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The Windmills Aren't Just In Your Mind In Bruges

We knew there were canals in Bruges, of course. We knew there were old buildings. We knew there were chocolates, too. Something we weren’t aware of, though? Windmills.

It was as we were wandering round the east part of the old town that we suddenly found ourselves at the end of a street with a slight hill in front of us. And when we looked round, we saw a windmill. And, a little further on, another one.

For €2, we climbed the 34 steps into the first one. Turned out we were in the Sint-Janhuysmill, built in 1770. The mill mound, though, was first established in 1297. What’s more, there used to be no fewer than 29 mills in Bruges.

But history aside, what was spectacular about the mill was the view. From up on high, we could see not only the main canal acting as a moat around the city, but the entire skyline of the old town as well, all high pitched terracotta roofs and church spires (yes, the rumors are correct. Bruges has a lot of churches).

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One Reason Bachelorettes Might Want to Hit Up Bruges

Belgium: the dull country, right? All gloomy grey skies and dreary towns, a country so boring they had to make chocolate and beer to keep the inhabitants from self-immolating?

Well, Belgium sees your derision and raises you… chocolate genitalia. In three flavors.

Yup, so dulled were our senses by every other shop in Bruges being a chocolate shop, that it took a few seconds to realise what we were staring at here. But lo, it has just about every primary and secondary sex organ that a bachelor/ette partier would need. And we're sure we want to know what "zachte tietjes" translate as.

If only we’d had the foresight to buy these for our Vegas trip this week.

Chocolate Travel / Food Travel / Bruges Travel / Belgium Travel / Travel Tips / → All Tags

Your Essential Kit for Buying Chocolate in Belgium: A Cool Bag

In Bruges, you want to eat chocolate, of course. And, back from Bruges, you want to carry on eating chocolate. Just one problem: as you’re hauling it back across continents and timezones, you don’t want it to melt, because melted chocolate is gross, wasted chocolate.

Which is why, when you make your rounds of the genius chocolatiers of Bruges, every time you buy, you’ll be offered a cool bag, too. In weather similar to that at the moment—the low 70s—all you need to do is put your chocs in the bag. If it gets hotter (and trust us, there’s no chance of that at the moment), just throwing in a cold can of drink will be enough to cool it for the journey home.

There is a catch, of course; you have to pay for the bags, with most shops selling them for between 1 and 2 euros. But, having seen our boxes emerge unscathed from six hours in our sweaty suitcase, we can vouch for them being more than worth it.

And Belgian chocolate really does live up to its reputation. That we can also vouch for.

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Bruges' Most Famous Son is a Bit Furrier Than You'd Expect

Guido Gezelle, the Flemish poet. Philip I of Castile, Spain’s first Habsburg ruler. Tony Parker, the marriage wrecker basketball player. It’s fair to say that Bruges hasn’t given birth to many A listers.

But do not fear, because these days there’s a celeb who not only lives in Bruges but appears daily for photograph sessions with his fans. He even made a cameo appearance in In Bruges.

His name is Fidel, he’s a golden Labrador, and he lives at the Côté Canal bed and breakfast overlooking the main canal. But he’s better known as “that dog who’s in every person who goes to Bruges’ photo album”.

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What's the Best Way to See Bruges? On a Boat, Duh.

One of the first things you’ll be told when you go to Bruges is that Bruges is small. It’s walkable. It may look big on a map but you can walk from one end to the other in 20 minutes.

That may be, but even when a city’s as pretty and tiny and walkable as Bruges, sometimes it’s nice just to sit back and be ferried around the place. Andthe best way of being ferried around in Bruges is the literal way—in a small canal boat.

From the canal, you get a totally different perspective than from the shore—and you also get a brilliant part canned, part live commentary (in three languages), pointing out the main sights of the town—as well as tiny details like the smallest window (about 10in high, on a huge building) and even a local dog which likes to hang out of a canalside window and look photogenic.

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Summer in Bruges Means Free Tango in the Fish Market

It’s the type of thing you’d expect to see in Buenos Aires, or even Seville, but not in Belgium. And definitely not in a fish market in Belgium.

Yet as we were walking along the canal in Bruges last night, we were drawn to the Vismarkt by the twinkling music of the tango. When we got there, we found the cobbles had been covered over with board, and ladies and gents were getting all dressed up, heels and flowers in their hair and everything, and dancing.

Turns out it’s the idea of a tango school owner. During the year, Pasos de Brujas holds lessons in the classroom, but every Sunday in July and August, they spill out into the Vismarkt, and anyone—whether or not you’re a pupil at the school—can join in.

