2014 EUROPE by Rail 17 - Browsing Brugge

After dropping off our purchases, we were back on the streets. This time to explore the shops and Beer Museum we had spotted on a list of "things to do in Brugge."
In this medieval town, there are many magnificent churches, clock towers, museums and historical sights. But we headed directly to the Beer Museum, which was on the way to the main square. We almost missed it, as it was on the second floor and without a prominent sign.

It was only 11 euros each to get in (including three tastings) and so worth it. Each of us got a personal iPad Mini set for English. You held the Mini scanner up to numerous bar codes and then have a choice of hearing an audio description of the item or reading the information off the Mini. There was additional material if you wished to learn more about a particular topic.

Before we entered we asked the receptionist if she had ever heard of Bell's Beer. She said she vaguely remembered something. We chatted about Bells and the beer culture in Kalamazoo and Grand Rapids. She took some notes and was going to research further. She'll remember Bell's now.

Continuing on we learned the history of beer from its beginnings until the present day; beers of Bruges (museum spelling!); Trappist beers; beer types; beer brands and labels; and brewing processes. There was also a large world map designating various countries and info about each in their relationship to beer.

There were also fun facts such as "Beer: A Man's Drink? -- Women are in fact better beer tasters than men. They have 30% more taste buds. Breweries are hiring more female beer testers. They are able to recognize certain chemicals better and faster. The sense of smell is generally more developed in women than in men."

There was a fabulous view of the town square from the museum window. Earlier the market had covered the whole area to the right of the road. Closed now, but still active with people and street performers (see the pinkish triple high "statue guys" in lower right corner).

We ended the tour in the tasting room. Each person gets three huge samples of beer. Mike ordered a variety. I chose the three lambics, so I could compare. They were all kriek (sour cherry) and very different, one undrinkable for me. We shared a little sample of the white chocolate I had purchased earlier. It paired well with my lambic. For more info, go to www.brugesbeermuseum.com

Three beers and we were out. At that pointed we needed a break. Back to the hotel for a little fresh fig treat from the market and a little nap. A couple of hours later we were ready to explore and have a nice dinner.

There were so many little shops, each dedicated to a particular product. Besides the many chocolate shops, there were other food emporiums--bread, meat, sausage, produce, cookie, candy, etc. We found a beer market that had the Lindemans framboise lambic that I dearly love back home. They had a few more brands of framboise there also that I had not previously known of. We didn't buy. Still too beered-out from the "tasting" room.

 

Other shops were dedicated to products such as lace, Christmas, stringed instruments.

Depending on how old you are, your parents may have had your baby shoes bronzed as a keepsake. Mine did. Well, we came across a shop that still does that. They will even bronze big boy tennis shoes or whatever shoes you want to keep into perpetuity!! In the long run, we didn't buy anything; don't NEED anything. Just fun looking. 

We also enjoyed the medieval architecture around the public square. Everything is very ornate--decorated in gold, lots of statues, and garland-like artistry. This is the Oude Griffie building, the Old Civic Registry (or Recorder's) House with the city coat of arms over the door and Golden Lady of Justice on top.

This is Brugge City Hall or Stadhuis, one of the oldest in the Netherlands (1376).

And it was fun to see the day "view" compared to the night "view."

We had seen the Belfry of Brugge on a Rick Steve TV episode. It is 372 feet (83 meters) tall, houses a treasure chamber, an impressive clock mechanism, and a carillon with 47 silver toned bells. At the top of its 366 steps is an impressive view of Brugge. So they say. We did not take the challenge to climb.

The tower bells ring every 15 minutes. We had heard them throughout the day wherever we were. On another TV show back home (Euromaxx, I think), we heard the bell ringer plays all kinds of tunes including some pop songs. Didn't hear any of those today.

We missed seeing the classic art museums in Brugge, as well as the more commercially based Diamond Museum, Chocolate Museum, Frietmuseum (fries, but not French fries) (how much could we learn here?!), the Lace Centre, and many more. You just can't see it all in one day and we like walking the streets and interacting with locals and shop owners. We happen into so many interesting things that way.