Michelle à Paris: Day 7

I was up bright and early this morning to make my way to Gare du Nord (not only the busiest railway station in Paris but in all of Europe) to catch the high speed Thalys train to Brussels and then transfer to an IC train to Bruges. I arrived at Gare du Nord early, having not been there before and wanting to have enough time to figure out where I needed to be to catch the train. True to its reputation, the station was very busy but surprisingly, not overwhelmingly so. Being a weekday morning, it was mostly commuters and even though there were a lot of people, everyone was moving around in a calm and orderly fashion. I had time to grab a petit dejeuner of a croissant and espresso and actually found a bench to sit and watch the enormous departure board as I awaited the announcement for my platform. The Thalys train experience was awesome. It travels 300 km/hr and pretty much hugs the highway. As you pass cars on the highway they look like they are standing still! What would have taken 3 hours by car was 1 hour by train. And the ride was quiet and comfortable. I could definitely get used this mode of transport!

From Brussels to Bruges was another hour on a "regular" speed train . . . sigh. I arrived in Bruges around 10:20 am and hopped on one of the many busses that run from the train station into historic city center. Because I was only spending the day in Bruges, I decided to follow Rick Steves' walking tour rather than wander aimlessly on my own. I am not the best with directions but I have to say, I really honed my map-reading skills today. One of the first things I wanted to do was to climb the belfry (the famous medieval bell tower) that is featured prominently in the movie In Bruges. The belfry was built in 1240, suffered a fire a some point soon thereafter, and rebuilt in 1280. The uppermost part of the belfry was not added until 1487.

Belfry as seen from the courtyard below

It's a 366 step climb to the top along a spiraling staircase that gets narrower and steeper the closer you get to the top you get. There aren't railings to hang onto but there is a rope you can grab if needed, which I did frequently! Also, traffic flows both ways, up and down, so be prepared to squeeze by others which can be a challenge in some of the narrower sections. It's actually a great way to interact with other tourists. Luckily, there are several places to stop and catch your breath along the way. The view from the top is amazing and I'm glad I brought my small point-and-shoot camera as the lens on my DSLR was too big to fit through the fencing that surrounded the windows.

Bruges from above

I followed Rick's walking tour through the Market Square, which was actually set up as a farmer's market on this day, Bruges Square and City Hall, the latter of which I toured. Unfortunately, the main church in Bruges is closed on Wednesday afternoons so I wasn't able to go inside of that. But there was plenty to see and do besides.

City Hall

Statue in Bruges

Market Square

At the end of my walking tour, I picked a pub to enjoy some Belgian beer and a light meal. Rick Steves recommended getting out of the city center and heading somewhere more local. A 20 minute walk led me to Cafe Vlissinghe (http://www.cafevlissinghe.be/cafevlissinghe.be/home.html), the oldest pub in town dating back to 1515. I ordered a Bruges Zot ("Bruges Fool") beer, a prizewinning golden ale brewed locally and a ham and cheese sandwich with a salad. My wish for a dining companion finally came true. This little guy didn't leave my side until my food was taken away!

Bruges Pooch . . . so cute!

After lunch I spent time just wandering through the city, enjoying its colorful buildings and canals and shopping for chocolate. Bruges is considered the "little Venice" of the north with its many canals but the city reminded me more of Amsterdam (I've never been to Venice.) There were more people on bikes than in cars, even on this cold and windy winter day. As the afternoon lingered on, it came time to find my way back to the train station. I wasn't sure where to catch a bus back to the train station (my guidebook was woefully lacking in this regard) so I walked. After one wrong turn and a backtrack, I caught the 4:30 pm train back to Brussels and then back on the high speed Thalys train to Paris. Bruges was awesome and definitely somewhere I would like to return. Had I known I would have enjoyed it as much as I did, I would have stayed a night or two.