The welcome home balloons had barely touched the ground and I was already packing for my next adventure: this time, Belgium!
In just four hours, we'd driven down to the coast, crossed the channel and arrived in the beautiful town of Bruges, famous for chocolate, beer and its fairytale buildings. Though it was incredibly easy to arrive by car, Bruges itself is better suited to bicycles so we swapped onto two wheels and pedalled off to explore.
By following the canal, we soon spotted the centre of town which is rather difficult to miss with its rapunzel-like towers and sleeping beauty spires piercing the sky above the cobbled streets. Every other shop is a chocolatier and as many offer out free samples to taste, it would have been rude not to stop and try. In one particularly sweet-smelling store, we picked out a praline truffle each for the road. However, at the till we were told there was a minimum purchase of one hundred grams; such a terrible shame to be forced to buy more!
The weather forecast for the next few days was a little ropey so we decided to take advantage of the current sunshine and join a boat cruise along the river. For the next half hour we glided through the water, ducking under the low bridges and listening to the guide as he pointed out all the important parts of town. The canal runs behind many of the houses so it's a fantastic way to gain a closer look at the lives of the locals. For the larger and rather more impressive buildings, however, we had to travel by foot.
My favourite structure of all was the town hall at the heart of Burg Square. It's a lot to take in but my eyes were immediately drawn to the ancient crests which hang boldly at the belly of the building. These medieval emblems appear to belong to a fantasy world and will no doubt have inspired many such a tale over the years. By night, this architectural masterpiece can be a little daunting due to its sheer size and gothic style but during the day, when the sunlight catches its golden edges, it gives off an entirely different impression. Whilst it retains an air of mystery, it becomes light and inviting as though beckoning you in to indulge in its magic.
Back at our bed and breakfast the indulgence continued as we enjoyed all sorts of little luxuries. The setting was idyllic and the house itself was beautiful; vintage chic with everything we could possibly dream of needing for a splendid few days away.
After a pot of tea and a heavenly bubble bath (bearing in mind, of course, that I'm still getting used to even having hot water!) we cycled back towards town to find ourselves some dinner. There were dozens of places to choose from but eating out in Bruges is not cheap and my heart dropped when I saw the menus showcased proudly in restaurant windows (bearing in mind again, that I've been paying no more than three dollars for three courses.) However, I soon realised this could work in my favour for it made a diet of chocolate truffles and Belgian street waffles entirely acceptable for the next three days. With that in mind, I felt better about splashing out for this one evening and so ordered a full plate of Flemish croquettes.
The following morning I made a remarkable discovery; a treat I like more than Nutella! As we sat down to a dreamy breakfast of eggs, fruit, ham, cheese, bread and pastries I noticed the latter was accompanied by a number of spreads. Naturally I reached for the Nutella first but later another caught my eye. Though it was identical to crunchy peanut butter both in colour and consistency, it smelt more like caramel biscuits. And that's exactly what it was! Speculoos, as it is now known, was first introduced on a Dragon's Den style television programme by a Belgian mother who had grown tired of the mess her kids would make when they dipped caramel biscuits into hot drinks to turn them into a spreadable substance. Nowadays, it's the country's most popular spread and I'm delighted to discover that it has made its way across the channel too (and not only in my backpack!) It truly is one of the best things I've ever tasted.
Anyway, after seeing off an entire glassful of the stuff, we decided it would be wise to counter it with some cycling. The lady at our B&B had recommended we visit Damme, a quaint little town only eight kilometres away. As it was a beautiful morning, it seemed to be the perfect plan.
However, minutes into the journey dark clouds begin to form and we were soon pedalling frantically to find cover from the rain. Fortunately, we were passing alongside the edge of Bruges and so took cover beneath the large archways in the fortresses which surround the centre. There we waited patiently until it began to clear.
Sadly though, that was not the end of it and the next time the heavens opened, we weren't so lucky. Though less than a kilometre from our destination at this point, we were on a long, seemingly endless stretch of road. With the river on one side and an open field on the other, we were left with absolutely nowhere to hide. Instead we dismounted the bikes and crouched under an umbrella in an attempt to stay dry but without much success. Twenty minutes later we were still in exactly the same position, only considerably more wet and it became apparent that we wouldn't enjoy ourselves in these soggy conditions. Therefore, by the time it had stopped we'd abandoned our plans to reach Damme by bike, deciding instead to turn back, dry off, and then drive there in the evening.
Half an hour, two hot chocolates and a hairdryer later, we were ready to face the world again. Miraculously, the sun had returned so we joined a free walking tour in Bruges which I'd found online for backpackers. The guide was a quirky American kid but his public speaking left a lot to be desired. Nevertheless, I learnt some interesting truths about the city, such as they would once use the canal to trap unwanted visitors, and that their church contains a holy cloth believed to be stained with the blood of Christ. The holy cloth is so important to the locals that they host an annual festival every year during which the sacred cloth is paraded around town. The tour's last stop was at a Belgian beer tasting bar but sadly for me, it doesn't matter where it's from or how famous it is; I really do just hate beer!
Damme, as it turns out, was worth all the effort. When we returned in the evening by car, we found a gorgeous little town which was similar to Bruges but with even more character. The road leading to it is lined with traditional windmills which you'd expect to find throughout Holland. As a result we were hardly surprised to find out that we were very near to the Dutch border and had we carried on cycling that morning, we'd have eventually reached it. After a delicious dinner in Damme, we returned to Bruges in search of Speculoos ice cream which was entirely unnecessary but incredible nonetheless.
By our third and final day we felt we'd covered a lot of Bruges but still had places left on our list. Being short of time we decided the best way to say we'd seen it all would be to climb the Belfry tower and view the entire city from above. Though you wouldn't notice unless you were told, the Belfry tower leans a whole metre to the right so trekking up to the top was a little unnerving. However, the grand bells which hang throughout the centre are a great distraction, particularly when they sound on every quarter hour.
Walking the 366 had worked us up an appetite so as soon as we were down we grabbed a Belgian bratwurst and bonita from the street food vans which we'd spotted from above. Though absolutely delicious we were left a little dissatisfied and it was obvious why; on our last day in Bruges, we just had to have chocolate.
With watering mouths, we entered our final stop of the trip: The Chocostory Chocolate museum. Here, we read up on the entire history of chocolate from it's first discovery to how we see it now in shops. I was fascinated to learn that chocolate was once used as currency, and later as medicine. In even earlier days, it was believed to be the sacred drink of Gods! It's comforting to know that there have always been those who appreciate its value as much as I.
The tour ended with a demonstration of how to create the perfect truffles. The chocolatier was very impressive, flitting between English, French, Dutch and Flemish to explain to everyone how dark, milk and white chocolate is made (though he stressed that the latter is in fact not chocolate at all!) The best part of the demonstration, however, was getting to taste the truffles at the end. I ate one and added another to my mountain collection of chocolates to take home.
Sadly it was then time to actually go home so we piled everything into the car and sped back off through France. Bruges was the perfect European getaway with a great balance of culture and fun. Though it feels a world away from London, it can be reached in just a few hours so whether you have a week's holiday or a long weekend, I'd recommend Bruges to absolutely everyone.
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