I was saying Bruges-urns

If Ghent was a breath of fresh air, Bruges was… a breath of air! Not like bad air, just.. air! After the jump, some daggum loveliness and some thoughts on the joint.

If you want to save time reading this post, this photo should do it: pretty gorgeous, a little overcast, a little overrun (more so than this implies actually). But lovely, and probably worth visiting not in July or August maybe.

Going from one to the other, it was interesting to spot the differing tourist crowds in Ghent and Bruges. Ghent seemed, at least on my visit, to be populated by couples, small groups or solo travelers, largely from Germany or even other parts of Belgium. In Bruges, it was much more of the big-bus crowd: Americans, Japanese, and French tour groups all led by guides carrying those wire-pennant flags and yammering through headsets. It’s a weird fit for a totally idyllic and lovely town, and that disconnect made it complicated to navigate for a li’l bit. It didn’t help that I’d been getting back into the habit of walking my legs off, and some very potent exhaustion had started to set in.

It was also hecka overcast through about half the day, though this fairly early-morning shot of the main square COULD have been replaced by a hugely sunny one by the afternoon if I weren't such an ornery crowd-avoidin' crank! Shucks.

But then! After a morning spent largely in the central spots, and a much-needed nap once I could get into my hotel (‘T Keizershof – super recommended, a bit dowdy but couldn’t be more reasonably priced for the city or more perfectly located), I set out for some of the outlying spots. And that’s when it started to gel. Long walks along the canals at the core’s edge gave way to a trek up to a park with a few sheep and very curious cats ambling about; another detour took me to a row of windmills on a set of hills to the city’s east. And while that all ended with an early night, catching up on fatigued sleep after a couple of ales, the next morning gave me a chance to amble around before the day trippers arrived, sans camera, to roam the park paths and generally take in what the city must have felt like some twenty or thirty years ago, before it became what it is today.

Tucked away little enclaves! It's pretty clear to me that if you found these spots and/or visited in shoulder season (April/May or Sept/Oct) you'd probably have a real romantic time in Bruges! Maybe even more so if you came with your sweetie. (Apologies to the sweetie-less among my readers, please be assured this space will continue to have many thoughts for the sweetie-free among us. Who else is starting to hate this very common phrasing as much as this blog's author??)

So: the common refrain. Going offseason would make a difference. Where you are makes a difference. What time you venture forth makes a difference. I know there are tons of people who aren’t bothered at all to be in a large crowd treading a well-worn path and getting the same experiences as everyone else, but for me, it’s encouraging to see that even in a spot as well-worn as Bruges, there are nooks that feel special and unique waiting to be discovered.

ALSO: If you wake up early and go for a stroll before the bus-and-train day trippers arrive around 10, you will have some gorgeous prettiness awaiting you! Just try it, you have nothing to lose but your well-restedness.

Oh, and: yeah, get you some frites with mayo (and if there’s a local topping throw that in there too), and a liege waffle. They are not lying to you about these things, they are worth seeking out.

Not a frite, not a waffle. But FUN FACT: Bruges has windmills! And supposedly better ones if you do a bike trip that I was too exhausted to do! You can even bike past the better windmill on your way to the Netherlands! There are lots of interesting facts about things you can do in Belgium if you aren't too exhausted by life to be written about in this space.