Bruges is one of Europe’s historical gems and only a 2 ½ hours drive from where I grew up and yet I had never been. I read a lot about it; I watched several movies that were filmed there, but somehow, I never made it there. But finally, this year, the stars align when my friend Michelle has to go to Europe for work around the same time I am visiting mom in the Netherlands for her birthday. The perfect occasion to plan a weekend to explore this city together. So, on Friday at the end of May, Michelle is taking the train from Luxembourg, and I am driving to Bruges, where beer and chocolate awaits.
I am not a big beer drinker, and I absolutely don’t like most pilsners and even less the bitter IPAs that are so popular in the US. So, I stopped drinking beer and I had almost forgotten how I used to enjoy some of the Belgium specialty beers. A Trappist with grenadine on a warm summer night, an “Oud Bruin” with my grandma, or a Kriek Lambiek in a local bar. It is all coming back to me when I drive through town and see all the bars and beers shops. After we meet up in “Hotel du Theatre”, perfectly located just off the main square, we head out. We are ready to make the most of our 2-day weekend exploring the beers and chocolates in Bruges.
Exploring town
We are up early on Saturday and ready to explore. Our original plan was to start the day with the self-guided Monument Walk, however it is raining. The rain is not stopping us to go searching for a place to have breakfast. We walk to the “de Markt”, or main square. Where it was packed with tourist last night, at 7.30 in the morning, it is completely empty. It is the perfect time to take pictures. We leave the square and continue our walk on one of the main shopping streets. Shops are still closed, but we window shop, while looking for a restaurant. We pass several coffee shops and restaurants, however none of them are open yet. We end up back on the main square. A friend of Michelle has recommended to pop into Craenenburg, a restaurant in one of the old historic buildings on the square. As they are open, we decide we might as well have breakfast. The building is beautiful, the service is slow, the food mediocre and overpriced.
Shopping
As it is still drizzling when we finish breakfast, we decide to go shopping. We have a list of shops we want to visit so why not start checking some of them off. First stop is Pikolinos, a Spanish shoe store. We both buy shoes. Next is Leonidas, my favorite Belgium chocolates. I can’t visit Belgium and not bring some home. We continue to Sissy-Boy, a clothing and accessory store. Later that afternoon, we visit several local boutiques. We also visit a couple of beer stores to buy our favorite beers to take home.
Walking tour: monuments, chocolates, and beer
We start the walk at the Belfry tower. Gone is the empty square. Tourist groups have emerged, and we have to push our way through throngs of people. Glad we took pictures last night and this morning, we move on. Although the tour takes us to several key monuments and sights, including several churches, the Gruuthuse Museum, some of the picturesque canals and Minne water, or Lake of Love, it feels more like a chocolate and beer tour. Almost every building is either a beer shop or a chocolate shop, with every now and then a waffle or souvenir show thrown in.
A Meringue encounter.
We meet Fred in Aux Merveilleux by Fred on Sunday afternoon. Walking by the shop on Saturday we admired the beautiful store and sugary creations. We are just going in for a photo, but we are fascinated by the meringues. I ask what is in them. He tells us it is a meringue with cream, and a little merengue hidden inside. Oh lord so decadent, so sinfully good. We take two with us for breakfast next morning (and we forgot to eat them). We ask him if he can come to the US. He says he is in NY and looking at opening in SF. We can only hope.
Sampling Belgium Beers
Bar Rose Red
Our first stop on Friday evening, recommended by the receptionist in our hotel, is Bar Rose Red. We find a table inside and browse the menu. I order the beer the bar is named after: Rose Red while Michelle decides on a beer recommended by our waiter. We are both hungry and decide to order some appetizers: the Iberico ham, shrimp croquettes and of course some fries (Belgium fries, not French). My beer is delicious, sweet but not overly and I realize I have missed a good beer. We are off to a good start of the weekend.
Vlissinghe
The walking tour on Saturday makes us hungry and thirsty. We have seen so many beer shops, that we feel it is time we have one. After a short walk, we reach Vlissinghe, the oldest Inn in Belgium. The sun has come out and we find a table in the little courtyard. I order a Hoegaarden Rose and Michelle a Kriek Lambiek. The menu has shrimp croquettes. As we liked them last night and they seem to pair well with beer, we order some. Later we learn later that they are a local specialty. Sitting in the sun, drinking our beers, we feel like we could stay here all afternoon. However, we have things to do and places to go.
Le Trappiste
Next stop is Le Trappiste, another beer bar that came highly recommended. We have a friendly waiter showing us to a table and he brings the beer menu. 1 page with beers on tap and a book with over 300 different beers by the bottle. We have a hard time deciding. I ask our waiter for advice and tell him we like lighter and fruitier beers. He tells me those are not beers, only dark beers are and after that he ignores us. Eventually, Michelle orders a sour fruit beer, while I have the Duchess du Bourgogne. They are good, but not as good as the Rose Red and Hoegaarden Rose.
