BELGIUM. You can go for the beauty of Bruges, the beer and the waffles, or the battlefields. Or go for all of the above, as we did.
We chose to drive to Bruges, or Brugge as the locals call it, breaking up the journey there and back. Although we booked the ferry and the four nights in Bruges, we had a night either side totally flexible to stop where we liked.
The Condor Rapide was on time, and it was a perfect morning for sailing to St Malo. We enjoyed free tea and coffee in the comfort of Club Class, and kicked back to relax in the comfortable seats while scanning the morning papers. Onto dry land and we opted to nip past Mont St Michel, thinking we would not stay long. It being a beautiful sunny day, and with a relaxed drive ahead, it seemed a shame not to stroll to the historic mount and we decided to make it our lunch stop.
Back in the car and on the road, we headed up to Rouen, with the sat-nav set to ‘centre ville’. Having walked around the centre for less than five minutes we found a two-star hotel, Hotel des Charmes, which even had a lock-up garage in the car park for the night.
The next day we were in Bruges by lunchtime and were ready to start exploring immediately, not at all weary from travel, but we were hungry and we made our first mistake straight away. We had lunch in the old market square. Prices here are extortionate – moules and frites for 24 euros, a can of Diet Coke six euros.
Mind you, the food was nice, the surroundings lovely, the weather fine. Couldn’t complain really.
From this square you can take a horse and cart if you want to get your bearings, and around most corners you can find a jetty to take a 30-minute boat ride around the canals.
Incidentally, Bruges may be called the ‘Venice of the North’ but there aren’t anywhere near as many waterways as the name might suggest.
Bruges is also very walkable. From the market square, just two minutes from our hotel, we explored north, south, east and west. We climbed the 366 steps to the top of the belfry, the medieval bell tower, for the view over the town and to see the huge bells which can be heard several times every hour.
Another thing: Bruges is very photogenic. Indeed it was one of the reasons for our visit, my husband being a keen amateur photographer, and we took a photographic walking tour with Andy McSweeney, a Canadian who has lived in Belgium for 15 years (phototourbrugge.com). With inside knowledge, and knowing details to point out, he provided an entertaining and informative couple of hours.
I went along for the ride (walk) as a ‘plus one’ at no extra cost, which is a great bonus for those who don’t want to be left wondering what to do by themselves.
Bruges is also great for cycling thanks to being so flat. One morning we hired bikes to get us to Damme, a half-hour cycle. Actually, we took an hour and a half thanks to me setting off in the wrong direction but it didn’t matter. The route took us around safe cobbled streets, past pretty windmills and a long canal.
One of the highlights of our brief stay was a free concert. Yes, free. It’s in the top ten of things to do in Bruges on TripAdvisor. It was easy to find and there were several performances to choose from. Luc Vanlaere plays for about 40 minutes, in front of an intimate audience of about three dozen people, not just harps but also kettle drums, singing bowls and a gong. A truly mesmerising performance.
We visited the two wonderful year-round Kathe Wohlfahrt Christmas shops, we sampled the beer, the chocolate and, of course, the fresh waffles (the latter go well with Nutella, strawberries and Chantilly). And we brought plenty back in the car, the weight of our suitcases not being a handicap to our purchasing ability.
And finally, on our last full day we took a day-long Flanders Fields tour around the battlefields of the First World War. Our guide was Philippe of Quasimodo Tours (quasimodo.be), a local man whose relatives fought 100 years ago.
It was a moving and thought-provoking day: putting the historical facts into perspective against the landscape, seeing the Tyne Cot Cemetery, the largest Commonwealth military cemetery in the world and the final resting place for nearly 12,000 soldiers from the First World War, many of them unknown, and the Brooding Soldier, a 35 ft-high memorial featuring a Canadian soldier.
Why most of the people on the bus opted not to pay an extra ten euros a head to stay in Ypres for the Last Post ceremony at the Menin Gate was beyond me.
Condor Ferries operate up to three sailings a day in the summer months from Jersey to St Malo with prices starting from £43.75pp based on a car and two passengers each way.
Upgrades to Ocean Club start from £7.50pp where you’ll set sail in a private lounge with leather reclining seats and tables.
Having had dinner in the town, we joined the early crowds to secure a front-row view of the ceremony. It was busy as it was the eve of Anzac Day. Visiting Maoris sang, and eight buglers played the Last Post, tears in their eyes.
It was the culmination of an emotional and educational day and you were left reflecting about the huge losses on both sides.
As our week’s holiday drew to a close, we started our journey home. We loaded up the car and looked at the map. After a quick internet search to see what we were likely to find in a small town we were on our way to Bernay in France. It was the perfect pretty place to stop over. We stretched our legs with a wander around the quiet streets, with old wood-fronted buildings.
Again, we found a two-star hotel, the Lion d’Or. Our room overlooking the car park at the back was, I think, the quietest hotel room I have ever stayed in.
The final leg of the drive was easy… another three hours or so at a leisurely pace, to reach St Malo for lunch. Here, moules and frites were half the price of the Bruges market place, and twice as tasty. I think sometimes we forget how lucky we are having such a wonderful French town on our doorstep.
