Brugge - Kasteel Tillegem, a pictorial

Brugge eats - Drinking the best hot chocolate

I had very fond memories about chocolate in Brugge. It was cheap and available everywhere in the town. After 4 days there, I brought back quite a huge amount of chocolate that helped me to survive a travelling hangover. And of course, I had to try some hot chocolate when I was there.

I passed by Chocolaterie Sukerbuyc when finding my way to Minnewater. The claim of "The place to be to drink the best hot chocolate" sparked my interest. This shop had to have something to back up its confidence. So on my last day in Brugge, I stopped over and walked up the stairs to enter the café.

The shop was decorated in a quaint and lovely style. Colorful glass windows, wooden furniture and flowery tablecloth made me feel so happy. This was my favourite shop decoration. And it was hard to find such shops in Singapore and Vietnam. I had found one in Saigon but the whole atmosphere seemed so pretentious that I had had to leave after an hour.

I ordered the café's signature hot chocolate and a plate of waffle with butter. The food and drink were brought out promptly.

So what was so special about this drink that made it the best? Well, the white liquid in the white bowl was actually hot milk. And do you see the cup full of chocolate on the right-hand side plate? That cup was also made of chocolate. Before drinking, I had to put the cup and the chocolate inside it into the hot milk. Then stirring my mixture of milk and chocolate by using the mixing tool given. Until the chocolate was all melted into the milk. Tada, my hot choclate was ready to be drunk. And darn! It was so yummy that I had to share with my friends on Facebook. Yep, I was facebooking on my iPhone in the café as well. There was complimentary wifi for its guests. Couldn't bear to pay for the super duper expensive data roaming so I only went only if there was a free wifi connection around.

What about the waffle? Sad to say this but it was mediocre at best. I chose butter to go with my waffle and that was a big mistake. I should have chosen fresh/whipped cream. It would be a much better experience. Oh well, I went there for chocolate, not waffle after all. So I guess it was not a huge loss. So yeah, if you are around the town, don't hesitate, head to Chocolaterie Sukerbuyc and enjoy the best hot chocolate in town.

Brugge - Heilig-Bloedbasiliek

Heilig-Bloedbasiliek (in Dutch language) is also called the Basilica of the Holy Blood in English. It is one of the landmarks in Brugge that are mentioned in every travel book about the town. And being a very typical tourist myself, I had made it a point to visit the church, even if I am not a Catholic.

This was my second visit to a Roman Catholic church during my Europe trip. Until I write these blog posts, I did not realize that most of the churches I had been to were Roman Catholic. My lack of knowledge in religions contributed to my ignorance toward the types of churches I visited during my travels. However, it did not prevent me from admiring the magnificent beauty of this minor basilica.

Anyway, even though I had this in my itinerary, I did not exactly enter Heilig-Bloedbasiliek on purpose. More like stumbling into it. I was in the Burg square to explore Brugge's famous City Hall, after my Moroccan lunch. Then I saw people streaming in and out of a small door located on the right-hand side of City Hall. And when travelling, I harbored quite an unhealthy amount of curiosity, which meant I followed these people through that door. And guess what? I discovered the lower chapel of the basilica.

This lower chapel is a dark Romanesque structure that remains virtually unchanged from the 12th century. To say the truth, I felt a little disappointed when first walking around. It was dark and dreary. Not my favourite type of church, you know? But still, I wondered what had made the church so popular, even to those who are not religious.

The answer was the upper chapel of Heilig-Bloedbasiliek. After stepping into it, I was glad I had followed my gut instinct and decided to climb a few stairs. "Wow" was my first thought. It was so gorgeous that I was mutely walking around, excitedly inhaling and exhaling.

The upper chapel was rebuilt in the Gothic style during the 16th century and renovated multiple times during the 19th century in Gothic Revival style. And it best known as the repository of a venerated phial said to contain a cloth with blood of Jesus Christ, brought to the city by Thierry of Alsace after the 12th century Second Crusade. Alright, pardon my disinterest of the fact about the blood of Jesus Christ, but I felt a tad queasy to even think there was a vial of blood being kept for several centuries. That was just disturbing to me. My main focus was still in the terrific architecture of the basilica. And that was what I did exactly. Admiring all the altars, glass windows and colorfully-painted walls. And then left for another touristy interest.

Brugge - Views from the canal boat

One activity that you have to do in Brugge is taking a canal boat tour. Yes, it is a very touristy thing to do, but what you experience from the tour is amazing. You could see a different Brugge from what walking around the town offers.

