Amsterdam: Part III

I know what you’re thinking. Amsterdam Part III? Really? But the title is kind of misleading. On our last day in Amsterdam, we took a day trip to Bruges, Belgium, which was about a 3 hour bus ride away from Amsterdam Central.  

Dubbed “the most romantic place on earth,” Bruges is a tiny medieval village that specializes in lace, chocolate, and mussels. It is also known for some extraordinarily high prices, seeing as a friend and I bought two orange juices, two espressos, and free water for 30 euros.

The displays in the chocolate shops were so cool. They had chocolate in all shapes and sizes, but, most notably, was the “tool box.” Yep, these rusty old tools are solid chocolate dusted with cocoa powder.  

And there was, of course, Belgian beer. For breakfast, lunch, and dinner, the Flemish consider beer both a delicacy and a meal.

Anyway, the first thing we did was get extremely lost within the walls of the city. There were swans and ducks on the lawns and floating down the canals, so I could see why it would the place would seem romantic.

The cathedral in the middle of the city is called the Basilica of the Holy Blood, and it is named after the shrine dedicated to a vial of Christ’s blood. I paid the donation fee and sauntered up, but it honestly looked pretty gross. Not to be disrespectful or anything. 

There were some really nice stained glass windows, though. 

After that, we decided to take a short boat ride through the canals to learn about the history of the city. Of course, as per my usual clumsiness, I knocked over the boatman’s coffee that was balanced precariously on the banister as I was getting into the boat, which he didn’t seem to appreciate.

Although the city dates back to Julius Caesar’s time, most of the buildings we passed clocked in around the 13th century. The tour guide pointed out these tiny details that I never would have noticed, like small windows drilled into the brick walls during the Middle Ages to spy on entering ships and enforce tax laws. Can you spot it? Just follow his pointed finger. 

We also saw the Hotel de Tuiliereen, a building right on the canal that was built in the 15th century. Apparently the windows are made from pure, antique crystal, and the rooms cost anywhere from 890 to 1000 euros a night.

We ended the day with mussels and french fries, which was probably an amazing meal by any standard, but I won’t brag.