We've been talking about taking a short trip to Bruges for ages, several years in fact. You see, Little B has heard all sorts of stories about the two trips we made there before he was born, when his older brother and sister were still proper Little People. He absorbed the stories about sailing the sea on a giant ship that you sleep on, about the gazillion shops stuffed full of nothing but the lushest Belgian chocolate, about the cafes where you sit under the trees and eat your meals outside. But for this particular Little Boy it was always the mention of waffles that made his eyes go wide with longing. The waffles in Bruges are the size of your head and are topped with all manner of delicious sweetness! You can have them drizzled with real melted chocolate! You can add whipped cream and fresh strawberries and ice cream too if you want! There are waffle restaurants where the whole menu is dedicated to waffles, just imagine that!!
And so Little B began a long held Waffle Crusade, with the sole aim of persuading his family to take him to Bruges so that he could experience proper fresh, fully loaded waffles, the bigger the better. It took years of asking (and waiting for his Daddy to renew his passport), and even though there were promises made, there were never any definite plans in place. He continued to ask, and to hope, and to be very patient. His Mum said things like "We'll try and go very soon, I promise. This year sometime, we'll make it happen". His Dad said things like "We'll wait until the weather gets warmer. Bruges will be nicer in the Summer".
And then one Tuesday in the second week of the Easter holidays, I decided I had had enough waiting. I really, really wanted to make this trip happen, not just for Little B, but for us as a family of five. So I researched it, checked the weather forecast (which really did help swing it), ran it quickly past the family for approval and then booked the tickets there and then. Booked on a Tuesday afternoon for a departure three days later. Boom!!! So liberating!!!
As you can see from the picture above, we didn't fly to Belgium. Instead we took the slow route sailing from the North East of England across the North Sea by ferry. We discovered these short "mini-cruise" ferry trips many years ago before the Little People were born, when J and I were at liberty to pop away for a few days to lark about in a foreign city. We visited Amsterdam a couple of times back then in our life before children, then twice to Bruges as parents with Little Peeps in tow. We love this slow, easy way of travelling, and I can certainly recommend it if you have small children. Or even big children.
The mini-cruise idea is a simple one - you park your car at the port and travel on the ferry as a foot passenger. The ship sails in the early evening (you get to sleep in a dinky little cabin) and by the time you've eaten breakfast the following morning you are sailing into a foreign port, ready to be whisked away and delivered to the city for a full day of exploration. At the end of the day, you are picked up and taken back to the waiting ship, where you settle down for a second night of being rocked to sleep by the sea. The next morning you are back on home turf with a few souvenirs, plenty of photographs and lots of lovely memories. Spending two nights on the ferry saves the expense of finding and booking accommodation, and although there was only an eight hour window to explore Bruges, we found this was just right when Little People are involved.
We traveled from Hull to Zeebrugge on the Pride of Bruges, which is a pretty big ferry, especially when you are eight years old. Little B LOVED the whole experience offered by this mode of transport - the endless rows of corridors and cabins, the many decks to explore, the huge shop, the lounge/bars, the cafe. He loved our cabin with his bunk bed and a sea view window. We spent the evening exploring the decks and drinking and playing in the chilled out lounge bar to the sound of the piano playing. I sat and crocheted a little while the rest of the family played cards, interspersed with frequent trips out onto the windy deck to view the sea. It really was a very fine way to begin our short little holiday away.
We woke up early to an expanse of very foggy sea, and I began to worry a little about the weather. Our previous trips to Bruges had both been rather wet and bedraggled, so I was really holding out hope for a dry day. I didn't mind if it was grey, but I desperately wanted to avoid the rain if possible. The weather app on my phone promised warm temperatures with a mixture of sun and cloud, so I peered out to the foggy horizon, crossed my fingers and hoped for the best.
