Europe Trip Recap – Belgium

After spending two nights in The Netherlands, we were excited to take a train to Belgium. Going in to this trip, I was most excited about our time in Belgium. They are famous for a few of my favorite foods – beer, chocolate, and fries!

To kick things off, we had to take three trains to get the Bruges due to some construction on tracks somewhere, but we enjoyed our time relaxing and reading. We also enjoyed talking to other train-riders throughout the day. We met a girl from Canada who was one month into a three month European trip by herself.

The amazing train station in Antwerp

Windmill in Bruges

Along the way, we had about 30 minutes in the Antwerp train station which was a really cool looking station. Once we made it to Bruges, we took a bus from the train station to the center of town. After a 10 minute walk, we checked in to our B&B. The B&B (B&B Eleven) we stayed at in Bruges was our favorite hotel of the entire trip.

View from our room during sunset in Bruges

Bruges, Belgium

The owner of the B&B got us set up with the bikes that we had for our time there. We rode around the ring of Bruges, saw some windmills, swans, and just enjoyed riding around the cobblestone roads through Bruges.

Belgium beers!

Belgium waffle with strawberries and chocolate

The next day we headed into Bruges on our bikes. We went on a brewery tour that included amazing views of the city. After enjoying our free Bruges Zot beer, we walked around some and enjoyed Belgium waffles before heading over to the Frites Museum. Yea,… we should have listened to Rick Steves on that one. Definitely not worth the price of admission.

Next up, we tried to climb the stairs to the top of the bell tower. I say tried because about 2/3 of the way up, I got all claustrophobic and we decided to turn back. After enjoying some chocolates and a nap in the hammock at our B&B, we enjoyed an amazing dinner, including Flemish beef stew for me. This is another food experience I plan to recreate at home this fall.

Cemetery in Damme

Bike path in Belgium country-side

After a day of enjoying all sorts of Belgium foods the day before, we woke up the next morning with a plan to hit the road. We grabbed our bikes and headed out of town to Damme along tree lined canals. After Damme, we headed to Sluis where we enjoyed lunch and Hubby had his Belgium mussels. We knew we wanted to head up to the North Sea, so we grabbed a bike map and hit the road again.

Putting my toes in the North Sea

Belgium country-side

The bike trail system in Belgium was amazing. Intersections are labeled with a number. When you’re on the trail, it will tell you which way you to go to get to your intersection. So by stringing together a series of intersections, you’ll find your way. Once we made it to the North Sea, we enjoyed the beach and getting our feet wet. As we were riding around the Belgium countryside, we saw more cows than I’ve ever seen in my time in the Midwest. We ended up clocking about 60 km on our bike that day.

Windmill on way back to Bruges

Chocolates from The Chocolate Line in Bruges

Our last day in Belgium was quite sad. We had enjoyed ourselves so much in Bruges that we just weren’t ready to leave. Hubby and I both agreed that the day in the Belgium countryside was one of our favorites of the entire trip. We got up and checked out of our B&B before catching a train to Brussels, but first we went to check out the Basilica of the Holy Blood and the Church of Our Lady. Both were quite impressive. We only had one night in Brussels and it was pretty forgettable. It was grey and rainy and we just weren’t much in the mood to be out exploring Brussels.

Inside the Church of Our Lady

Chimay label in Brussels that made us laugh