really hard to pronounce. 

We stayed in an amazing hotel in a 300-year old house-turned stained glass factory-turned B&B, Huis 't Schaep (see, I told you it was difficult.) Sorry for the poor photo quality - you can tell they are mine and not B's!

Original stained glass by the shop owner

Quirky religious fireplace in our room

The hotel manager told us that the stained glass factory owner decorated his house and shop with ostentatious, Christian adornments to prove to clients how religious he was. Stained glass was expensive, so when ordering, wealthy people would spend a half day or more (over lunch/dinner) in the shop customizing their order. Cool fact!

Our 36 hours in Bruges consisted of gazing adoringly at architecture/bridges, drinking beer, taking photos of everything, drinking more beer, and eating waffles/mussels/chocolate/fries. Perfection.

Wash...

Rinse...

Repeat.

We love you Bruges!