Rajeev's World: Brussels

Showing posts with label Brussels. Show all posts

Monday, July 27, 2015

Vaarwel Brugge...

Earlier today, we said farewell to Bruges.
This visit to Bruges was an exciting one, despite the fact that rain played spoilsport multiple times botching our plans to visit local museums and cathedrals. But we did have an amazing time exploring the Markt, cycling down to Damme, the boat ride on the canal and the lovely dinner that followed.

As we sat down to have breakfast this morning the lovely sights of Bruges flashed in our minds. Indeed after the washout of this trip we vowed to return soon.

Our hotel was located along one of the most picturesque canals in the peaceful old quarter of St.Gillis, between the Augustine Bridge and the Tower Bridge. This building was once a warehouse for goods that were brought in on the canals. The oldest reference to this building dates to 1470...

The basement of the building has a beautiful vaulted cellar that is believed to be older than the upper floors. Today the cellar has been modelled into a restaurant that serves as a magnificent setting for breakfast, overlooking the canal...

A short 10 minute taxi ride with an elderly taxi driver brought us to the railway station from where boarded our train to Brussels - Bruxelles-Midi station. We were quite tired and we slept through the journey...

Arriving at Bruxelles-Midi station...

In about 30 minutes, we boarded our Thalys high speed train from Bruxelles-Midi station, headed to Paris, Gare du Nord. Thankfully, we weren't too sleepy and we could make full use of the complimentary on-board wifi service...

As we get ready to say goodbye to Belgium, we wish we are able to come back again and explore more of this country. Till then, goodbye...

Sunday, July 26, 2015

In Bruges...

Years ago, there was a Hollywood crime-comedy release, In Bruges, starring Ralph Fiennes, Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson. The movie was clear - you could either love Bruges or you could hate Bruges. There are no mixed emotions about the city

Taking cue from the movie and inspired by some friends, we decided to spend a day in Bruges or Brugge, as the locals call it.

And so we checked out of Rue de Turin very early, at 4 AM this morning to head to Gare du Nord, to catch our Thalys train to Brussels. With around 190 million per year, Gare du Nord is the busiest railway station in Europe...

Extremely tired from all the gallivanting around Paris yesteryear at the Basilique du Sacré-Cœur, Pigalle, Tour Montparnasse during evening and at dusk, enjoying the views of the Eiffel Tower at dusk and then ending the at the Arc de Triomphe de l'Étoile, we slept all through the journey of an hour and a half to Brussels, in Belgium...
We were woken up as the train rolled into Bruxelles Midi (as it is called in French) or Brussel-Zuid (in Dutch). The train journey from Paris to Brussels was very smooth, as smooth as suburban travel, and we did not realise we had crossed borders. Travel here is without the hassle of immigration and passport control, thanks to the Schengen arrangement the European countries have...
We had 30 minutes to kill at the station, and it was quite windy and cold. We had to have something warm - we headed to the nearest cafe to have a cup of black and a croissant...

Our SNCB train to Bruges started dot on time. Through the hour long journey we passed through the Belgian countryside...

And finally our train rolled into Bruge, or Brugge as the Dutch call it...

Bruges is the capital and largest city of the West Flanders province in the Flemish Region of Belgium. Belgium is a unique country with an amalgam of multiple European cultures and ethnicities. It has three official languages - French, Dutch and German...

From the station we took the local bus, Bus No. 13 to Kipstraat in the heart of the heritage area from where it was a short 5 minute walk to our hotel...