Overview
This post covers the Belgium portion our 9 country 35-day adventure across Europe and picks up the adventure after the Viking cruise has docked in Amsterdam after leaving Germany. This included a trip to Transylvania in Romania, a 23-day Viking River cruise across Europe from Bucharest to Amsterdam and then a trip that we arranged after the cruise to both Belgium and The Netherlands.
An overview of this trip can be found at A European Sojourn with links to the other segments of the trip listed below in the summary.
Day 1 – Brussels
We are met at the Amsterdam cruise dock by our private driver who has already picked up 2 of our children and their one friend from the Amsterdam airport. Welcome Carl and Lisa, and friend Cait! We are in a cozy limo-van and spend 3 hours transitioning to Brussels. We arrive around noon and have a 3pm tour later today.
B & B Hotel Centre Louise
We worked with a Belgian travel agent to find our lodging in Belgium and in Amsterdam. We will share a room and the 3 “kids” will share one – and there are hotels with “triple” rooms with 3 twin beds in Europe. The hotel is about a 30 minute walk to the historic center of Belgium, but our neighborhood is nice and quiet.
Historic Downtown Brussels
We decide to walk all the way to the historic downtown area of Brussels (after all, we’ve been sitting in the limo-van for 3 hours). The walk on the way is through a residential area passing by apartments, grocery stores and other shops – but definitely not a tourist area. We finally reach the downtown and the whole ambiance just shifts. We are treated to magnificent historic buildings and gardens and lots of little cafes. We walk to find the train station so we won’t have to spend time tomorrow morning looking for it. Then, we stop at La Bar Parallelle to enjoy lunch. Next, we look for our 3pm tour meeting point – and then we separate to explore as each sees fit.
Beer and Chocolate Tour
Belgium is known for 4 “foods” – Beer, Chocolate, Waffles and Fries. We’ve signed up for a 4.5 hour private Beer and Chocolate tour and are greeted by the superb guide, Sophia with Hungry Mary Tours. She says we are going to start by visiting three different Chocolatiers – because chocolate and beer don’t really go well together. As we walk, Sophia shares information about the buildings and the areas we are walking through.
Our first stop is at the 2024 world-wide winner for chocolate, Pierre Marcolini. This is chocolate at a whole new level. Entering the shop is like entering a high end jewelry store with chocolate on display on glass covered pedestals. The chocolates are like art – some crafted with etchings and beautifully crafted. We learn that in Belgium, the chocolatiers are always experimenting with new flavors, textures and cocoa bean types. Sophia brings us each 3 different chocolates to try (crunchy hazelnut, dark ganache, salted butter caramel) and as we taste each one, it is a taste words just can’t describe. Our next stop is at Elisabeth (which has 7 locations throughout Brussels). Here we taste a ball of chocolate encasing a shot of whiskey that mixes impeccably in your mouth. Then individually, we each choose 2 other chocolates to taste, from a chocolate menu. We all buy a box of the whiskey wrapped chocolate to take home, taking advantage of the 10% discount we get because of the tour. Our third stop is at the 2023 world-wide winner for chocolate, Herman Van Dender where again, we are treated to 3 delectable chocolates of our choice. A few of us make purchases (swearing they are gifts for folks back home, but we know some of it won’t make it that far).
It’s time for beer tasting and we’re told we will taste 3-4 beers at each tavern. And “sample” is an understatement – and so the names of the places we stopped at are a blur, but the experience was fantastic. Over the course of a few hours, we taste a cherry sour beer, Abbey beers, Trappists, Lambics, Belgian IPAs, Triple Blonds, Double Browns and who can remember what else. The first tavern is in the basement of an old building where they still do marionette puppet shows as was the tradition of the times when it opened. We are the only people there. The second tavern was on the third floor of a building with an open window seat overlooking the Grand Place Square. Here we run into a regular 24-person tour that is just finishing up and we remark to each other how glad we are to be doing a private tour. Here we also get treated to Belgian Fries and various dried meats and cheeses to help mitigate all the beer drinking. Our third stop is at another one of those 800 year old taverns down a back alley where they still do marionette puppet shows. In chatting with Sophia about our upcoming plans for Belgium, we learn she will be our tour guide in Ghent in two days – and we are ecstatic!
It’s fairly late at this point, and the 3 “kids” are exhausted from their day of travel and the time shift (that we’re already adjusted to) – so we grab an Uber back to the hotel instead of walking and hit the hay!
