In Bruges, but no Colin Farrell in Sight

Next Stop: Bruges, Belgium for a day trip. Bruges is about an hour from Brussels and well worth the trip! It is charming, placid and picturesque, with some of the world's best chocolate, beer and frites!

It has also experienced some increased exposure lately as it was featured in the recent movie, "In Bruges", featuring Ralph Fiennes, Brendan Gleeson and, you guessed it, Colin Farrell.

Or first stop was to the Halve Maan (or Half Moon) Brewery for a tour and tasting. This is the home of my favorite brew in Belgium (so far): the delicious "Bruges Zot".

(L: Refreshing pint of Bruges Zot Blonde, C: View of Bruges from the roof of the Brewery, R: Meghan and Me on the brewery tour. Photos L and R courtesy of Meghan Hennick)

We then hit one of the most recommended chocolate shops in town, Dumon. Truly transcendent chocolate. It was in this shop that I realized that through the trip so far and subsequently we had been and would be greeted in stores four times: once in Dutch, once in Flemish or German (I can never get those two right ;-) English and French. I suppose the salespeople need to know in which language to proceed to sell you delicious things. I think Belgium has this bi/tri/quatro-lingual thing down!

(The picturesque Markt Square with statue of Jan Breydel and Pieter de Coninck, who in the 13th century, who are revered for their efforts to preserve Flemish identity in a then increasingly French-influenced world. )

Markt square is known for its medieval Belfry also home to the best frite stands in the world. There are two and, in an informal taste test, we thought the frites from on the right (neither of the stands have names) were slightly crisper on the outside and creamier on the inside. The curry ketchup was an ideal accompaniment...mayo on frites for me? NEVER!

(View of Burg square, you can see the Belfry in Markt Square in the background)

(Basilica of the Holy Blood)

So, onto Burg Square, the less commercial of the two major squares in Bruges. The Basilica of the Holy Blood is here, and features a relic of -- you guessed it -- a drop of Jesus' blood! Curious, we stepped inside and were almost immediately creeped out. The building is all stone and dark and one curving stairway later you are in a chapel where people are standing or sitting at the edge, waiting to pay a euro or so to go up to this platform where a person is holding a giant, elaborate vial. The lucky person plops in a coin *clink*, ascends stairs to the platform, gazes at the drop of Jesus blood, and a few seconds later, descends the stairs on the other side. We watched about five people go through this formality and decided the theatrics were too much for us.

(Madonna and Child, Michelangelo, The Church of our Lady, Bruges, Belgium)

We did, however, go to The Church of Our Lady which features one of the only Michelangelo sculptures to ever leave Italy during the sculptor's lifetime (1475 – 1564). This popular sculpture, said to be in the same style as his famous sculpture, Pieta, was later taken from Bruges as a war spoil during the French Revolution (1789–1799) and World War II (1939 –1945).

(Above: Complementary chocolate from the chocolate making demonstration at Chocostory. Photo Courtesy of Meghan Hennick)

Then it was on to learn about the history of chocolate and a chocolate making demonstration at ChocoStory, Bruges' Chocolate Museum. The museum was pretty fascinating and very well done. It also does its best, as their website says, "to promote the health and quality aspects of Belgian chocolate."

Before dinner, we went to a local beer hall called 't Brugs Beertje for some specialty Belgian beers like St. Feuillien Cuvee de Noel and Tongerlo Christmas. For dinner, we found this great, inexpensive place called The Hobbit with a relaxed, eclectic atmosphere and the all-you-can-eat ribs . I chose the combination grill dinner that came with a salad, the aforementioned ribs with spicy dipping sauce, Merguez sausage and lamb chops...all washed down with a Bruges Zot, of course.

(Bruges at Night, 2008)

Slightly full and a little light-headed from all the beer and chocolate, we made our way back to Brussels to settle in for the night and get ready to move out to Amsterdam the next day.