Out in Bruges, Belgium

While we only spent four nights in Bruges, Belgium, you would be amazed at the amount of chocolate and waffles we were able eat in such a short period of time!  Oh, and we squeezed in a little sightseeing as well.

If you are looking for a quintessential European town, Bruges is it.  With a beautiful town square, canals, old buildings, magnificent churches, cobblestone streets, and delicious food, it has everything you could want.  I came to Bruges 18 years ago when I traveled through Europe and couldn’t wait to return.  Jeromy was equally excited because we were engaged when I came here and he remembered how much I loved it then.  I promised to take him here someday and we finally made it!

Upon arrival in Belgium we were able to get waffles before even leaving the train station!  Right away the boys realized they were going to like this place.  For those of you who haven’t had the incomparable experience of having a REAL Belgian waffle and are wondering what all of the fuss is all about, I will let you know a little about how they are eaten here.

1. Waffles are not a breakfast food here.  They are considered more of a dessert, deservedly so.
2. There are waffles shops all over and you can even get waffles from vending machines. (They aren’t as good as fresh ones, but still beat an American Belgian waffle any day of the week)
3. The waffles are more dense with large sugar crystals throughout.  Because of this there is no need for syrup or other topping, although adding Nutella, caramel, or fresh strawberries is always an option, depending on your mood.
4. They are more dense then our Belgian waffles.
5. They are infinitely more delicious!

From the train station, we headed to where we stayed in Bruges.  It was a cute little row house right near the center of town.

Looking down from the second story to our courtyard.  While that Koi pond was fun to look at, it was also a breeding ground for mosquitoes that ate us alive the first night we were there.  Jeromy and the boys went on a mosquito hunt that morning ending many a mosquitoes life that day.  After that, no more open windows!

Frosties…The breakfast of champions!

Not only the waffles and chocolate were good in Bruges, but all of the food we had there was amazing!  It is known to be a foodie place, and it definitely delivered.  Even their McDonald’s was fancy!

Canals crisscrossed through the town and we took a boat ride to get our bearings.

Then for some waffles…

With a little help from Tripadvisor, we found that Chez Albert had the best waffles in town.  Here Parker went with Nutella and Tyler got caramel topping.

The Markt (Main square)…

Luke loved these buildings because he said they looked like they were just flat pictures and then he was amazed that you could actually go into them!

The boys loved playing with bubbles in the square.

The historic Belfort.  You could climb 366 stairs to the top for a magnificent view.  We opted for more waffles…

We went to a couple concerts…

Luc Vanlaere had a free harp and other stringed instruments concert.  It was only 45 minutes long so the kids stayed interested and he did a great job!  It was fun to see the variety of stringed instruments he played and even created.

There was a concert in Burg square one night.  We stayed for a little while, but I was nervous about being in a crowded concert with the recent terrorist attacks in Europe so we headed out after a short time. 

And ate chocolate…

With diligent internet research as well as personal taste testing we found Dumon Chocolates to be our favorite.  All their chocolates were handmade in Bruges and they were divine!

I had never seen this before, but they had these in all the shops.  Spoons with chocolate on them to stir into the steamed milk to make Belgian Hot Chocolate.  Soooo good!

We saw Michelangelos statue “Madonna and Child”…

The only one of Michelangelo’s statues to cross the Italian border, “Madonna and Child” is on display at The Church of Our Lady that was just 2 minutes from our house.  The statue is a masterpiece, but the rest of the church was stunning as well.

And ate more waffles…

Saw windmills…

Inside a working windmill

Had waffles and chocolate…

The rest of us stayed with the traditional waffles, but Luke loved the Waffle On A Stick!

Found really fun parks to play at...

If you look closely at this picture, you will see Tyler in the air mid flip.

And ate more waffles…

After ogling our delicious waffles (strawberries and whipped cream this time) look behind us at the port-o-potties.  Very efficient, but not very private!  Of course all the boys had to try them out.

To gain a greater understanding of all the delicious chocolate we were eating we went to the chocolate museum.  It was actually very informative and we all learned a lot about chocolate!  Plus, they gave us some for free…

Yes, these look more like the poo emoji than a piece of chocolate, but that’s the only way I got Parker to get in this picture!  It also made it more fun to search for as we went through our tour.

To burn off all that food we rented bikes one day and rode through Flanders fields out to the town of Damme.

Minnewater Lake (also known as Lake of Love)

We had a delicious lunch in Damme at this restaurant

Twins!  We have limited clothes so every so often Parker and Jeromy end up being twins for the day.  Parker of course is horrified but it makes Jeromy feel young!

Yes they are dabbing in this picture.  Jeromy tried to dab with Luke on the tandem bike and Luke went flying!  He was okay, but we decided a good rule of thumb is no dabbing while riding a tandem bike.

And after that long ride we thought we better get some waffles…

Then it was off to the train station to head to Amsterdam…better pick up some chocolate for the train ride…