The Port of Zeebrugge is a 30 minute drive away from Bruges so I took the easy option of booking myself on the "Bruges on your own" excursion. Basically just a coach ride to and from the outskirts of the city where all coaches have to stop and then a guide who walks the party into the city centre and makes sure we all know the meeting point and time for the return journey. Although this is an expensive way of doing things it does ensure that if there are any delays with the return journey that the ship will wait.
It was a 9am start and as I walked onto the gangway I was hit with a blast of arctic air. Boy, was it a cold morning, but more importantly it was dry. Bruges is known as a place where you can experience four seasons in one day and more often than not that means it is raining! Today it looked as if we were to be spared the onslaught from the skies. And so our coach whisked us into Bruges with the guide, Valerie, regailing us with facts along the way. We left the coach at Kanaaleiland and walked across the bridge into Minnewater Park. The ground was covered with a thick carpet of golden leaves which crunched and crunched as we walked across them. One of those sounds which makes you remember a certain place at a certain time.
As always the swans were a'swimming in the Lake of Love.
On reaching Walplein Square our guide drummed the meeting time of 3.45pm into us. Do NOT be late - she would NOT wait. And then we were off - all in different directions to do our own thing for the next 6 hours. There were two "must do" things on my itinerary today - 1) a visit to the Old Chocolate House to sample "to die for" hot chocolate & 2) to seek out Maria Devlieghere's teddy bear shop tucked away in the back alleys of Bruges. But first, a quick hop to The Belfry in the main square where the only public loos in town are to be found.
Finding the Old Chocolate House proved suprisingly easy. What an utterly charming little building with its shop window stacked full of mouth watering delights.
The Tea Room and Chocolatiere are on the first floor up a very steep flight of very shallow stairs. I picked my way up very carefully but at the top there was a bend in the stairs and somehow or another I completely missed a step. To my utter embarrassment I ended up on my knees on the landing with everyone staring at me. How I hate making an entrance! Oh well, stand up, dust myself off and act as if nothing has happened.
The Tea Room is small and cosy, packed tight with tables covered with delicately patterned tablecloths.
The stained glass windows picture scenes of merchants from years gone by.
The menu lists 27 different types of Hot Chocolate drinks and I plumped for the 70% Ecuadorian choc combined with ginger and chilli. Well, it was a very cold day outside. Now the experience comes in HOW the drinks are served. A huge bowl of steaming milk provides the base. Served separately, on a small fancy cake stand, comes a cup made of chocolate & filled with chocolate beans topped with whatever flavours have been ordered - in my case crystallised ginger and chilli flakes. Next to these came an iced biscuit and an individual milk chocolate square. The idea is to chuck the chocolate and flavourings into the steaming milk and whisk it up until it melts - the amount added is up to personal taste. I decided to go for it and chucked the whole chocolate cup and ALL of its flavourings into the milk. To sweeten the resulting drink I went one further and chucked the biscuit and individual chocolate in as well. Lots of whisking later and I was left with a drink like I have never tasted before - quite heavenly!!!! The cost was 6 Euros but well worth it for the atmosphere and entire experience. Of course, I should have taken a photo of the makings of the drink as soon as they were delivered to my table but in my excitement I forgot. All I can offer is a photo taken downstairs inside the chocolate shop itself.
Now to the best part of the day - off down the alleyways in search of Bear Necessities.
I found it without too much trouble - although to be honest I very nearly walked straight past. I entered through a creaking door and heard a bell ringing somewhere deep inside the house. Not that the bell was needed on this particular day because Mr. Devlieghere was behind the counter chattering away to a young couple. Half of the shop appeared to be stocked with Steiff bears and my heart dropped. I have no interest at all in this overpriced product - they all look the same and none have any individual character. Admittedly antique Steiff's are a different matter, but these were all the modern day variety. As I turned around to face the old fireplace my heart lifted. A whole row of handmade, individually styled bears.
My eyes were immediately drawn to a bear with immense character. There he was sitting in the middle of the fire mantel with his head cocked at a rather jaunty angle and a quizzicle look in his eye. Everything else in the shop disappeared from view. This was the bear for me. Please let him be priced at an amount I could afford. Gingerly I opened the little label hanging around his neck. His name was "Earl", he was a limited edition, and he was No 2 of only 5. Best of all, the price was affordable. Taking him down from his perch we had a hushed conversation and I learned that he would be happy to accompany me on my cruise and then be taken home to live with the other bears in the World of Worle. I think he was half hoping that there might be a spare lady bear lurking in my glass cabinet but I had to disallusion him on that point. No spare bears there.
Mr. Devlieghere was still nattering away but not to worry as I was in no hurry. Eventually I was allowed to buy "Earl" and it was pointed out that he was handmade, that he was a limited edition Knarf Bear and that he had been made by Marie Devlieghere. Enchanting. He was mine. When I left the little shop I felt as if I was walking on air. A good bear shop can make you feel like this!
A packed lunch was had in the Burg before heading off & exploring all the roads which led off from the Markt. By 2pm I was exhausted! Although it was really far too early to head back to the Walplein I felt I needed to reassure myself that I knew the way. In fact, if I had left it to the last minute, I would indeed have got lost. Thankfully I had all the time needed to reacquaint myself with the area and eventually fell upon the tiny, narrow alleyway which took me back into the square. I was reminded that there was a beautiful hat shop in the square back in 2012 when I was last here. Was it this one?
No it was not. This shop does have the most beautiful hats & scarves hand crocheted by the lovely dumpy Belgian owner. I tried one hat on but the style and colour just did not suit. I left in search of more hat shops.
It was there on the other side of the square that I fell upon the shop I sought. Small and cramped but stacked full of felt, wool and linen creations. I spent a good half hour trying on hats. The only trouble was that the one I liked best was labelled as having been made in England! Pointless spending my Euros on that. Then on the way out I spotted some brightly coloured 1920s style hats. Just what I was after. The pink & black creation matched my jacket, fitted my head and was purchased.
There was still 30 minutes to waste before the meet-up time so I headed back out of the square to the area where I had originally lost my bearings. I thought I had noticed a shop window with some bears in it - could I find the shop again? As it happened, yes I could. There it was on the other side of the road. But the bears in the window were characterless and not to my taste. I wonder if the inside had anything better to offer?
Climbing the steps to the entrance I pushed open the door and found myself in a Christmas Wonderland. Shelves stacked floor to ceiling with delightful seasonal items. And there, down near the floor on a low shelf behind a table I spied a row of Lady Bears. It was obvious from first glance that they too were handmade. Delightful bears attired in beautiful clothes. I could hear Earl telling me not to leave the shop without finding him a lady companion! What could I do? The minutes were ticking by and there was no time to spare. All the ladies were nice but there was only one which stood out from that bench of wallflowers - Chinouk. She was the one for me (or to be more precise - the one for Earl). She was purchased in record quick time before I flew back to the square for the meet-up time of 3.45. Needless to say 3 people were tardy with their time keeping but they made it back just as we were about to move off with our guide, Valerie. We were the last coach to make it back to the ship that day.
My present from P&O was a half bottle of champagne, a plate of chocolates, and a birthday card from the Captain. Bubbles and Bears in Belgium - what a super 70th. Birthday.
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