Bruges and Dinant, Belgium

Or Brugge, as they say. Bruges felt like Disneyland to us…there were tourists everywhere (although much more so during the day and it was fairly quiet at night), everyone was stuffing their faces with waffles, chocolates, beer and cheese, and no one seemed to be doing any real work. I suppose we formed this impression because we hung out in the historic area most of the time, which is where all of the other tourists go too. It was a great place to explore for a day and we stayed in a B&B just outside the main area, so it was an easy walk for us.

While Dutch is the main language spoken, it seemed like everyone speaks English as well. This helped a lot when ordering food. We were surprised by the food prices in Bruges…moule frites (mussels with fries) was about 24-28 euros everywhere. We did try some and you do get what seemed like 5 dozen mussels but I swear, I have had better at home. That being said, the wonderful Belgian chocolate was really cheap, we found a farmer’s market that supplied us a great lunch (they run on Wednesdays and Saturdays if any of you go) and the beers were delicious and also good value. There really are over 1000 different beers, all with their own beer glasses and restaurants always serve them in their signature glasses. I don’t know what they would do if twenty people came in and wanted the same beer. Run next door to borrow their glasses?

We really liked Bruges – great for a day or two. Moving on, we drove down to Dinant and stayed just outside in a small town called Celles. Now this felt like the complete opposite! There were very few tourists (and mostly Belgian ones at that) and not a lot of English was spoken (French is predominant since they are close to the border).

Random: We have seen a lot of schoolchildren on field trips...I guess going to school in Europe means you actually get to go to many of the places you learn about in school. Pretty cool. 

While we loved our B&B, the bedroom had this peephole into the bathroom (it was a private bathroom for us though). Mike's in the bathroom and I'm in the bedroom. Endless amusement. Really.  

Nice canals in Bruges...reminds me of Amsterdam.

Main square

The Belfry - we climbed up to the top the following day.  

Yummy market

All of the houses have these characteristic roofs. 

This is only a small section of the wall of beer. It's amazing how many beers are produced in such a small country. Okay, maybe not amazing. Interesting.

A performance of Swan Lake

Lots of cyclists here and I think it's great that they have places to pump up your tires. 

We got some chicken as a snack. And then looked at the bag. Enough said.

Mike kept asking why there are so many pictures of chubby babies displayed. I told him these are cherubs. Completely different.

After finishing the brewery tour, we got a reward. There is a brewery right in town called De Halve Maan. Belgian beers are known to be strong and in true form, this brewery's lightest beer is 6% (what we had) but their other three types are even stronger.

Lovely night in Bruges

This is at La Cittadelle in Dinant. 

There was also a random Disney sand exhibit at the top. 

An area down in the shelter where the floors and stairs were built on a slant. Super weird feeling.

Dinant, viewed from La Cittadelle

Mike's dinner of lamb from one of the two restaurants open that night in Celles. Really cute and small town.

We went for a walk after dinner and encountered this stare. Enough said. We felt pretty guilty. 

Went to the caves the next day (Grotte de la Merveilleuse)...they were actually used as a shelter for a short time for the residents during WWII.