It only takes 25 minutes to travel from the port of Zeebrugge into the centre of Bruges by coach, so by 10am we were strolling though the gorgeous Minnewater park. If you know me in real life you will know that I have the most atrocious memory, and an even more astoundingly bad sense of direction. I retain absolutely nothing in my brain that will help me find my way around a place that I've been to before, and I cannot read maps. Luckily for me, J has a brain that has a fantastic working memory as well as a built in sat-nav so he was able to guide us easily through the park, across courtyards and bridges and cobbled squares as if he walked that route every day. It was marvellous!
Bruges is a truly beautiful and atmospheric old medieval city, and it's pure pleasure to wander about the streets. The canal network is extensive and I loved being able to walk around and over so many pretty bits of water. Around every corner there was a picturesque view, which pleased me no end.
On this sunny Saturday morning I was on an absolute high of happiness....I could hardly believe that we were suddenly in a different country, that we had actually managed a spontaneous family trip abroad! Just the thought of what we were doing thrilled me every time I thought about it (which was a hellava lot of times). Such a fun thing to do, to pop over to Bruges for the day! And the weather....oh, the warm sunny weather really did make the whole day extra special.
We are not a family who plans anything ever. We don't really do maps or guide books or advance research. We are pootlers and wanderers, going with the flow, gently taking it all in without quite knowing where we are headed or what we are looking for. I like most of all to just "feel" a place, to soak in the visual delights, absorb the atmosphere and just be there in the moment.
As a result of this approach we do miss quite a bit I guess. On occasion I did wonder about the history of certain things (buildings, statues etc) but somehow the thoughts were fleeting and it didn't seem to matter all that much that I didn't get to know. I loved the above square ↑↑, with it's tall trees, quirky old buildings and beautiful cobbles. There were so many empty tables and chairs waiting patiently for customers to arrive and enjoy an al fresco drink in the sunshine, it all looked very inviting. I had no idea what it was called when we were there, but thanks to the internet I can tell you it's name now - it's called Walplein. There you go, should you ever wish to go there, I can tell you that it is indeed delightful to sit under the trees and while a way an hour with a cold drink to hand.
We much prefer to be outside rather than inside so don't tend to venture inside museums or buildings or shops when we visit a place. And in a city like Bruges, there is sooooooooo much to see and appreciate on the outside, especially when the sun is shining!
By mid morning we had made our way to the main market square which was bustling with tourists. As main squares go, the Markt is pretty spectacular...it's huuuuuge! Our main aim at this point in the proceedings was to hunt down some amazing waffles, as Little B was absolutely beside himself with longing. J harnessed the power of the internet on his phone and guided us to Fred's which is just down a little side street off Markt square. It was a good call - the magic waffle making machines were going at full tilt, producing hot, fluffy, freshly cooked waffles of perfection.
Freds is a waffles-to-go kind of a place, so we took our cardboard trays of sweet booty and made our way back into the centre of the market square to perch on the statue steps. It was absolutely fantastic, watching the Little People tuck into their morning treat. I'm sure Little B nearly fainted from pleasure overload, he was so bowled over by what was going into his mouth. He said it was honestly the best thing he has ever eaten in his entire life......just brilliant to witness his waffle pleasure after he had been looking forward to it for so long.
While we were sitting in the square, we were treated to the sounds of the carillon bells playing from the famous Belfry tower (this apparently happens on Wednesdays, Saturdays and Sundays between 11 and 12). It was an incredible sound, very different to the church bells in England that we are used to hearing - you can see someone playing the Bruges carillon on YouTube, it looks devilishly complicated!
The outdoor waffles accompanied by the forty seven bell soundtrack kept us sat in the square for quite a while. But eventually we upped ourselves and decided to just have a little bit of an aimless potter around the quieter streets away from the main bustle.
Just a few minutes from the busy market square, the side streets were practically deserted.
I would have loved to linger for longer along these quiet little overlooked bits of Bruges.....
.....taking my time to observe all the delicious details of doorways and rooftops, flower pots and cobbled streets. But the rest of the family were keen to keep walking, so I went with the flow, absorbing as much as I could as we strolled along.