There are 5 starting points where you could buy a ticket and hop on a boat. Well, after waiting in line for a few minutes. Of course, there are some starting points that have less people than others. But I guess you might just go to the nearest place. My starting point was near to City Hall which I did not really choose it on purpose. I was walking around and decided it was time to take a canal boat tour.

The ticket costed 6.9 euros. Not that expensive for such a terrific experience. But as I had Brugge City Card, the ticket was complimentary (or inclusive to the card if you'd like to nitpick) for me. Then I was shown down to the bank of the canal and asked to wait there. After waiting for around 10 minutes, a canal boat appeared. The queue was moving and before I knew it, I was sitting on the boat.

My experience was very enjoyable, partly due to the beautiful weather on that day. However, the main reason was the gorgeous views of the town I could see from the boat. The scenery and atmosphere somehow were so different. That was why the phrase "In another's point of view" was aptly applied in this case.

Not more words. I will let my pictures speak for what I had seen.

Queuing and waiting

The boat for the canal tour

Brugge - The narrowest street and my first Moroccan meal

When it comes to direction, I am proud to say that I am very good at it, for woman that is. Google map is my best friend when planning for my travel. And when I am travelling, local maps are always my companions. Also, I only need to find the place the first time (getting lost might occur), and the second time will be a breeze. But sometimes, maps can only help you so much.

I wanted to find De Garre because I wanted to dine in Cookie's. This restaurant popped up whenever I did a search for a good meal around the area. So yep, being a gullible tourist, I decided to have my lunch there. However, getting there was pretty interesting.

After reading my map and notes, I was sure the street was somewhere around Markt. But I could not find a street sign. No matter how many times I walked back and forth the street which was supposed to lead to De Garre. I had almost given up, but I did not know what to eat around Markt without getting myself into a tourist trap. Yep, Cookie's might be one as well, but at least the food sounded good. So I told myself to keep on looking.

Then I suddenly realized there was a door, in between two shops, where lots of people seemed to disappear into. I thought at the time, maybe I would just go in and explore. And you know what? That was the street I was looking for the whole time.

It was so narrow that if two people walked side by side, they might feel a tad uncomfortable. In Vietnam, this would not be called a street, it would be only an alley with some number tagged on it. But I was glad to discover it. The street was very charming with its cobblestones paving and red-brick houses.

And yes, I managed to find Cookie's. Unfortunately, it was full house at the time. And I was too hungry to wait for a table. I got out of the establishment and decided to explore the street more. My curiosity lead me to Opus-Latino/Motahareh, a Moroccan restaurant.

It was a very gorgeous hidden place which I was glad to discover and dine here. I did not regret leaving Cookie's for this beautiful restaurant. Even though the place was empty when I first reached there, I was happy to have it all to myself. The weather was terrific, sunny but cooling. The peaceful and zen atmosphere helped me to relax tremendously. Luckily I had learnt my lesson from my previous New York trip, which made me have more time to enjoy my meal.

As it was my first time to a Moroccan restaurant and had no plan to go to one, I chose my lunch based on what the staff recommended to me. The meal I had was Couscous with roasted chicken which was quite interesting. But the combination of flavours was not my favourite, I probably would not order it again in the future. However, I would be more than happy to try other dishes the next time I visited a Moroccan restaurant.

Brugge - Streets without tourists

My second day in Brugge fell into a Sunday, which is quite a sad day for tourists in Europe. When planning for trips, what caused me lots of headache was thinking of what to do in Sundays. Not only in Europe, but in the States as well; however, Europe was worse as the people there care more about their personal lives than doing business. At least that was my impression after travelling to both continents.

Anyway, after spending a night well-rested, I woke up on Sunday feeling happy to explore the area. But since many tourists considered Brugge as an one-day visit from Brussels or any other places, the town seemed to be more awake after 10am. Even if I wanted to beat the crowd and explore around before that, not many shops and attractions opened for business. So what should I do?

The answer was laundry. The whole trip lasted 20 days after all, and I only brought maximum of 5-day change. Even I intended to do some shopping and wear my new buys right after, I still need some clean clothes. And with that in mind, I went to a self-service laundry shop, not too near to the hotel, but still walking-distance from the hotel. And because of this, I discovered a less touristy side of Brugge, much to my immense pleasure.

I had to say I love Brugge both touristy and non-touristy. The non-touristy side of the town was exactly what I thought a Belgian town looked like. Simple, modern and bright. It was very different from French town and city, which were very elaborate and showing-off. I had fun walking and exploring while waiting my clothes were cleaned. It was a breath of fresh air from the hustle and bustle of the city life I normally live.