Belgium: Bruges in a Day

Or the alternative title: “How Kelly and I Came to Be Unwitting Club Brugge Fans in Two Hours Flat”

This famously adorable city is only quick train ride away from Brussels, so we decided to make a day trip during our stay. We planned on doing the free walking tour there and then decide what else to do based on what we discovered. As it turned out, the universe had a different idea for us. As we were getting off the train, we noticed quite a few people in soccer jerseys. “Huh, that’s interesting,” we thought to ourselves, “We came here on a Monday to avoid the crowds… and why would people be dressed for a sporting event on a Monday at 11:30am?” As we walked into the city center, the crowds increased, and barricades along the streets clued us in to the fact that something was definitely going on. When we reached the main square, we found quite a surprise. There was a huge stage set up, and the square was lined with beer and food vendors preparing their stalls. We had no idea what was going on!

Waiting for the train to Bruges! We love public transport in Europe.

Exiting the train station, and ready for our day exploring Bruges.

This middle building is an old church that’s been converted into a McDonald’s. Also what are all these barricades doing up in the street?

Heading toward the city centre…

…and what the heck is going on?! Why is everyone in blue?

And why is there a giant stage?

We found a place to grab lunch, and our server informed us that the Bruges soccer team had won the national title, and that today was a holiday and they were having the celebration party for their victory in the main square that afternoon. Hah! So much for a slow weekday… We left to try to find our walking tour and after roaming around for about 20 minutes with no luck, we figured it must have been cancelled because of the party (later we realized we had received and email saying it was cancelled because the guide was sick… sure… if “sick” means planning on being hungover the next day from all of the beer he/she is going to drink today hahaha).

Mmmm cappuccino.

So what if lunch is more waffles. Don’t judge me.

With our tour having gone AWOL and not having any other real plans for the afternoon, we did what anyone would do. If you can’t beat ’em, join ’em. And that’s the story how we ended up celebrating the victory of Bruges’s soccer team by drinking beer and singing an anthem from a classic American musical over and over again with a bunch of Belgians (how did “You’ll Never Walk Alone” end up as their rallying cry?!).

When we arrived back to the city center, it was to this scene.

All the drink vendors were now open, ready for business.

If we can’t take our tour, might as well join the party!

The crowds kept building and building.

People were finding seating wherever they could; we chilled here for a while.

It was insane! Totally packed.

After we left the party, we sauntered around the city for a while admiring its beauty before catching the train back to Brussels. What a day!

Just a couple minutes walk away from the center, the canals give a totally different feel to the city.

There were lots of boat tours going around, but they were PACKED and it was hot, so we opted out of that one.

Beautiful architecture all around!

I mean… doesn’t this just look like what comes to mind when you think of Europe?!

We found some beautiful parks and walkways to stroll through.

And lovely river views.

As it was getting later, we headed back to the train station to make our way back to Brussels.

All in all, it wasn’t how we foresaw our day going (we didn’t get nearly as much of the historical/cultural side of Bruges as we were expecting), but it was an awesome way to see the city in celebration mode. Between this, Pride in Brussels, and King’s Day in Amsterdam, it seems like we keep lucking out on huge parties around Europe!

-Adam