I remembered that last time we visited Bruges we had taken a boat trip and I really wanted to take Little B in one of the small tourist boats that you see pootling all along the canals. The rest of the fam weren't keen (I've no idea why, it was only 30 minutes and I thought a pretty great thing to do?), but that didn't stop Little B and me.
We were the last people to get into the boat and so had the pleasure of sitting right at the very front just behind the driver. It was such a lovely feeling to be swooshed around the streets at water level, passing under bridges and around some truly beautiful old buildings. Thanks to our driver and guide, we got to pass underneath the lowest bridge and glimpse the smallest window in the city - I love that it wasn't all about historical facts. Little B said it was his second-best bit of his day in Bruges (nothing could top the waffle), and I really enjoyed it too.
Meanwhile, the three-fifths of the family that weren't riding the canals had settled themselves into a waterside location to await our return. You can see it in the above photo look, a cute little restaurant called La Pergola with a spectacular outdoor terrace overlooking the water.
It was charming - the waiters were super-friendly and took the time to explain the non-English menu to us so that we could order a selection of sharing platters. We sat and ate and drank and laughed and chattered well into the afternoon, enjoying the view, the music and the continental ambiance. I absolutely love eating and drinking outside, and although it had clouded over since the morning it was such a rare treat to be able to sit comfortably in the open air with no coat to enjoy being in the heart of a foreign city.
After our lengthy lunch, we carried on our wander, heading back towards the south of the city in the general direction of our coach pick up.
There is a lot of movement in the streets of Bruges, with a large number of bicycles and horse drawn carriages doing the rounds. The continuous sound of horses hooves echoing in the streets is a memory of Bruges which stays with you long after you've left.
We stopped in a few chocolate shops on our way and purchased a few modest slabs to bring home...oooooo, Belgian chocolate is mighty fine stuff I have to say. My slab was (past tense, all devoured) a swirly mixture of milk and dark chocolate which was absolutely divine.
The old parts of Bruges are captivating - ancient wonky buildings with their distinctive stepped gable roof tops just oozed charm and character, even when they housed simple touristy shops.
We found ourselves back in the Walplein, and at 3pm it was very much busier than it had been when we walked through that morning.
We managed to find a free table and enjoyed a leisurely drink in the afternoon sunshine.
I absolutely love Belgian fruit beer - here in my town there is a small pub that serves a strawberry one that I'm rather partial to every so often, but the one I had in Bruges was a cherry beer....oh so so good! I can highly recommend it if you ever come across it and find that a bit of a thirst needs quenching in a fruity way!
By the time we came to head back through the Minnewater park, the weather was on the turn and a low grey cloud had descended. It had been such a beautiful day and I was so thankful for the slice of warm, sunny Spring weather that allowed us to spend all day outdoors.
And so eight hours after arriving in Bruges, we said goodbye and journeyed back to the ferry to enjoy the return journey homewards.
Being back on the ferry felt weirdly comforting - you get to keep the same cabin that you had on the outward journey which means you can leave your bags and clobber safely on board whilst you spend the day in Bruges. Our return journey was much the same as our outward journey - lots of walks around the decks, lots of leisure time in the bar/lounge and a surprisingly comfortable bunk bed to rock to sleep in.
The ship wakes up quite early and the cafe opens at 6.30am with warm croissants and frothy coffee to make it worth getting up for. I loved being out on the deck at all times during the trip, but it was especially lovely first thing in the morning with a hot coffee in my hand and the sun rising above the sea.
Out of all the journeys we've made across the North Sea over the years, I think this was by far the calmest crossing. It was so smooth that for most of the time at sea you hardly felt like you were moving at all. J and I once traveled on this ferry in the depths of winter through a snow storm and high winds and believe me, you certainly feel the movement of the sea in those conditions.
We had such a lovely (truly lovely) time away - less than forty eight hours but it felt like so much more. I hope the memories last for a good long while to come - Little B is already asking when we can go back again, so I guess the trip was a good one for him. He is still talking animatedly about the best waffle he has ever tasted in his entire life.
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