Medieval Brugge

The Sofitel in Brugge, Belgium, is one of my favorite hotels. (It helps that the city of Brugge is one of my favorite places.) It's small and quaint and has lots of local flavor. It has 149 rooms, and the property is a renovated 17th-century monastery.

There's an indoor pool, fitness center with machines and a turkish steam bath. The steam bath costs about 5 euros for 15 minutes, which I think is really odd. You'd think at a hotel as nice as that one, the steam bath would be complimentary.

My last room overlooked the courtyard and the indoor pool. I love that there are period tapestries hanging over the beds, with scenes of knights and horses. It gives the room so much feeling.

The rooms are pretty good size and have a desk with chair, and a small sitting area with a chair and table. All rooms come with Internet access, and there is a small business center where you can buy an Internet card and check your email if you don't have a laptop.

The lounge, Jan Breydel, is a small place with a fireplace and several small tables. Happy hour is from 5-7pm, 7 days a week, and of course, they serve local Belgian beer. I had a cherry beer that wasn't too bad. The bartender (Francis) serves you a small bowl of marinated black and green olives with your drink. And they are YUMMY!

The restaurant, Ter Boeverie, is a great place to have dinner (see my separate review on that). They have a daily breakfast buffet for 19 euros per person. It's not bad, but I think it's too expensive--just take a short walk across the fountain park, and you can have a less expensive meal at a local place. Off the lobby, there's a sitting area with nice fluffy chairs and couches and a fireplace. This room is nonsmoking. There's a smoking area that overlooks the pool just off to the right of the front desk. No fireplace, but it's nice just the same.

The hotel is located 800 meters from the train station. I took a cab for about 5 euros, as I didn't want to drag my luggage down the cobblestone streets of the city. It is walkable if you don't have tons of luggage. Just take a left after exiting the train station, and you'll see it on your right, across the street from a parking garage.

White tablecloths, soft lighting, and candles on every table make for a truly romantic dinner any time of the year. Ter Boeverie is the restaurant at The Sofitel Hotel Brugge, one of my favorite places to stay. This hotel is a renovated 17th-century monastery that reflects the typical charm of this medieval city.

This classic restaurant is where the breakfast buffet is served every morning, but the real joy is dinner. They serve classic Flemish dishes and international cuisine. Their prix-fix menu is a great deal because it includes wine and they leave the bottle on the table so you can help yourself (and stumble back to your hotel room more easily).

Our dinner this particular May evening was an amazing meal of lamb and fish. We started off with the salad of asparagus, Flemish-style, with Zeebrugge shrimp. It had green-and-white asparagus with crème; fresh, tiny shrimps; and marinated tomatoes. To DIE for.

The main courses included rosemary-roasted lamb chops with potatoes, which was wonderful to say the least. The lamb was tender, juicy, and cooked to perfection at medium-rare. I had the tilapia in a tomato sauce with potatoes. The fish was fried but not greasy or heavy, just light and tasty. Dessert came in the form of a dessert bar. Chocolate tortes, cakes, ice cream: it was all here.

Ter Boeverie is a great, small place to have a quiet dinner.

I don’t normally eat at places right in the heart of the ‘touristy’ areas, but the place I wanted to eat at was closed for some reason, this Tuesday night. With more than a dozen places in the market square, we had our choice of many different restaurants with different price ranges. The main theme was, of course, mussels and frites. We settled on Café Francais. It’s right in the heart of the square, recognized by its small marquis on the building, right next to Café Belfort and directly across the square from the Belfry Tower. I love European restaurants that offer a prix-fixe menu. They’re usually a great deal, and you get to try things you normally wouldn’t try. They broaden your horizons, so to speak.

This chilly, rainy night was perfect for dining on the covered, heated patio at Café Francaise. Tables lined up next to each other, so close you could smell your neighbor’s coffee, covered with green and white table cloths and complete with fresh flowers in tiny vases.

The view of the historical square was worth its weight in gold. There were four different prix-fixe options, from the inexpensive at 20 euros to the more expensive at 45 euros. We opted for the middle option at 30 euros. I got steak with my choice of sauce and fries--I chose pepper cream sauce, and my husband got the mussels and fries with his choice of sauce--he chose cream sauce.

The steak was thick and juicy. The waiter asked if I wanted it medium or well. I chose medium (don’t know why I wasn’t offered medium-rare), and it came out a little less than medium--almost medium-rare, which how I like my beef. The pepper cream sauce was surprisingly good--a great combination of peppery and creamy.

Husband’s mussels were great as expected. The cream sauce was light and sweet. The pan of mussels was HUGE, and he wasn’t sure if he could finish them all. I helped, and we devoured them. YUMMY!

Dessert was included, and I opted for the vanilla ice cream. My husband had chocolate mousse. Both desserts were ordinary, but neither of us was expecting anything more than that.

I thought the meal was good for the money I spent, and the fact that it’s in the expensive touristy area usually means mediocre meals. Again, the view was really the clincher for me. Next time I hope the place I wanted to eat at is open.