This private tour was worth every penny! It was a phenomenal way to kick off our 8 days together exploring Belgium and The Netherlands. HIGHLY RECOMMEND!
Ferris Wheel
On the way back to the hotel we catch a glimpse of the Brussels Ferris Wheel known as the “the View” which is lit up.
Day 2 – Bruges
Train to Bruges
After breakfast at the hotel, we decide to grab an Uber to the train station since we know we’ll be doing a lot of walking today in Bruges. We’ve always heard how wonderful the train systems are in Europe and how easy they are to use – this is our first time ever experiencing it. We have pre-purchased round-trip mobile tickets (thanks to our travel agent) that allows us to take any of the “every 30 minute” departures to/from Bruges. It is a one-hour train ride and it’s just a breeze. We do have one “hint” about the trains – you’ll notice in the picture below there is a large “2” on the side of one train. If you see a “1”, that’s 1st class and the “2” represents regular class. We got on the wrong train and they asked us to move.
Bruges Walking Tour
We hear from our private tour guide, Hien, to ensure we know where and when to meet. He’s a delightful soul with a passion for the history and beauty of Bruges. It is the capital and largest city of the province of West Flanders, in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the sixth most populous city in the country. The historic city center is a prominent UNESCO World Heritage Site. Like Amsterdam, Bruges is sometimes referred to as the Venice of the North. It has significant economic importance, thanks to its port, and was once one of the world’s chief commercial cities.
Over the course of our 2-hour morning tour, we learn about/visit
- Minnewater Lake, also known as the Love Lake.
- We walk through the main gate at the three-arched stone bridge, the Wijngaard Bridge and head into the Princely Beguinage Ten Wijngaarde. This is essentially a Benedictine monastery for nuns founded in 1244. The complex includes a Gothic church and about thirty white painted houses dating from the late 16th, 17th and 18th centuries. Practically all of these are built around a central yard.
- Sint-Janshospitaal is the Old St. John Hospital where we learn how the health system worked in medieval Bruges.
- The Church of Our Lady learning about the white marble sculpture of the Virgin and Child created by Michelangelo inside the church.
- The Old Fishmarket near Burg square, the political heart and birthplace of the city of Bruges.
The Church of Our Lady
We paid a small admission fee and toured the Church or our Lady which dates back to the 13th century. Its tower remains the tallest structure in Bruges and is third tallest brickwork tower in the world. The church is home to numerous artistic treasures including Michelangelo’s Madonna and Child created by Michelangelo around 1504. The church is as much a museum as it is a church and is well worth a visit.
Lunch
By this time, we are hungry and look for a place to eat. It was fairly easy to choose a place with outdoor seating for lunch. Cait opts for a regional lamb dish, Carl gets a regional goulash stew, Lisa gets a regional squash & cheese casserole and Harrison and Nancy split a regional rather large ham and cheese sandwich. Of course, we all taste each other’s dishes.
Bruges Canal Boat Tour
Our guide suggested we take a canal boat tour to give us a different perspective of Bruges. It is a delightful 45 minute ride through areas our feet couldn’t take us earlier. After the boat ride, we stop at Frit Bar, a restaurant that only serves Belgian Fries with various toppings. FYI – Belgian Fries are cooked in pork fat instead of some type of vegetable or peanut oil. Carl runs over to get a Belgian Waffle and ends up bringing back 2 for us all to share.
Afternoon & Dinner
We split up for a while to do exploring on our own. We stop by the Halve Moon Brewery but only stay for one beer and then explore some of the streets in greater detail with a bit of shopping thrown in.
The hunt for dinner is more challenging than our hunt for lunch. Now that the sun has gone down, we need to eat indoors (it’s chilly) and many places require reservations, that we neglected to make anywhere. We finally find availability at La Dentelliere and we just all split a few meals.
Night
After donner it’s now completely dark outside and we stroll back to the Bruges train station enjoying the beauty of the area all lit up.
Day 3 – Ghent
Train to Ghent
Once again, we board the train to reach the day’s destination. Note all the bicycles in the second and third photos below – hundreds. Bicycles are a VERY common method of transportation here in Belgium. Amsterdam has a reputation for all the bike paths and bicycles, but they aren’t the only place.
Ghent Walking Tour
Ghent is the capital and largest city of the province of East Flanders, and the third largest in the country, after Brussels and Antwerp. It is a port and university city.
