Travelogue Brugge: Beer Country

Travelogue Brugge: Beer Country

Map-reading, a week after my eye surgery. Ensuring that we do not get lost:)

I never ever thought I would enjoy a glass of beer, that is, until I got to Brugge. After my retinal eye scare in Paris the week before, the last thing I wanted to think of was stress. So Brugge was a complete opposite of that. I could relax. It was fuss-free, small, compact and medieval and magical all at the same time. And the beers were dirt cheap and in the pleasant & cool summer heat, so refreshing and downright delicious. It started with a sip off my husband’s glass. After my costly medical emergency(read previous post on Travelogue Paris), he was ready to have more than a few glasses of beer to zone out, chill out and vege out as we continued our Euro Tour de force with kids, luggage and an invalid wife of sorts, et al. After that thirst-quenching sip, I was ordering beer, in restaurants, and buying them off Carrefour’s shelves. So unbecoming and unfeminine of me. But wheat beer is yummy, and so dirt cheap( I think I already said that) that it made sense to drink it instead of water! And I think good for healing!

Bruges, as one may spell it too, is beguiling, enchanting and pretty. It’s so small that our three kids could waltz through her entire streets and see all the main sights in a day. The homes are very modern inside though they look like they were build for bucolic Flemish people thousands of years ago. It was so so pleasant, and quiet after Paris, with their crazy taxi Merde-chanting drivers, surly waiters, crowded Tour de France tourists, Mona Lisa paparazzi, and determined Eiffel tower climbers. Yes, it was crowded too and extremely touristy, but it was postcard pretty and very quaint, and you could find yourself on an empty bench by the canal looking at whimsical ducks and think, yes, you could spout poetry or paint a picture here. So Brugge really is when our Euro vacation began. As much as we didn’t let my surgery in Paris affect us too much, everyone had been walking on eggshells on whether mummy’s eyes would get elbowed by a rushing tourist rushing into a slamming Metro door or if walking up & down staircases might not be good for her recently reattached retina!

In Brugge, you walked slowly or rather, ambled- everywhere. On cobbled-stone streets, where you can hear the merry clip clop of horse drawn carriages( filled with gullible tourists), you also hear the belfries all over the small city go ‘ding dong ding dong’ all day. Like a mini-Venice, Brugge has its fair share of pretty canals, historic alm houses, ancient churches and atmospheric breweries. Spires and just bucolic people ambling about gently, probably high on the delicious wheat beer they have drunk copious amounts of.

The many pretty sights of this UNESCO Heritage City

It’s a great place for children, as they do star jumps in the squares such as Mkrt and City Hall . Kids too enjoy the canal boat ride that meanders through the city, that lulled my son little T into peaceful slumber. The chocolate museum is fun and informative, as are the cheese shops for our cheese-loving children, and chocolate shops abound, and cute, pretty Tin Tin merchandise along with amazing and delectable biscuits of all kinds. And in Brugge, you'll find shops selling the prettiest Christmas ornaments, not made in China. My favourite spot, has got to be the Beguinage(could I have been a nun in my previous life?) I don’t know, but it was such a peaceful little slice of heaven, I genuflected in the church within the compound and gave thanks for having my eye sight restored just the week before. We stayed at a lovely family-run B & B and the owners had reconstructed a former butchery and a fish shop into a modern, contemporary home inspired by Philippe Starck, one of my favourite designers. Their garden used to be part of the countryside of the ancient city of Brugge. It was also here that M and I, after the kids went to bed with the eldest in charge, managed to sneak out for a “just the two of us” dinner, at dusk on a lovely summery day. It was very romantic, the clip clop of horses gadding about, smiley waiters who all spoke perfect English with no trace of an accent and bells ringing all around us at just the right intervals and a gentle dusky breeze blowing. Apparently, lucky us, we had missed miserable rain by just a day and we had lovely sunshine with lots of ice-cream and waffle stops in the two days we were there.

On our last evening, we stumbled upon a lovely restaurant close to the Beguinage with a courtyard garden, so private but chock-ful of blooming hydrangeas and had the most enjoyable family meal there. These hidden surprises, all unplanned and stumbled upon, is always what makes family holidays so special. Till today, I can remember every single word that each of the children said & the expressions they had on their faces at that meal and how S enjoyed her rabbit stew( she's always determined & adventurous to try something local everywhere she goes), little T enjoying his baby lobster pasta shared with Mummy, Belly Boo had a whole roast chicken by herself, and my better half, a happy man with his frosted beer glass of Belgian beer and a beef stew & all of us feeling completely relaxed.

Dinner on our last evening in Brugge

So Brugge, will always be special, for its quaintness, its lovely quite streets and pretty buildings, but most of all for it cooling wonderful Belgian beer that makes it oh so drinkable. Another ice-cold glass, please? We’ll definitely be back. Our son picked up Shakespeare there, from a T-shirt! “Shakesbeer, To beer or not to beer!” After all, he’s got to continue with his education!

Family with a beer vespa!