Mussels Near Brussels

Now that we are settled into London, our mind turns to a favorite pastime of all London dwellers: leaving London. For our first European trip since moving here, we decided to go to Bruges, Belgium.

Bruges is an uneventful four-hour train ride away from London, with a transfer in Brussels. Mary and I agree that Brussels needs to go by its French name of 'Bruxelles' more often. Rock that x, girlfriend. Bruges is fairly small and heavily gothically architectured. It is a fairly common destination for European tourists but not very well known in the US. This is probably due to its small size, which makes it best suited for a weekend trip. It is also, as is true of most verbs and all nouns, a running joke between my wife and I.

Most of the first day was spent wandering around the streets and parks. There are a few picturesque canals in town, and four windmills at the edge. The architecture of the main squares is a very overstated gothic style, which is quite striking. Getting away from the main squares, you can start to appreciate the charm of the narrow houses and stepped facades. We had a ton of fun just wandering and looking.

Also fun to look at? The language. Bruges is in the Flemish part of the country. While while Flemish doesn't sound all that odd (very German-like), it looks a touch bizarre when written. We amused ourselves on our walk by attempting to read the street signs

One of Bruges's local specialties is frites (french fries) with mayonnaise, which you can get from every restaurant and some street vendors. These were amazing. The fries are always cooked fresh to order and the mayo is more of a hollandaise sauce or aioli. It was rich and salty and suited the crisp, hot fries perfectly. When we got the first batch we both knew we'd be making a habit of it, and we were not wrong.

Sights-wise, the highlight of day one was the Church of the Holy Blood. While this sounds like a christian heavy metal band, it's actually a church built to house a vial of Christ's blood, which was brought home by a returning crusader. Unlike many of the churches we have seen in Europe, this is a much humbler affair. The columns and walls are all stone, with very little adornment. It's a powerful place and tells a lot about the reverence and piety they felt at the time.

On the second day we hit up a few museums and then partook of a local delicacy: mussels. We got them cooked in wine and herbs and they were delicious. We had local beer to go with it, as well as an order of frites. Delicious. We kept lunch light in order to ensure that we could snack all day, as it is important to set your priorities and stick to them.

After lunch it was off to a brewery tour. This was of the last functioning brewery in town, where there were once eighty. Since the brewery was so old, the tour took us through a whole history of brewing, showing not only how things are done now but also some of the equipment and processes from times past. The history of brewing is also quite tied to the history of Bruges, and it was a neat lens to view the town through. The woman giving the tour was quite animated and we had a great time. Naturally it ended in some sampling and we grabbed a six pack to bring home.

Next up was stairs. It just wouldn't be a Europe trip without stairs. In this case, it was up the clock tower at the town hall. The tower has a very cool mechanism for playing the bells and I could not resist getting a few pictures. The view was neat too.

After the climb we figured that we had earned a snack so it was off for more frites. Then, of course, we had to walk off the ftites so we just wandered around town a bit and headed to dinner. We ate at a place known for rustic local fare -- I opted for a beef stew and Mary a chicken one. Both came served over, you'll never guess, frites. For those counting, this was our third of the day. I regret nothing.

After dinner, we wandered over to a carnival that had been set up on the edge of town. It was a wonderland of bright lights, loud music, and illegal usage of licensed characters. It seemed as if every single ride had a half dozen popular characters stenciled on it, with little thought to how they relate. Jack sparrow and Dora the explorer with a gremlin and a WWF wrestler? Why not! It was a surreal and fun end to the day.

The final morning we bought some snacks on the way out of town (chocolates, caramels) and hopped a bus to the train. There was some brief drama where we thought I may have gotten us on he wrong train, but that ended up sorting itself out. We planned a long layover in Bruxelles to do a bit of sightseeing, and after Bruges it seemed like a huge city. Most of its touristy stuff is cantered around one square which was quite close to where we came into the city, so it was quite walkable in a half day.

We did a walk that brought us around the sights and terminated at the site we most wanted to see: the mannequin pis. This is a diminutive statue of a pissing boy who has become the symbol of the city. Visiting dignitaries bring outfits for him to wear, which is equal parts strange and awesome. He was dressed in a sort of matador outfit when we were there, very dapper.

All in all, it was a great trip. We really loved Bruges, and definitely plan on heading back at least for a weekend before we leave. The atmosphere was relaxed, the food was great, and french fries are canonized. Where could be better?