So many people told us to visit Bruges, and we do not disappoint! We took a 50 min train west to the fairytale city of Bruges. This photo does not do it any justice, but it was one of the only photos we have together that isn't a selfie, and shows off the mighty Belfry, a medieval bell tower. Look familiar? We saw this tower in Mini-Europe, look back at our Brussels post! Starting to look like a town straight out of a fairytale? Wow, we were in awe our entire time here. Soaking in the quaint streets, medieval buildings, serene canals... we realized how special this place is. The city is extremely walkable, with people also using boats and horse-drawn carriages to get around. Happy to be here! The ivy on this building?! Perfectly colored?! I simply can't get over it. Visiting Europe in the fall and seeing different cities change season has been one of my favorite things about the trip. Extra points if you spot the figure in the window. We grabbed lunch at a cute mom and pop Italian spot and the trays came out like this... It truly reinforced everything we felt about living in a fairytale for the day. After lunch, we headed towards the northeastern part of the city to get a glimpse of the old windmills. We walked through the residential part of the city which was way less crowded and gave us a better picture of the day to day life of people who grew up and live here. Not pictured here is my quick cat nap on the picnic bench. We headed back into town for our walking tour (can you tell we have become obsessed with these?). Our guide, who was born and raised in Bruges, informed us the proper way to pronounce the city name: Bruh-gha. The tour guide was fantastic and he provided so much insight from history, legends of the city, how to know which chocolate shops are legitimate, to non-touristy hidden gems. I truly have too many pictures of the town but it was hard to resist snapping every single cute house and corner and street and church. I love this cute little bike shop on the corner with the matching bike shaped sign handing over the entry. Tell me this doesn't look straight out of Shrek? This was giving me huge Shrek swamp vibes and I won't be convinced otherwise. This is also where our tour guid told us how to spot an American: someone expressively say one or all of these things 1. "Oh my god!" 2. "Wow" 3. "Amazing". Guilty as charged. We stopped in few churches after the tour (apologies for the lack of photos - don't fret, so many church photos to come) then headed to a cool spot along the canal. This honestly was one of the best bars we went to on our trip - on the canal, great music (now obsessed with Belgian rap), and the BEST beer we've ever had. I'll say it now and say it again: Belgium has THE BEST beer. No competition whatsoever. Not only do they have an incredible selection, but every single one was great. After a couple rounds of beer, and maybe this wasn't the best order of things, but we climbed the 366 steps to the top. Let me tell you, it was worth it. The view from the top. This shot really captures how unified the town looks with the similar architecture and the orange colored roofs. The giant white building is a restored 19th-century Baroque theater. Another shot from the top - caught at golden hour. Our day ended with the most amazing gyros, sitting in Grote Markt, and admiring the view of the Belfy. Also, incredible people watching. For anyone who happens to travel within a 100 mile radius of Bruges, this city is definite must-go.
