Oh my goodness! Belgium!
The fast Thalys train had us on our way to Brussels in double quick time. Then a slower regional train on to Bruges. We alighted the train and headed out of the station in completely the wrong direction and got horribly lost (with no Google maps - phone died). We were fortunate to find a lovely young couple who went above and beyond and drove us to as close to our hotel in the city as possible...so kind!
Everyone we have spoken to in the past few weeks, since we reworked our itinerary to include Bruges, have raved about what a beautiful city it is. They certainly weren't wrong. The "Venice of the North" absolutely lived up to the hype. With only 2 nights we dropped our bags and headed out exploring. Sooo beautiful. And such a comfortable city to be in. The people were all so friendly and helpful. Our first food experience in a lovely restaurant on the main square served all the dishes that Belgium is known for so we tried:
North Sea Fish Soup; Fries (apparently the French didn't invent them); Fish; Mussels; Beer (just Chris); waffles...some of the best food we've had in Europe...without question!
Brugges has windmills. And we found them while wandering aimlessly around the city on our only full day. And ate more amazing food! AND chocolate, AND waffles.
Brugges has a "town" square just about every couple of blocks. Each square is lined with spectacular buildings, quaint restaurants & cafes, beautiful churches, and the entire city is filled with canals which, at this time of year, many of them ar at least partially covered with ice. On the edge of the main square is a beautiful government building which has a high bell tower which accommodates a carillon which plays a regular intervals through the daylight hours.
The weather for our stay was chilly but mostly clear. Until our last morning; and as our train took us back towards Brussels the country was covered in fog and a thick layer of frost.
Our train change in Brussels was on to the Eurostar-first class! And on to London.
