Bruges is a wonderful city with a history that dates back more than 800 years. Despite its decline as a world trade center during the last two hundred years, the city fathers have done an excellent job of preserving its many great houses, canals and city plazas. When the Regatta pulled into the port of Zeebrugge there was no doubt in our mind that we wanted to go see the old town again. We had a choice to get from the port of Zeebrugge to Old Town: take the ship's tour for $89 per person, a taxi for about $140 round trip, or walk to the train station and do the ten minute train ride for about $8 round trip. What would you do?

The tide was out and the wide beach deserted, but it was clear that we were heading in the right direction. Then we saw the overhead electric wiring indicating passenger train tracks and the tunnel that led us to the small platform. There were a few others waiting including a nice local lady who gave us some suggestions about Bruges and where to get off. The train was on time, of course, and we paid the conductor 2.5 euros for the one way ride to town.

When we left the station in Bruges we noticed hundreds of bicycles parked in front of us. To the left of this was the crossing that would take us to the start of the Bruges Walking Tour, a description of a walk that I had put together earlier this year. The tour description turned out to be quite accurate and certainly a nice way to see parts of the old town where not too many tourists crowded the narrow streets. I don't want to repeat what I had shown before, but let me add the following pictures and descriptions.

Towards the end of Minnewater you will see a street to your left with some beautiful brick buildings. As yet I am not sure if this is a commercial or residential area. To the right of this street you can also see a gate. This is the back entrance to the Bequinage. I suggest that you continue straight, go around Wijngaardplein and cross the bridge. Now enter through the main gate. It is more scenic and interesting. Just inside is a small museum and a description of the current residents.

Notice the three tittles for the Beguinale House. The first is Dutch or Flemish, the second French. This is common in the northern part of Belgium; just like the name Brugge and Bruges are both used by the city. Again you will see that the language of the Netherlands combines words to make one long one. In this case the ending 'je' indicates a small house.

We returned to the Wijngaardplein with a nice restaurant and the horse fountain. As we continued our walk, we came to the entrance of the Stoofstraat. You can see narrow alley to the right. But if you look left you will also see a quaint yellow house tucked away in the corner of this little square.

The St. John hospital complex was an interesting place to see. We went around the museum part and went through this alley to see the back yard. I asked an attendant and found out that the various buildings on either side are now used for conferences and a small museum. Then we crossed the street to see the Madonna and Child sculpture by Michelangelo in the Church of our Lady.

I now realize that the little bridge behind the Gruuthuis may be a bit hard to find. To be sure, there is a small walkway and an arched passage that you have to go through. The picture below was taken from the other side. It clearly shows the private crossing that was used by the residents of the Gruuthuis to go to church. After crossing the bridge and turning left we had a nice view of the Gruuthuisstraat across the canal.

As we walked along the Dijver canal and saw the old warehouses and more tour boats pass by, we knew we had to do that also. But first we had lunch at one of the outdoor restaurants. "Mussels are not in season", someone said, but how come I had a bucket full cooked in white wine with herbs along with those wonderful Belgian fries and a local beer to drown them all?

A boat tour covers a few of the places we walked but it gives you a totally different perspective. You tend to look up and see more of the bridges and buildings along the edge of the canal. The tour also extended further north and east from our walking path. So it is a great and relaxing way to see more of Bruges.

When we reached the Markt, the main town square, four of us had to climb to the top of the Belfry, the tall tower with its carillon that we heard from far away. It was a long way up, 366 steps to be exact, and the spiral got narrower and narrower so that people coming down had to press their body against the outside wall to let us pass. Coming down was even more scary. But the view from the top was worth it.

Finally we strolled along the Steenstraat but did not go all the way back to the train station. Our friends Jerry and Lorraine had gone their way but were going to meet us back at the Markt to join us taking a taxi back to the ship. We had proven the point that the train was a definite way to go to Bruges at a much better price. Yet, it would be a lot better if our cruise ship company would provide a shuttle to the station for those of us who like to travel independently. Several other cruise lines are doing just that.

Our next port would be Amsterdam.