JR's Belgium Trip (Part 2)
By Jim

OK. Hopefully I have a good memory. I left off last month right before we got to Bruges. (Or Brugge) This happened to be Amy's and My favorite town and area overall. We arrived in Brugge around 5:30 in the PM. For those who might plan to visit there someday, be aware that there are many one-way streets with really no rhyme or reason. When we arrived in town, the map I had was printed upside down and we found ourselves right across the square (Markt) from out hotel. Not able to drive across the square we tried to make our way around the square, a distance a two blocks as the crow flies. It took us 40 minutes before we pulled in front of our hotel. Very frustrating; it appeared that every street around our hotel was one-way in the wrong direction. (Same problem we encountered in Antwerp. As a word of good advice; if you ever travel to either of these cities; park the car as soon as you get in the center of town and walk around to familiarize yourself. It will do you a world of good. We spent 90 minutes in Antwerp trying to find the Rubins museum, only to find it was three blocks from where we started.) Anyway, we checked in and while we did I grabbed a nice cold Brugge Triple from the lobby bar. Set me back $2. US but it was sorely needed at this point in time. We unpacked, (Oh, there was another one of those wonderful mini-bars and soon it was less one Leffe Triple) We immediately hit the streets and visited the downtown area sights, including the Markt (similar to the Grand Place in Brussels; every town of any stature has one) and the Burg (another smaller Grand Place) then we walked around the lovely streets and canals. The city was in preparation for their version of the bi-centennial and there were period actors and actresses all over town rehearsing for the upcoming event. (Held the evening and weekend after we left; entertaining nonetheless.) They all were speaking in Dutch, but after the day I had, I think I could understand them. We ended up eating at one of the small cafes on the Markt whose name eludes me at about 10 that evening. Had a good meal, terrible service, and an outdated glass of Brugge Triple that was one step from mold. Since this was not a way to end the evening, dragged Amy over De Garre. A very old establishment down another cobblestone alley with a great selection of beers and a great atmosphere. (This became my quick getaway spot when Amy was shopping since it was between the Markt and the Burg.) Probably had 15 beers here over the course of three days. Their beer list was a book and had over 100 beers including all the trappists ales. Had one of their beers, a De Garre triple and another triple from another Brugge brewery that I had never had. Now I was ready for bed. Unfortunately we passed Curiosa. Steps lead down to a medieval cellar that was actually an old dungeon with a list of sixty or so newer beers. I just had to go try a couple more. All right! I had trouble climbing the stairs afterwards. So What! Got a really good night sleep! The next day we started with a canal cruise. Something every trip to Brugge has to include. To see the city from the canals was quite an experience. Afterwards we visited Brugge Bierkaai, the only microbrew in town. Had a great triple, a good blond and a special that they brewed for the upcoming celebration. The last beer tasted as if they had added grain alcohol to it. It left a weird taste and ended up with one of those Fat Tuesday headaches. Not a pleasure since I did have an agenda. Had to avoid beer for the next four hours, ( No the headache had nothing to do with drinking good beer at 10 in the morning.) We visited most of the sights over the next few hours. Went back to the room about four and took an hour nap. I got up before Amy and went to the two locals grocerys and picked up some good deals for the room. That evening we went to De Karmeleit for dinner. This is one of the only four star Michelin restaurants in Belgium. Wonderful, wonderful food. Most prepared with different beers and brought the matching beers with each course. Amy didn't have much of an appetite and ended up ordering the salmon appetizer that I think might have been cured in a licorice stout marinade. Really weird. Anyway, the dinner set me back about the price for the hotel for the three-day stay. From there we went to t' Brugs Beertje. Another well-known establishment with another book full of selections. Had 3 I had never had before along with a Westvleteren 12 for desert. The next day we say the rest of the major sights and a few of the less major ones. Amy did some shopping. Went to a number of cafes and had some new selections. That evening we went to Den Dyver, another Michelin rated restaurant. This time we both had a wonderful dinner. This is another restaurant that prepares their meals with beer and bring the matching beers with each course. (About a third the cost of De Karmeleit; not as good but still excellent.) The next morning Amy went out and bought a tapestry that she had her eyes on. (It cost more than the hotel and De Karmeleit, but after all, it was hand-stitched in Brugge and I was drinking quite a bit of beer, so what the heck.) After this purchase we headed out of Brugge. Really hated to leave. This is the kind of town that you leave a bit of yourself in. Headed for the coast. The day was beautiful. The North Sea was awesome. Really unique beach. There were cabanas lined up along the beach for as far as the eye could see. It appears that they are rented on a lottery system and they are rented for the season. These are LARGE cabanas. Some had mini kitchens and were really set up to enjoy a day, weekend or week at the beach. The beach was packed. Stayed here for a short while and then headed down the coast. My main objective for the day was a trip to Westvleteren Abbey, home of my favorite beer. The coast was interesting. Parts of it reminded me of parts of California, but more elegant. We headed inland away from the coast and stopped at a small town where there was a castle Beauvoorde. Unfortunately the castle was closed on Fridays. (Amy's main complaint about the trip was that she didn't get to go into one castle. Good reason to go back!!)) Anyway it was about 2 in the afternoon when we pulled up in front of Westvleteren. We held off on eating lunch because I had heard about the hospitality center and restaurant across from the abbey. I took some videos around the front of the abbey including some shots over the wall (it is a closed abbey, no visitors) and the drive thru where people from all over come 3-4 times a year to pick up their 4 case allotment of brew. Westvleteren has no distributor to speak of. Anyway I was fully stoked and Amy was fully starving when we went across the street to the hospitality center.

"CLOSED ON FRIDAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

We're not going to talk about it anymore! Don't ask! If we weren't leaving in the morning; yes, I would have slept in the car!!.

Anyway, next stop was Ypres (or Leper or Wipers or one of the twenty spellings for this town.) This was the town that that borders the Fields of Flanders where about a quarter million soldiers died in trenches during the four years the allied troops held off the Germans. Amy had no desire to see this depressing sight so- I had a beer; and Amy had a Belgium Waffle the size of my car covered in strawberries and whipped cream. It was starting to get late so we hightailed it back to Brussels and spent the evening walking around town. We took a room at the Novatel by the airport and the next morning we were on our way back home.

This was by far the best vacation I have ever had. There is a rumor that there is a special for January February 2002 that includes RT airfare, six nights in Paris for under $600. If I find it to be a fact, I might take it, dump the hotel in Paris and take the Thally to Antwerp and hole up in Kulminator for the night and then make another run for Westvleteren and hit De Dolle on the way. Just a dream, but who knows??

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