Our last port of call was Zeebrugge. We met early to find our transfer bus taking
us from the ship to Bruges; this was another tour we purchased through the
online excursions site. Initially we
panicked because we couldn’t find the way out of the port, it was full of other
cruise ships and huge carrier containers.
Finally we found a bus that shuttled us to the entrance and we were able
to locate our taxi. Unfortunately the
last couple didn’t show up on time and we ended up waiting for one hour for
them. There was a Chinese man in the back
seat who was very upset with the driver, but he really had no power in the
situation.
Finally we were dropped off in the heart of Bruges, which
was so charming. The cobblestone streets
and old architecture filled with various sculptures gave it such a enchanted
feel. We walked around the streets and
looked at various shops and cathedrals.
There were several musicians playing on street corners which gave the
area even more of a magical feel.
Eventually we made our way to a little sausage shop. We bought a foot long sausage to share and
enjoyed it thoroughly… it really hit the spot!
Afterwards, we made our way to a little café where we
planned to try the infamous Belgium Waffle.
We decided to treat ourselves to
some coffee and cake as well. The
waffles were slightly disappointing because there was too much sugar in the
batter; which resulted in crunchy pastry when you bit down. Perhaps this is the way they’re supposed to
be, but none of us really enjoyed it.
The cake was much better.
As we came to the town centre, there was a large fountain
with various sculptures in it. One of
which was a mermaid with water pouring out of her nipples. Hildy especially liked her and we joked
around her for quite some time.
Walking along the various old streets, we stopped
periodically to just admire the beauty around us. The sights were so beautiful especially
because of the contrasting cobblestone and flowing water in the river.
As we were admiring the river, we saw a little boat cruise
that ran through the canals of Bruges.
It looked so charming and offered a different vantage point of the
city. We decided to take the tour and
eventually found the line. The wait wasn’t
too bad and soon we were boarding into our little boat. Our tour guide spoke several languages and rotated
between them to explain various facts and history.
We found that although Hildy enjoyed the various historical
buildings, her favourite parts were the wildlife. This is demonstrated by the fact that when we
came across a swans nest, she was so excited and expressive… more than she’d
been for the whole trip because she hadn’t seen one before
After the boat tour, we made our way back to where our
shuttle dropped us off originally. Soon
our driver came back and brought us back to our ship. Bruges was a wonderful way to end our ports
of call. It encompassed all of the charm and magic that we could want in a
little town.
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