Waterways of Holland & Belgium (Day 3)

Friday, May 4: Bruges & Beer

We had an early start today, with departure on the coaches at 8am. I was up by 6:15am for Zumba in my room (wi-fi working pretty well so far – phew!) and then met up with Mom briefly for breakfast before leaving for the day. Mom decided to stay on the boat and journey with several other passengers and the crew along the canal and rivers to Middelburg, where the rest of us would meet up with the boat at the end of the day.

The drive to Bruges took a bit less than 2 hours, and we got off the bus at a drop-off point just south of the historical city center. I was with the group going to tour the Halve Maan city brewery. Our local guide, Hart, led us on a short walking tour of the city as we strolled towards the brewery, where a member of the staff then took over to provide a wonderful and comprehensive tour of the entire brewery as we meandered through the purpose-built historic building, marveling at all of the various parts of the old brewery and how the brewers managed to fit everything into such small spaces! We also learned about the new brewery and technological innovations, including the creation in 2016 of the beer pipeline that goes under the ground from the brewery in the city to the bottling plant about 3km away. Amazing! Part of the tour led us up to the rooftop, where we could see the chimney from the drying kiln as well as a 360-degree view of Bruges.

 

The tour ended with a glass of beer on tap directly from the storage tanks, so it was unfiltered and unpasteurized

I then headed off on my own to enjoy about 3 hours of free time exploring the Medieval city of Bruges, winding through small cobblestone streets, browsing in souvenir stores, and grabbing a chicken, cheese, and tomato panini for a quick lunch-on-the-go. I had thought about trying to visit the Groeninge Museum (another group did that for the main activity instead of the brewery) but opted to prioritize climbing the bell tower in the central square. Given the size of the tower steps, entry is limited to 70 people at a time, so the entire experience of waiting and then climbing 366 steps to the top and back down took about an hour. I happened to be in the drum room area just in time for the ¾ hour chiming. The view from the top showed not only the city but also the carillon bells.

By the time I was finished with the belfry, I only had about 1 hour until the group meet-up, so I decided not to try to visit the art museum but instead to wander through more of the city center, seeking out the large-scale public art installations that are part of the Bruges Triennial. We had seen one of these pieces when we first approached the old city – a floating wooden structure created to be a mobile school.

I was able to find five more of the artworks, although three were definitely still in process of being installed, since the Triennial technically doesn’t open until tomorrow. I captured images of several of them, along with the explanatory placards. So cool!

The group met up again at 3pm to walk back to the coach and then return to the ship, crossing over from Belgium into The Netherlands along the way. I chatted with Mom as I unpacked from the day, and then we gathered with others from the Smithsonian Journeys group in a portion of the Panorama Lounge for the Captain’s Welcome Reception that preceded the “official” Welcome Dinner. We ended up at a table in the far back left, which apparently was a sort of black hole for the wait staff. At one point, I noticed that people up near the front were already eating their first courses before we had even been asked for our orders! This whole four-course meal thing is definitely not a value-add for me… I finished off the day with yoga before bedtime.