Welcome to Belgium!

No day of rest following long excursion in France; today we arrived in Belgium. To the port city of Zeebrugge, which is the access port for the Medieval canalled City of Brugge, about 30 minutes by road, or 7 minutes by train. 

I have been to Brugge on several occasions; I think this is my 5th visit, so I didn’t need the extensive Princess tour. The Princess ‘time on your own’ option seemed expensive for essentially a return transfer to and from the Port. Our Port Lecturer, Leanne, suggested using a private transfer operator with a desk in the terminal, and get a return transfer from them for less than a quarter of the cost of the Princess transfer.

Sounds good? Well on the day, I was forced to doubt my decision. There were a few ‘issues’, but there was little point in bringing this up with Leanne. Leanne describes herself in her presentations as an “ICON” – which means "In Charge Of Nothing”! 

The Princess Shuttle left from beside the ship, just as you disembarked the gangplank. ‘Independent guests’ had to queue for a shuttle bus to take them to the Cruise Terminal Building. The queue took 30 minutes, the bus ride, 2 minutes! Once through the Terminal, again no ID checking, literally walking in one door, a couple of turns, and then out into arrivals area. This is when the serious queueing started; 150 passengers lining up for transfer tickets, and only ONE server. He was the owner of the company, so in between individualised ticket selling and information giving, he was conducting currency exchange, co-ordinating drivers and answering queries. You can therefore imagine that this queue was moving so very slowly; it took 75 minutes to get to the front. My transaction took less than a minute and I had my ticket; I now had to wait for a bus – it turns out I was on the third bus of four; he had no more drivers, so what would he say to the unfortunate person well behind me, who was going to miss out on a ticket? Not my problem….

The coach, when it did come, only took us 20 minutes to get to Brugge. I allowed myself to get a little excited, as I knew Brugge was one of the prettiest Medieval cities in the world… and has chocolate too! At Leanne’s port lecture, she mentioned that the transfer buses would be dropping off and picking people up at Grote Markt in the very centre of town, and therefore really handy for the shops, attractions and canal trips. I remember getting the train on a previous trip, followed by the long 40 minute walk from the station into the centre. There were no announcements on the bus, apart from the driver telling us that the wind farm we were passing had 10 Thousand wind turbines! Also that the Port area was full of imported cars, one of the main functions of Zeebrugge. 

As we approached Brugge, I recognised the Train Station, and was sure that they were doing pavement works 10 years ago, and the place still was a building site… Not my problem, as I was on a coach shuttle to Grote Markt. The coach then turned, and my heart sank, as we entered the peripheral coach station. The coach stopped and the doors opened, with no announcements. A few people moved, but the rest waited, saying they wanted the ‘second stop’. When the engine turned off, it was apparent that there would be no second stop; a 30 minute walk it would have to be. Thankfully, I had downloaded Google maps, as no physical map or information was on offer. 

The walk was straightforward, and became more scenic, the closer towards the centre you got. But I should have followed the ‘herd’, as they crossed the road and traversed the ‘red bridge’ as a shortcut. On my Google maps, I had highlighted the things I wanted to do; a couple of chocolate shops I had been to previously, a Tapestry shop and the Christmas shops. My mood improved with the retail therapy, well the first purchases were chocolates after all! I was prepared for the European heatwave, as I was armed with a coolbag containing a bag of ice, to keep those precious morsels in good health! I then proceeded to buy a tapestry cat cushion cover to align with our grey tabby, Maguire (we already have cat cushions for our ginger tabby and black furball). I completed my shopping with a wooded Santa Nutcracker figurine, which was a little more expensive than expected, but given I was already here, why not?

I then turned into ‘tourist mode’ and wandered the cobbled streets, crossed the canals on cute bridges, watched the horse drawn carriages along the streets and marvelled at the magnificent gothic medieval buildings and churches lining the squares. 

A Little History of Brugge:

Brugge is the sixth most populous city in Belgium, with a metropolitan population of about 250,000 people. The predominant language is Dutch, and the nearby Port, Zeebrugge comes from “Brugge aan zee”, meaning ‘Bruges by the sea’. The historic city centre is a prominent World Heritage Site of UNESCO (since 2000) being one of the best-preserved medieval towns in Europe, making it a major tourist destination within Belgium with eight million tourists annually.

 Along with a few other canal-based northern cities, such as Amsterdam and Saint Petersburg, it is sometimes referred to as the Venice of the North. 

Thankfully spared damage during both World Wars, after 1965, the original medieval city experienced a "renaissance". Restorations of residential and commercial structures, historic monuments, and churches generated a surge in tourism and economic activity in the central area. International tourism has boomed, and new efforts resulted in Bruges being designated European Capital of Culture in 2002. 

Its medieval buildings include the Church of Our Lady, whose brick spire reaches 115.6 m, making it the world's second-highest brick tower/building. The sculpture Madonna and Child, which can be seen in the transept, is believed to be the only of Michelangelo's sculptures to have left Italy within his lifetime. Brugge’s best-known landmark is the Belfry of Bruges, a 13th-century belfry housing a municipal carillon comprising 47 bells.

In terms of craft, Bruges is known for its lace and tapestries. Several craft beers are named after the city, such as Brugge Blond, Brugge Tripel, Brugs, Brugse Babbelaar, Brugse Straffe Hendrik, and Brugse Zot. However, only the latter two are brewed in the city itself, in the De Halve Maan Brewery. Sweeter treats are available, including Waffles and Chocolates, with numerous sellers throughout the Centre. There is also the Frietmuseum (Fries museum), which is devoted to the history of the potato and the production of Belgian fries. It describes itself as "the first and only museum dedicated to potato fries". The museum is spread across three floors. Exhibits on the ground floor trace the history of potatoes, beginning in Peru c.8000BC. The first floor details the history of ‘fries’ (why are they called ‘French Fries’ then – this could be an entire ‘thesis’!), and their origins in Belgium. The basement of the building houses a café, which proclaims to make the perfect fries, so that was lunch sorted. The perfect Belgian fry is double cooked and traditionally served with mayonnaise, although other sauces are available.

I retraced my route back to the coach park, grateful that I hadn’t advised anyone with mobility considerations to take this option. Having done more than my 10,000 steps, I was ready to return to the ship and get my precious choccies into the fridge in my cabin. I was also ready for a ‘rest day’ before we enter the Baltic Sea and arrive at our next Port of Gdynia in Poland.