Take a break from all that walking and take a peaceful horse and carriage ride through Brugge, complete with a short history lesson on the city. In the heart of Grote Market, carriages are lined up for you're pleasure. The ride lasts about 35 minutes and covers side streets, residences, and the main attractions. All carriage drivers speak at LEAST four languages, so communication shouldn't be a problem. The ride cost 30€ for the two of us and was a great way to see the city and get a waffle for a snack on our break. The ride takes a 5-minute break halfway through so the horse can eat, and there's a great waffle place right down the way from where you stop. We had a strawberry one and a chocolate one. YUM! My husband asked our driver about the wages in the city, and she said the "normal" wage is about 900€ a month. She told us that the CUTE little houses you see on the tour run about 500€ a month, so they're considered very expensive for the average person.

The tour includes the Chapel of the Holy Blood, Minnewater, Belfry Tower, the canals, a brewery, The Church of Our Lady, and the statues of the four horsemen, only three of which are still standing, as one was damaged when a tree fell on it during a storm. This is a beautiful city, and a carriage ride is a great way to cover a lot of ground. Then you can go back to your favorite places afterward. I suggest doing the ride FIRST before heading out on foot. It makes it easier to plan your walking tour.

Basilica of the Holy Blood is a one-of-a-kind chapel. I’ve never seen anything quite like it. Yes, legend says that Christ’s blood is in a vial inside this tiny church. The Basilica of the Holy Blood is a small church that rivals Notre Dame and Sacre Couer in Paris.

The church is actually a double chapel. It was first constructed in the 12th century and promoted to the rank of basilica in 1923. The original facade was constructed in late Gothic and Renaissance styles in the 16th century. It was demolished in the aftermath of the French Revolution and later rebuilt.

The lower part of the chapel is called the Basilius chapel. It has preserved its original Romanesque style from the 12th to 13th centuries. The church on the first floor is the actual chapel of the Holy Blood. The church itself was originally built in Romanesque style, like the Basilius church on the ground floor. It was changed completely to Gothic style in the 15th century and again in 1823. The silver altar is the place where the relic is preserved during the week. The relic is shown to the public every Friday and every day from the 3rd to the 17th of May. Outside the chapel is the Holy Blood museum, which contains the shrine for the Holy Blood and other treasures belonging to the chapel.

The relic of the Holy Blood: The bottle with the blood has never been opened since its arrival in Bruges. The Bible never mentioned the fact that Christ's blood was preserved. One of the gospels mentions that Joseph of Arimathea preserved the blood after he had washed the dead body of Jesus. It is said that Count Diederik van den Elzas brought the relic containing the blood of Christ from Jerusalem to Bruges after the second crusade. But there is proof that the relic arrived later in Bruges, probably around 1250, and that it came from Constantinople (Istanbul in Turkey).

The upstairs chapel is gorgeous, with stained-glass windows, gothic arches, and a colorful altar that is used every Sunday for mass.

The Procession of the Holy Blood passes every year on Asuncion Day in May through the streets of Bruges. Citizens of Bruges dressed in historical costumes enact during this procession biblical scenes and reenact the arrival of the Count of Flanders, who brought the holy relic to Bruges.

The huge statue in the center of Grote Markt is that of Jan Breydel and Pieter de Coninck, who were the two leaders of the "Battle of the Golden Spurs" in 1302. The battle defended the Flemish movement that fought for recognition of the Dutch language and Flemish culture in the French-language-dominated Belgium of the 19th century. This was one of the most important battles of that time. The victory of infantrymen over mounted forces of knights was a shock to military thought of that period.

Today, the official languages of Belgium are Flemish and French. Without the battle, the language would only be French. The Belgians wanted to keep the right to speak their native tongue.

There are also a couple bars/pubs named after the duo around town, one of which is located at the Sofitel hotel.

The intercity trains we took between Amsterdam and Brugge and then Brugge to Brussels were really nice, smooth, and comfortable rides. As with premier trains, these trains have first and second class. I had a railpass, so I don’t know the cost difference between the two. On Premier trains like the Thalys, meals are served by an attendant, much like on an airplane. Not so on these regional trains. A steward did come by with a drink cart, soft drinks, juice, and coffee, but no food. We were in first class, so I’m not sure if there was a bar/snack car.

On the 3-hour ride from Amsterdam to Brugge, we had to change trains in Antwerp. Changing trains was effortless, and the platforms/tracks were well marked. No escalators, so we had to carry our luggage down a flight of stairs and up another to the new track. We had about 4 minutes to change before the second train left the station. The time wasn’t a problem, and our new track was right next to the one we arrived at.

First class was roomy and quiet. Luggage racks were above the seats, so you could stow your bags. Announcements were made for the stations we were arriving into, as well as a digital readout above each door with the stations' names. The readout was in French, Flemish, and English.

I really enjoyed the train. It was fast, clean, comfortable, and easy to figure out. Don’t be intimidated by language barriers--most Europeans speak at least three or four languages, and almost everyone speaks English.

Frites, frites, and more frites: I can’t get enough of them. You can find a frites (fries) stand on almost every corner of the city, but this is my favorite place to get them. It’s right outside the Belfry tower, on the left-hand side. This vendor has 20 different sauces for the fries. My personal fave is plain old mayo and onions. I SWEAR that they taste like a Mickey D’s burger without the meat. SWEAR!

He also has other sauces, like curry ketchup, fish sauce, pickles, tartar sauce, and some other strange concoctions. The fries range from 1,50€ for a small, plain order, and each topping is 0.50€ more. There are several sizes, and they also have HUGE orders to share amongst three or four people. They also offer sausages, hot dogs, burgers, and ice cream.

You can’t miss this place. It’s right on the main square, directly in front of the tower. YUM! Do yourself a favor and try some.