Bruges

Saturday we spent the day in Bruges, a small town about an hour train ride from. Brussels. We left Amsterdam for brussels at 7:50am and sat next to a sweet, lovely couple on the train who promptly informed us that we were on the quiet car before we even sat down. The train hadn't started moving and we still have 15 minutes so we didn't really think it was necessary to be silent before the train left.  We talked quietly and he again very rudely informed us that "quiet means quiet." we plugged in our headphones but I laughed as the man continued to remind every single person that got on the train that they had to be quiet. Even one word, and the guy got up and told them to be quiet. Obviously a disgruntled former elementary school hall patrol or something along those lines. 2 hours later when the couple got off, the whole car breathed a sigh of relief and everyone carried on  their own conversations in peace.

We arrived at the train station from Amsterdam, stored our bags in a locker and went to buy tickets to Bruges. This was the only stressful part of the weekend because there were long, confusing lines and the tourist information desks were both closed (ugh) but we finally figured it out and got our tickets for 13 euro roundtrip... Half of what we thought we were going to pay! Apparently prices are a lot cheaper on the weekends so that was great.

After sitting on the train from Amsterdam for 3 hours, the one hour train ride to Bruges felt like nothing. We got there, grabbed a map and walked to the city center. Bruges is the perfect place for a day trip.. The train station is a 5 minute walk to the city center (and a pretty one!) Bruges is often referred to a little Venice. It was really similar in many ways but mostly because of the canals that run throughout the city. Many houses are lined along canals and boats are a big means of transportation throughout the city. We decided to start out our day with a canal boat tour of the city. For 6 euro we got a 30 minute tour with an awesome tour guide. It was cloudy, (as it often is in Belgium) but still really nice.

Canal Tour

The tour was a great idea because it was cheap and we learned a lot of about the city and none of us really knew anything before we arrived.

"Bruges is home to 17 churches - we are very religious people. We also have 420 pubs" - our tour guide giving us a little background on. Bruges

It was hard to fathom just how old the city was. Many of the houses have the date they were built on the front. During the tour we passed one house for sale built in 1607 and going for 2.7 million euro... Just a littler over budget for me.

After the tour we went for lunch and quickly realized this is an expensive little town. The cheapest lunch we found was 12 euro but most were around 20 and up. We finally found a little cafe with sandwiches but they were still more expensive than usual. After lunch we got some Belgian waffles and coffee (so good.. I miss waffles already!) we walked around town some more. Walking around there really felt like walking back in time. The buildings were so old and there were tons of adorable little shops and restaurants. There were also just as money horse-drawn carriages as cars. We had a lot of fun just walking out and checking out all the different chocolate shops.

Looks like Dickens Village.. would love to see it at Christmas!

We stumbled upon one called chocolatier Duman. It was a tiny little ancient looking building with a stone front. It was so tiny inside with just a small front room and a back room that you step down into. While we were looking the owner of the shop started talking to us and after asking where we were from, informed us that she is recommended in Rick Steves books as the best chocolate shop. She was really modest. (but also a smart businesswoman!) The shop was completely family run.. Her mother worked behind the counter and her nephew was working the register. It was the cutest place and definitely the best chocolate. We were lucky to have found it!

Chocolatier Dumon

Inside Chocolatier Dumon

After we had wandered enough we decided to stop somewhere for a drink. On our canal tour, the tour guide pointed out the oldest pub in the city, built in 1515. We figured it would be a good place to go .. And it was! It definitely felt like being back in time. The bar itself was only about 5 feet long tops and very oldfashioned. There were several long wooded tables to sit at and it was open seating. There was a wood stove in the center and the decorations on the wall were very old. There were lots of framed papers from the 1600s and memorabilia from the bar. We ordered the cheapest Belgian beer on the menu and spent most of the time drinking it trying to picture what people at this bar would have looking like in 1515, but we still never came up with anything. Pretty cool to be able to say we had a drink in a bar thats been around that long!

Oldest bar in Belgium! 

After drinks we headed back to Brussels where we stayed in the same hotel we had stayed the first night. We were all exhausted and drained so we just grabbed dinner, showered and crashed at the hotel. This was such a great weekend and I couldn't be happier with how everything turned out. Before leaving I knew this weekend would be a whirlwind with lots of traveling and I was worried it would be too hectic and stressful for my first solo trip. That was not the case at all! Everything went so well and I never once felt like we were tying to do too much. I felt like I had plenty of time in each place and even thought it was only 3 full days, I feel like I was gone much longer (in a good way) and had plenty of time. We all got to see and do everything we wanted without being too exhausted to enjoy it. Got lucky with some awesome travel partners and we were all on the same page. This weekend only made me more excited for the rest of my traveling. Next stop... Dublin!