Food for Foodies
Rock-Fort
Dinner on Friday is at Rock-Fort. When we walk in at 7.30pm, it is completely empty, although the website says it closes at 8pm. We debate whether we should stay or go somewhere else. It feels a bit weird to have dinner in an empty restaurant. However, the waitress tells us, they don’t close at 8, they only accept people to come in till 8, and they have several reservations. So, we decide to stay and select a high-top table next to the bar. And while we are having a glass of wine, browsing the menu, indeed more people start to come in. The waitress brings us three delicious amuse bouche. I am excited to see several dishes with white asparagus and realize we are in the middle of asparagus season. We decide to start with oysters from Ireland. Michelle orders the seafood ravioli with white asparagus. I really want asparagus too but would like them with the langoustines. Our waitress offers to ask the chef if he can do that. Unfortunately, the chef is not flexible and does not want to do a special order. Disappointing. So, I decide to also order the ravioli. And I am not disappointed after all. I have never had white asparagus mixed with seafood ravioli in a creamy red sauce, but it is a surprisingly good combination.
Poules Moules
On Saturday we have reservations at Poules Moules. As the name suggest, their specialty is mussels. You cannot visit Belgium and not have “Moules Frites”, so we both order them. Michelle with a tomato garlic sauce, for me in white wine and garlic cream. To start we share the asparagus Flemish style. These are boiled white asparagus, topped with chopped hard-boiled eggs and parsley. Similar to the way we used to eat them when I was growing up, although we would add ham, potatoes and melted butter. It is all delicious.
Diligence
For Sunday I had made reservations at Diligence, a smaller and more local restaurant, just around the corner from our hotel. After drinking beer since this morning, we are ready for a glass of wine. We decide we have to sample the shrimp croquettes here as well as a starter. They are great. After that we decide to share a salad and also share a portion of Moules Frites again, even though we had them last night. Michelle wants to try the more traditional one in just white wine. And they are as good as the night before.
Must do Museums
Sunday is museum day and not exactly traditional museums. After a delicious breakfast at Balthasar, where we share a prosciutto and burrata sandwich and a Belgium waffle with strawberries, we are headed to our first museum.
The Belgium Beer museum
Just of the main square, we enter the Beer Museum and Experience. The staircase is covered in logos of every beer available in Belgium. They hand us a tablet and a headset and explain that we just point the tablet at the objects to get a written or audio explanation. We start our tour. The first part is about the beer making process from ingredients to the brewing process. Next is a room with thousands of beer bottles on the wall, and explanations of the different types of beers and their history. I take pictures of some of the funnier ones. There is a section about beer and food and one about the history and tradition of Trappist beer. Throughout the whole tour, there are ? icons, which are quizzes. We are not very good at them but the whole experience is extremely good.
After the tour, we get to taste 3 beers of our choice. I have a local “wit” beer, a sour beer and a trappist. Michelle also has a sour beer and a fruit beer, the Rodenbach fruitage, which I like so much that I decide I have to buy it and take home with me.
The Friet Museum
The beer has made us hungry. Which makes our next stop a logical one: the “Friet” museum, the museum of fries. Walking through the museum, we learn everything about fries. From their origin, Peru, with 4,000 different types of potatoes, to how those came to Europe and that the first French frie was not French but Belgium. How did it end up being called a French frie?? Well…..at the end of WW2, after the liberation of Europe, American soldiers were offered fries by French speaking Belgium locals. They loved them and not knowing that part of Belgium speaks French, back home they raved about these “French fries” they tasted while in Europe. This museum is another one using tech to create a very nice and fun experience. We end the tour with friet and “bitterballen”, a round form of croquettes.
Brewery Tour de Halve Maan
We have booked a tour at Brouwerij de Halve maan. The lady giving the tour has worked at the brewery for 23 years and is very enthusiastic and proud of “her” brewery. She explains that de Halve Maan is a family brewery. For a brewery to be able to be called a family brewery, it needs to be in the family for at least three generations. There are only 20 family breweries in Belgium. Family breweries have a square logo with the Belgium flag on the back of the bottles. De Halve Maan has been in the same family for six generations. The Halve Maan is also unique in that it has built the first and only beer pipe-line in Belgium. The line is 6km long, and goes from the brewery to the bottling place, just outside the old town. We follow our guide on narrow staircases all the way to the top, from where you have a beautiful view all over Bruges. De Halve Maan has 2 beer brands: Brugse Zot (the Joker of Bruges) and Straffe Hendrik (Strong Henry). After the tour is over, we have a Brugse Zot “dubbel”. Dubbel, meaning it is a dark beer. It is very good, although I would have loved to add just a bit of grenadine.
A Delicious City
When we leave on Monday morning, we agree that Bruges is a delicious city. Its charming cobblestones streets, and beautiful old buildings, its many chocolates, meringue and waffle stores makes you really feel you are in an old medieval town. And of course, the many places to have a really good Belgium beer.
All photo credit: Michelle Lalljie , Mariel van Tatenhove
Unforgettable trip. So much fun!