Brugge We'd run out of Belgian beer so we thought we could sneak in a quick overnight trip to Brugge during the Christmas break (our fourth visit to Brugge in 2015).
Eurotunnel Monday - We'd cancelled our Eurotunnel frequent traveller ticket earlier in the year due to the frequent disruption of their services over the summer, so this was our first forray with them for seven months. Unfortunately, while we were waiting to board the train we were told that a train had stopped in the Tunnel and our departure would be delayed by around three hours. This was not helping to rebuild our confidence in the service. Also, a three hour delay would put us perilously close to missing our dinner reservation in Brugge.To their credit, Eurotunnel did manage to get us onto a train a mere 80 minutes later than scheduled.
Eurotunnel We ended up in the bit of the train reserved for coaches and caravans and the like. This was only the second time we'd ever travelled in this bit. But we didn't care which bit we were in so long as we were on our way.
Crowne Plaza We checked into the Crowne Plaza with about 90 minutes to spare before our dinner reservation. They had kindly upgraded us from a standard room to this Medieval Suite in the roof of the old building.
Medieval Suite There were the stairs down the the other floor of our suite. Awesome. It's a shame we were only staying for one night (although I suspect that if we'd been staying for more than one night we wouldn't have got the upgrade).
Snuffel Bar With an hour to spare before dinner we decided to check out the new Snuffel Bar. Apart from being a nice place for a beer, it also appears to be tremendous value for money. These two beers cost just over £4!
Snuffel Bar Here's Judith in the Snuffel Bar.
Ribs 'n' Beer Our reservation in Ribs 'n' Beer was at 17:45 (it was the only slot left for the whole week when we booked), which was a bit odd as the sign outside said they didn't open until 6pm. Fortunately while we were standing around wondering what to do they opened the front door, so we went in. As you can see from this photo, we were the first people in and had the place to ourselves. That didn't last long though.
Ribs 'n' Beer Fifteen minutes later and they were rammed and turning people away every few minutes. During the time we were in there they must have turned away at least thirty people. If you're planning to go to Ribs 'n' Beer (and you should be if you're visiting Brugge) a reservation is absolutely essential.Three racks of ribs later (one full rack and two refills) and we were ready for a bit of a walk.
Grote Markt On the way back to the hotel we walked through the Grote Markt, which was looking very colourful.
Burg There was a pretty Christmas tree in the Burg outside our hotel.We managed to stay up for a beer in the hotel's bar before flaking out in our excellent suite.
Brewery Tuesday - We skipped breakfast so that we would enjoy our lunch of beef stew in the Henri Maes Brewery even more. After lunch we went on a beer shopping mission, visiting two supermarkets and the excellent Bottle Shop.
Beer And here are the fruits of our efforts in the boot of Judith's Mini. That will hopefully keep us going for a bit.The Eurotunnel was working properly on the way home, which was nice. And so ended an excellent 24 hour trip to Brugge.