Europe Day 25: 0 Miles

Brussels, Belgium and Bruges, Belgium

After catching the train from Brussels to Bruges I spent the day trying all of Belgium’s food groups including mussels, fries, beer, waffles and chocolate. The day started with rain, but it turned into a great day to walk around.

My morning started later than usual which was a nice change. It felt good to sleep in and not immediately get into riding mode. There are trains from Brussels to Bruges multiple times per hour and my hostel is just a 5 minute walk from the train station. I headed to the grocery store around the corner to pick up a pastry and a juice and then walked to the train station to catch the next train. I’ve had trouble purchasing train tickets from the ticket machines and found out today that my credit card will not authorize payment for anything on an unmanned machine. This meant I had to wait in line and purchase a ticket from an actual person. The line took about 15 minutes, but I would not have known about the discounted weekend tickets so in the end I saved some money by talking to someone.

The train ride from Brussels to Bruges is a little over an hour. I arrived right around noon and was ready for lunch. It began to rain as I got off the train, so I waited a few minutes until the rain died down and then made the 15 minute walk to the center of town. Bruges is a much smaller town then Brussels and was much less overwhelming to walk around. I found a nice restaurant and sat down to eat Belgium’s national dish, moules-frites (mussels and fries). I opted for the mussels steamed in beer rather than wine and paired it with a blonde beer.

After lunch I walked around for a while just getting a feel for the city. I eventually spotted Brewery Bourgogne des Flandres and stopped in for a beer flight. The flight consisted of everything from a session NE IPA to some typical Belgian ales and a Lambic. I spotted a seat by a window and enjoyed the flight while I watched boats go up and down the canal.

After the beer flight I had 2 more food items to check off my list, waffles and chocolate. I found a great spot for a Liege Waffle covered in melted dark chocolate. I didn’t realize there were 2 main types of waffles in Belgium. The Brussels waffle is what I’ve always thought of as a Belgian waffle. It is light and fluffy and made from a batter. The Liege waffle is denser and made from dough. The dough is pressed into the waffle maker rather than being poured. I don’t know if I’ve ever had a Liege style waffle before, but after having one today I don’t really know why they even make the other kind. The Liege waffle is definitely the way to go.

I continued to walk around checking out some chocolate shops while enjoying the scenery and weather. After the quick rain it became a very nice day. I stopped at 1 more brewery for a last beer in Bruges but was ready to head back to Brussels by the time it hit 6:00. It was a quick trip to Bruges, but a very enjoyable way to spend the day. When I got back to Brussels I headed to the hostel and took a nap. I am generally not a napper, but all the riding is starting to catch up with me. I woke up around 8:30 and found a kebab place for a quick meal. I picked up a beer from a corner store and headed back to the hostel to go through today’s photos and do some planning for the upcoming week.

Tomorrow I’ll spend the day exploring Brussels a little more. I think there is a free walking tour leaving from the hostel at some point, so I may jump in on that. It will otherwise be a relaxing long weekend until I pick up riding again on Tuesday.