Beer With The Locals...

Brugge, Belgium

December 19, 2007
N51°12.520
W003°13.486

Since we struck out on the local brewery tour yesterday, we made sure to wake up early enough to catch the 11 AM tour. Originally, we wanted to join the afternoon tour to avoid drinking beer before noon. I always feel like a loser when I drink beer before five o’clock, but as Marc says… it’s always beer-thirty somewhere.

The tour was fun and since we weren’t ready to go back out into the cold, we decided to enjoy a pint of unfiltered blonde Brugse Zot. It was still cold outside, so after we finished the blonde we figured we better try the Brugse Zot brown. After our second pint, and feeling much warmer, we were ready to brave the cold.

We made our way to Brugge’s infamous Church of Our Lady where there’s a beautiful and rare sculpture of Madonna and Baby created by Michelangelo. The sculpture is the only Michelangelo outside of Italy and was a reminder of our days traveling through the great churches and museums of Rome.

After lunch at the Market Square we decided to warm up again and scope-out one of the pubs recommended in our Rick Steve’s guidebook. De Garre is hidden down a little alley and up a few steep steps. The cozy, little, pub has a half a dozen tables downstairs and a few more upstairs. We were lucky enough to snag a table located in front of the bar that seats four.

As the afternoon wore on, we tried a winter beer on tap and the bar’s personal label; both very tasty, traditional Belgium beers. The tables quickly filled up as people out shopping ducked into the bar to warm-up for awhile and we offered to share our table with a local couple who took a day trip into Brugge.

Jef and Erna live nearby in Middelkerke which is located right on the North Sea. We talked to them over another beer, shared our story and learned about their family and grandchildren (three girls, ages 12, 7 and 5). After a couple beers and some great conversation Jef and Erna invited us to see their home and to enjoy dinner with them. We were a little hesitant at first, not wanting to impose, but then figured they were such nice people—why not???

We headed off in Jef and Erna’s car through city streets, onto a highway and then along the very dark coastline of the foreboding North Sea. When we arrived at their home, a condo on the top floor of a building overlooking the sea, we had sweeping views of the sea and the casino below. The casino lights illuminated the sea behind it, making it possible to see the waves crashing against the sea wall. Their home was beautiful and decorated nicely for Christmas with a beautiful tree in the center of the bay windows.

After an aperitif and more wonderful conversation, we headed across the street to the casino for dinner. Jef and Erna recommended the chef’s choice of the day—fresh fish right out of the North Sea. We all enjoyed our meal and conversation about the United States, Spain, Belgium and travel, in general. We encouraged Jef and Erna to come and visit us in San Francisco and since they enjoy casinos, they should add Las Vegas to the trip. Hopefully, sometime in 2009 since their 2008 calendar is already full, we’ll be able to welcome Jef and Erna to our home in San Francisco.

After dinner we jumped back in the car for the 20K drive back to Brugge. We made sure to snap a few pictures with our new friends outside of our hotel before they headed home. It was a very special evening with wonderful people… people we hope to see again.