In Bruges

Wednesday, 7/27

You never know what opportunities may come your way as a traveler. We've read in guide books that say one should 'just say yes' to new experiences. Today was one of those days and we were very pleased with our results. We awoke to visit the breakfast buffet at the B and B where we had all the usual fair but added to the list of goodies were squares of Belgian chocolate. Really chocolate for breakfast? No complaints here! We each ate a few pieces and I even broke some up and stirred it into my coffee. Belgian chocolate deserves its reputation, it rocks! After breakfast, Jackie said she had arranged a tour of the brewery for any guest who would like to come. We were there with bells on! It was very interesting to see all the modern machines used for bottling and to hear about the process of making the beer. Did you know it takes them three to four months to complete the process and have it ready for shipping? We also learned that the brewery actually used to have a monk come and visit to make sure they were doing it right. Also before they made beer here, they made cheese! Wise choices St. Bernardus! Back in the common room, we perused pamphlets, we really had no idea what to do with our day. It looked like it might rain, so we didn't know if we wanted to ride forty-five minutes on bikes to the Trappist Brewery Sixtus, even though they have the reputation for the best beer in the world... We were approached by a friendly pair of young guests from Philadelphia who were eager to talk beer and sightseeing with us. They were very knowledgable and seemed to have done their homework on the area. They were headed to Bruges for the day, and offered to have us ride along with them. Having just met Evan and Amanda, should we accept such a generous invitation? Why the heck not! They were friendly travelers. Amanda is a French teacher and Evan and Greg had a love of beer in common. We met them at their rental car and headed off to see the city. It is really cool that we got this chance, because otherwise we would have missed seeing so much of Belgium. The drive to Bruges was a little over an hour, and during that time we got to see hop fields, vegetable patches, Flemish farmhouses, and other small towns, as well as getting acquainted with our new friends. We arrived in Bruges just in time for lunch. Greg had only one request; must have mussels. We all know that mussels and Brussels go hand in hand, but being in Bruges was close enough. A small but expensive cafe was found down a cobbled alley that provided us with great beer and Greg with a giant crock full of mussels, with some help from the table, he finished those mollusks. Evan had to run back to the car and feed the meter so to speak, these old cities have ridiculous time limits on parking. Then we walked the city seeing the quaint squares, old churches, and charming canals. Bruges was great but it was time to feed the meter yet again, rather than walk back to the car yet another time during our visit Amanda and Evan asked if we'd like to see another town on the way back to Watou and perhaps have a light dinner there. It sounded like an excellent plan as Bruges was quite crowded with tourists and parking was such a challenge. We ended up in Ieper, which we dubbed the undiscovered Bruges. Parking was free outside of the main square, it was blessedly free of tourists (except for us), and it had one of the most impressive churches we have seen in our travels. We also found something else I had been seeking all day in Belgium, a little chocolate shop. We bought a small box of white, milk, and dark chocolate (sad to say as of writing this blog tonight we've consumed almost half of it already, but we did share with our friends). We found a small cafe that served more local beer and sandwiches. It had been a long day, but a very fun-filled adventure exploring Belgian villages with two unexpected and much appreciated fellow travelers. Greg and I arrived back at the B and B around 9pm with enough time to shower and pack for the morning. Tomorrow we leave Belgium and I feel satisfied that I supplied Greg with a sufficient sampling of beer and myself with an acceptable amount of chocolate and we have both seen a nice smattering of what Belgium has to offer.