Trip to Bruges: Beer & Chocolate

Having really enjoyed a trip to Bruges several years earlier, I was happy to visit again in 2013.

This time we decided to take the motorbike across to the Continent for the first time.

In the car, she falls asleep within minutes no matter how bumpy the road, loud the music or stunning the scenery.

She just nods off and is dead to the world. On the bike, however, things get interesting.

About 45 minutes after getting off the Eurotunnel at Calais, just after crossing the Belgian border, I felt a kicking from behind.

I assumed she was just getting comfortable.

Half an hour later, when we arrived in Bruges, she told me she had been twitching because she’d been asleep.

Luckily my bike had a top box so she could sit or sleep upright without falling off. Small mercies.

We stayed at an Airbnb just a 10‑minute walk from the centre.

Bruges: Medieval Charm and Chocolate Heaven

Bruges is a delight to visit.

Full of waterways, stunning old buildings, little market squares and medieval streets, it has a charm that draws hordes of visitors. It’s one of those cities that looks like it’s been designed specifically for postcards.

The chocolate museum gives you an insightful history of chocolate dating back to the Aztecs. You get to see chocolate being made and, more importantly, sample it. For two chocoholics like us, it was heaven.

Belgian beer is famous the world over, mostly for its ability to make a 12 percent lethal beer taste like a normal 4 percent pint.

Wisely, they serve it in small glasses to avoid heaps of tourists getting carried away and ending up on the floor. There’s one place called ’t Brugs Beertje that has over 300 beers on offer. Dangerous.

Champions League, Belgian Beer and… Unexpected Entertainment

It was the Champions League final that night and I got agreement that we could watch it in a bar.

We found a place in the centre showing the game and grabbed a classic strong Belgian beer as we found a couple of stools.

I was in heaven.

The Ride Home

The next day we jumped on the bike and headed home.

But not before I cursed a car driver for being on the wrong side of the road… until I realised it was me who was on the wrong side. Maybe those two Belgian beers had affected me after all.