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Budget Dining in Bruges Ain't All That Bad

Europe can get damned expensive these days. The Euro is continually killing the dollar, hotel prices are just as high as ever, and well...beer doesn't grow on trees. Thus, it's perfectly okay to go the cheapie route and think back to your glory days backpacking the south of France or the north Holland or wherever and seek out the stops that leave you with some money left over for a waffle or two. Or three.

Our picks for the best budget dining and imbibing in Bruges, Belgium:

Where to eat:
· Bierbrasserie Cambrinus: The second we walked by its historical facade, warm-lit interior and menu boasting Belgian specialties, we knew we'd have to have dinner here. That said, it's not a restaurant that takes advantage of tourists; the menu is in many languages, but the prices are low and the food is scrumptious and plentiful. We recommend the eels on toast for an appetizer, and the hare with potato croquettes and homed applesauce for an entree. And any beer is good. cambrinus.eu. Philipstockstraat 19.
· Assiette Blanche: Just like what we did with the hotel listings above, this second item is the more expensive. Assiette Blanche is for a special occasion, or if you're looking to experience some of the culinary awesomeness that this part of Belgium is known for offering—like shrimp croquettes with foie gras mousse. They offer a 3-course dinner menu for around 35 Euros, so a good value for a fancy place. It's actually just down the street from Cambrinus, so if one doesn't look good, you aren't walking far for the other. assietteblanche.be. Philipstockstraat 23-25.

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Foreign Grocery Friday: Chicken-Flavor Chips in Belgium

When we travel, one of our favorite things to do is to pop into a local grocery store and check out the food products and candies we'd never find anywhere else. So we're trying out this new feature, Foreign Grocery Friday, where each week we'll feature some of our (and your) favorite overseas treats. Got a recommendation? Let us know!

Why is it that the United States just can't be onboard with new chip flavors? Overseas, you'll find a rainbow of flavor options, including our personal favorites like prawn cocktail, paprika, and ham. Instead, we're stuck with the basics and we here at Jaunted are tired of it. Thus, you'll find us raiding the chip aisles when we travel. Recently, we had a love affair with chicken-flavored chips, especially those found at Belgian Match grocery stores. This is their story.

The Taste:
You know how drool-inducingly awesome a room smells when a chicken is being roasted with thyme? That's how these chips taste. They are mildly greasy as they are not baked, but the fact that they are cooked in sunflower oil help a tad in keeping them lean. The chicken and thyme flavor is a merely a hint, with enough original potato chip flavor to keep you munching through a whole bag without getting sick of them.

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Where To Sleep, Eat, Drink and Sightsee in Bruges, Belgium

We took this with our iPhone and made it sepia. Awesome, huh?

As awesome as America is for road trips, and as much as we love hitting the European capitals, it sure is a breath of fresh air to head out to a smaller city—one perhaps with a preserved medieval quaintness and yet still very connected to the rest of the world. This we found in Bruges, Belgium.

The town is a mere 45-minute inexpensive train ride north from Brussels Gare-du-Midi, and once there, you need not set foot in another vehicle again until you depart; the whole town is extremely walkable, so long as you like cobblestones and bridges over canals. It's also an affordable place to spend a few nights—although we recommend avoiding the months between April and September, when the town is packed with tourists in the day and prices are hiked.

Last month we headed to Bruges for some time in the city during a time of the year when the streets are more full of locals than tourists, and thus we freely roamed around the best places for the best deals, and we'll share our tips with you after the jump!

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The Case of the Belgian Coffeehouse That Twitter-Stalked Us

Last month, when we were in Belgium, we were internet-stalked by the coffeehouse you see above—the one with the American flag over the doorway. From the moment we tweeted that we were Bruges-bound from Brussels, the "Bean Around the World" coffeehouse latched onto us via Twitter and immediately got our attention by replying back, out of the blue:

enjoy Bruges - why not stop at our American coffee house? located at Genthof 5 (at Van Eyckplein)

WHOA! That is some serious Twitter and tourism synergy at work right there, and it totally impressed us. We did stop into Bean Around the World eventually for a few drinks, because the fact that they tweeted at us led us to believe that they had free WiFi, which they did, along with free newspapers and a cute little location. Not every restaurant or cafe should tweet at people like this because it could get spammy real quick, but for such a small town with limited coffeehouses and free wifi spots, it was perfect.

So we're wondering...have you ever been Twitter-stalked? Was it a pleasant or unwelcome surprise and did you actually end up spending money at the place? And don't forget that you can Twitter stalk us all you want here.

Related Stories:
· Bean Around the World [Twitter]
· Bean Around the World [Facebook]
· Twitter in travel [Jaunted]

[Photo: Jaunted]