We gave ourselves a bit of a sleep-in this morning given all the fireworks overnight. We descended those famous hotel stairs to the breakfast room overlooking the canal and the beautiful Rosary Quay. We sat next to the open fire and were treated to wonderful coffee, continental breakfast, and fresh Belgian waffles. Abject luxury!
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| Breakfast overlooking the canal, next to the open fire |
Eventually we headed out to do some walking between the various well known tourist spots in town. We started with a family snap in front of Rosary Quay - the most famous view in Brugges, and one that also happens to include the Hotel Relaise Cruyce!
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| The bridge leading to our hotel |
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| Family snap in front of Brugges' iconic Rosary Quay view (which includes our hotel!) |
We then followed a well-trodden walking tour, heading south from the hotel all the way down to Minniwater park (within spitting distance of the train station) and back again. In particular we passed over the lovely St Bonifacius Bridge (the lovers bridge) with it's surrounding loveliness.
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| Many views of St Bonifacius Bridge - the lovers bridge. |
Getting on to lunchtime, we felt it high time we stopped for a little bite to eat. We came across a small Waffle & Frittes store and decided to chance it. I'm glad we did, because the frittes were amazing - our first truly wonderful frittes since entering Belgium.
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| A pitt stop for some damn good frittes |
Soon we'd reached the markplatz again, and were desirous of some refreshment. The Duvelarium - being on the first floor of the town hall, and with views out over the square - was suggested and heartily agreed upon.
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| Inside the Duvelorium |
We immediately got a great spot on the balcony (a little chilly but not overly so) and ordered up our first round. We decided to play it safe and go for the Duvel standard - bier #38 of the trip.
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| Bier #38 - Duvel standard. |
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| Balcony bier number one! Just enjoying the view. |
To be honest, the standard Duvel was pretty nasty. The alchohol content was 8%, which makes it close to a tripel, but it was so fizzy and so bitter, that none of us actually enjoyed it. We suffered to the end of the glass and found that none of us wanted to move! We were all enjoying the view too much.
And so we lined up for a second round. And what a long line it was! We got in behind a british guy who firstly gave us the lowdown on how the toilets worked (useful), and then confessed to us that he waasn't much of a lager guy. My ears pricked up at this, and I asked him immediately what his preferred selection was. He recommended what ultimately became bier #39 of the trip - Maredsous Brown 8% - an absolutely amazing abbey beer.
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| Bier #39 - Maredsous Brown 8% |
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| Enjoying Maredsous Brown 8% a little too much |
After what turned into 3x Maredsous Brown, I had to be wheeled out of the place. Totally wrecked. But what an amazingly fun afternoon! We spent hours laughing at influencers and their antics down in the square taking photos, as well as trying to photobomb anyone and everyone taking a photo of the townhall. Hilarious!
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| Light is fading at the end of a fun time. |
In the end, totally wrecked, it was all I could do to lie down in our room and try to let myself recover while the others went out to dinner. I'm still not sure how Eb did it, given he matched me beer for beer. Obviously that University of sydney training is paying off.
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