Thursday, April 25, 2019
We’ve docked in a town I’m pronouncing zee-BREW-gie! Ah, Belgium. Home to a whole host of beers that I don’t generally like. However, I’m here to explore, to learn, and to grow. So, I’ve signed up for a tour of Brugge that includes some beer tasting.
Where am I?
Zeebrugge is the seaport for Bruges (or, Brugge in Flemish which is a language spoken here), a larger city about 10 miles inland.
What’s been happening?
Dammit! It’s another cold, cloudy day. I’m starting to forget what the sun is like.
Well, anyway, on to fun stuff! Today, I have booked a tour of Bruges but not because I have some deep interest in Bruges but rather because the tour includes beer tasting! If I have to see some sights before they’ll pour me a barley soda then I’ll just have to tough it out until then. So, into the bus and off to the big city.
As the bus came into the old, inner city of Bruges, I really took notice at how nice this place is. It’s very clean, and has lots of canals. The canals are all lined with paths for walking and bicycling, and there are people riding bicycles everywhere! I see no litter or graffiti. So far, perfect!
So, off the bus and on our feet. We start a walking tour of old Bruges. There are some horse-drawn carriages available, but we can’t fit a busload of people on a single cart, so we’ll have to “hoof it” our own way.
As we walk around the city, I start to notice how clean everything is, and how old. Yet, in spite of the age of some of the buildings and structures in the Old City part of Bruges, everything seems well maintained. There appears to be a lot of civic pride in this town.
Crossing into the old part of the city (that part that lies within the ancient walls) we come across a bridge with an amazing tower. This is the Poertoren Tower and it is part of the ancient wall of Bruges. It was built in 1401 and was used to store the town’s gunpowder. To me, it is an absolute miracle that this tower is over 600 years old and looks like it was built last year. And this was just the beginning of a walking tour that turned out to be much more than I expected.
We next came upon the charming Minnewater park or “Lake of Love” as it is affectionately known. Legend has it that in Bruges, centuries ago, lived a young lady called Minna, who was in love with a humble man called Stromberg. Without her consent, the girl’s father arranged a marriage between his daughter and Morneck, a young man from a higher social class, more appropriate for Minna. When she found out about her future marriage, Minna escaped from home. Young Stromberg went looking for her and he found her next day lying dead on the shores of the lake. He buried her on the bottom of the lake to keep their love in these waters forever.
That’s the legend but, personally, I have a hard time believing that story. Still, the lake and it’s lovely bridge certainly add to the charm of Old Bruges.
And speaking of charm, these young ladies appeared from (seemingly) out of nowhere to demonstrate that walking, biking, and horse-drawn carriages are not the only way to get around town. Now, I’m really starting to fall in love with this place!
Oh, and here’s another popular way to get around town: the canals are filled with boats, many of which are available for tours and taxi service. The canals are found all throughout the old town and, to me at least, really create that European ambiance, like Amsterdam or Venice.
As we walked along one of the canals on our way to the historic “Markt” in the center of town (where beer awaited!) we walked by this little micro-brewery. There was access to the patio area by canal boat, although you cannot see it in the photo. Immediately, I could see myself sitting on this patio, overlooking the canal, watching the parade of boats, bicycles, and people, while enjoying a nice Belgian Tripel. Yes, I could easily spend an afternoon doing that!
But, our destination was still some distance ahead.
No ancient European city would be complete without a beautiful church near the center of town, and so it is with Bruges. Here are some examples of the architecture to be seen. Our tour cdid not go inside this church, so I have no photos of the inside.
Now we were getting closer to what I expected to be the highlight of the tour: the brewery. First we dash down a narrow alley…
…and into a very cute (and crowded) shopping area. In this area there was two or three chocolate shops on every block! There were chocolates there of every description and even a few that defied description. One window display, (below and on the left) featured beer bottles and colorfully bridled buxom breasts, all made from chocolate. This display immediately made me think of my friend Matt who would have found the combination irresistible. Coincidentally, Matt is married to my charming friend Julie who was also represented (by name) by a chocolate shop on the same block! True story!
For our final stop, we arrived at the Bruges Beer Experience.
Here is a list of the beers we were sampling on this cold, grey day. Give it a look, and then I’ll comment.
OK, here’s my comments. There wasn’t a single beer on this list that I liked. I think there’s something about the yeasts used to make Belgian beers that just don’t appeal to me. However, there are some specific notes I’d like to share. The beer labeled “3” in the photo states that the beer was a “Belgian version of IPA.” That can be interpreted as “this is NOT an IPA.” And the last beer, the Lentegruut, was actually made without the use of hops. Instead, a recipe of herbs were used as a substitute. This was done for historical reasons, and I love history, but that is no excuse for serving something so awful tasting. At least they warned me before I sampled it.
After going through those five samplers, I decided to try something that was not on the list. I asked for a menu or a regular beer list and this is what I received:
Yes, the magnum beer bottle is the menu, and this might have been the coolest thing about my “Bruges Beer Experience.” I ordered a few beer samplers from the bottle’s label and really tried to find something I liked. I left this place a little tipsy, but overall unsatisfied with my visit, unfortunately .
Anything else?
Well, maybe one more thing. My tour buddy for the day (Kathleen) had heard that one simply must try the Belgian fries when one is in Belgium. I had never heard of Belgian fries but Kathleen was quite insistent that everybody try some. We located a food wagon in the Markt that sold the fries and Kathleen purchased an order.
Verdict: They are damn delicious and unlike any fries I’ve had anywhere. They almost tasted as though they had been fried in butter! Decadent, crispy, and oh-so-tasty!
After that it was back to the tour bus, then back to the ship, then back to the sea. I sure hope that tomorrow will be warmer than today.
So, what’s coming up?
Tomorrow we pull into Amsterdam, and something really big is waiting for us!