The city originally started as a settlement at the confluence of the Rivers Scheldt and Leie. In the Late Middle Ages Ghent became one of the largest and richest cities of northern Europe, with some 50,000 people in 1300. After the late 16th century Ghent became a less important city, resulting in an extremely well-preserved historic center, that now makes Ghent an important destination of tourism.
We meet up with Sophia, our excellent tour guide from the Beer & Chocolate Tour, and we immediately hit the ground running exploring and learning about Ghent. We learn Sophia lives in Ghent and it is her favorite city in Belgium. Ghent looks similar to Bruges with all its canals and stone building along the canals.
Over the course of our 2-hour tour, we see the famous St. Michael’s Bridge and learn about the city’s role in medieval trading. We also explore the city center at Graslei and Korenlie and explore the old port area. We learn about a narrow old building with a blue door that was once a “toll house” for traders – and is now a bar (Tolhuisje). Sophie suggests we check it out later. We see a lot of street art in the Werregarenstraat area and learn the government encourages artists to paint non-offensive works on walls here (as a way to keep graffiti off other areas). We pass by the medieval Castle, Gravensteen, located a St. Veerlaplein Square. Sophia tells us the square is known both as the “square of death” (many hangings here) and the “square of life” (where locals light up the streetlamps when a baby is born). We decide we will tour the castle later on our own. There was so much more we learned, but those are the highlights.
Lunch at Du Progress
We’ve worked up quite an appetite, so when we say good-bye to Sophia at Korenmarkt Square and take her recommendation to have lunch at Du Progress. It is a beautiful day and we amazingly, in this busy city center, we find the perfect table.
Gravensteen (aka: Ghent Castle)
Gravensteen Castle dates from 1180 and was the residence of the Counts of Flanders until 1353. It was subsequently re-purposed as a court, prison, mint, and even as a cotton factory. It was restored and enhanced between 1893–1903 and is now a museum and a major landmark in the city. The castle has a large central tower (the residence portion) as well as various smaller buildings. These are surrounded by a fortified, oval-shaped walls lined with 24 small overhanging turrets. It also has a sizeable moat, fed with water from the Lys.
While a court & prison (MIddle Ages), a lot of people died within these stone walls in the most gruesome ways imaginable. We see square waiting areas where prisoners shook in fear awaiting their turn in court – knowing they would be found guilty and wondering which torture method they would be assigned. We see the dungeon itself with many instruments of torture on display.
“The Battle of Gravensteen Castle” took place on November 16, 1949 when 138 students from the University of Ghent occupied the castle over a new tax on beer. In addition to barricading the castle gates and lowering the heavy wooden gate, they captured the only guard on duty and locked him in a closet. After raising banners along the castle walls and pelting passing police officers with rotten fruit, they were eventually detained and removed from the castle. A public outcry of support led to none of the students being prosecuted for their actions. Their campaign against the beer tax was semi-successful with the beer tax being slightly lower than proposed.
Ghent Canal Boat Tour
We decide to do another canal boat tour here in Ghent to see the city from a different perspective than the streets. It is an absolutely breathtaking day full of sunshine and very few clouds. Locals constantly remind us how unusual this weather is for this time of year (and we usually wink and say we brought it with us).
Dulle Griet (aka: The Shoe Bar)
Sophia told us about a pub named Dulle Griet – where the beer glasses are so unusual, they had a huge issue with people stealing them as a souvenir. To rectify things, you have to surrender one of your shoes in order to get a beer. This is something we just have to experience, so off comes one shoe from each of us and we don’t get them back until after the table is cleared and the check is paid.
Dinner & Evening
We’ve been eating a lot of regional foods and long for a little bit of “home” as we search for a place for dinner. Enter Bavit – a restaurant focusing on the spaghetti experience. Every dish on the menu is some variation of sauces for spaghetti. The five of us split three different combinations and every bite is exceptional.
Then, it’s time to head to the Tolhuisje (Toll House) bar Sophia told us about earlier in the day. What a fun and beautiful old place built in 1682.
Then it’s time to catch the train back to Brussels to get a good night’s sleep. Tomorrow we will say goodbye to Belgium, with anticipation of 4 days in The Netherlands.
Summary
Belgium had never really been on our radar as a “must see” place to visit – but now that we’ve been there, we’re in love. We barely touched the surface, just exploring the northern part of the country, so we definitely want to come back. In particular, we didn’t have the opportunity to visit any of the historical WWII sites. Our adventure continues now in The Netherlands.
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