Long Weekend in Belgium - November 2007 (by Adam)

Friday, 9 November 2007

We left Waterloo Station on the 7.45am Eurostar to Brussels. This was no mean feat, given that Cat had arrived home from work only 2 hours earlier. So much for the global credit crunch and quieter times in banking and finance. We were at the Gare Midi station in Brussels within a couple of hours, and after collecting our hire car, we were in Bruges before midday.

We checked into our hotel, the Hotel de Tuilerieen (http://www.hoteltuilerieen.com/index.php?p=/nl/home/), a fantastic little hotel on one of Bruges' canals. We had a really brilliant room, which overlooked the canal.

Our room...

The view from our room...

Despite having only managed a few minutes of sleep on the Eurostar, Cat soldiered on like a real trooper, and we headed out to explore Bruges. It really is a stunning town, and we spent the afternoon walking its cobbled streets, fuelled by a combination of frittes and Belgian chocolates.

Bruges...

We then returned to our hotel for an early evening power nap, before heading out for a traditional Belgian dinner (soup then mussels for Cat, croquettes then steak and frittes for me, all washed down with some great Belgian beer).

Saturday, 10 November 2007

We had a bit of a sleep in, but had still checked out of our hotel by soon after 10.00am, and were in Ypres about an hour later.

Ypres...

After a quick crepe breakfast, we visited the Menin Gate, upon which are carved the names of 55,000 Commonwealth soldiers who died in the Ypres Salient area and who have no known graves.

The Menin Gate...

We then drove around the Flanders battlefields for the next few hours, with stops at Langemark cemetary (where over 44,000 German soldiers are buried or commemorated) and Tyne Cot cemetary (where over 45,000 Commonwealth soldiers are buried or commemorated). It was a particularly poignant time to visit these places, being the day before Rememberance Day.

Langemark cemetary...

Tyne Cot cemetary...

We then returned to Brussels and, after about an hour of driving around Brussels with absolutely no idea of where we were, we somehow managed to return our hire car at the Gare Midi station. We then jumped in a cab to our hotel, Le Meridien Brussels (http://www.starwoodhotels.com/lemeridien/property/overview/index.html?propertyID=1914&EM=VTY_LM_brussels_1914_overview), and after freshening up, met up with my dad, who was coicidentally in Brussels for work. We had a great dinner at a very traditional Belgian restaurant (snails then steak and frittes for my dad and I, soup then fish for Cat, and again, all washed down with some great Belgian beer), before going for a stroll through the Old Town, including the Grand Place, which is beautifully lit at night.

Sunday, 11 November 2007

We had another sleep in and checked out of our hotel just before 11.00am. After another crepe breakfast, we spent the day exploring the Old Town and a couple of museums.

The Grand Place...

Rue de Bouchers...

Galeries St Hubert...

The Manneken Pis...

The Mont des Arts...

The Royal Palace...

We then collected our bags from the hotel and caught a cab across to the Gare Midi station for our 6.00pm Eurostar back to London. We were disembarking in Waterloo within a couple of hours. Another great European long weekend.