Zeebruggee, Belgium

Tulips blooming in Bruges

Madonna and Child and nesting bird

The best ports are those that accumulate happy moments, and Zeebruggee had many happy moments. We always like to be able to use the public transportation to get from the port to the center of town. There was a bus shuttle we paid to ride for about 15 minutes to get from the ship to the train station and from there we rode a typical European train 11 minutes to Bruges.

There was a group of seven of us for a while. We walked about 10 minutes from the station, enjoying the architecture, gardens and people as we traveled. Then we reached the chocolate shops, one after another, after another. Such lovely smells and sights! If only I could still eat chocolate! But I do like to look at it.

Soon we came to the church everyone said we had to see. It was an interesting church, but we almost missed the major attraction. There is a Madonna and Child statue by Michelangelo, one of his few works outside of Italy. There is a quality to his work that is difficult to describe, but somehow his work makes the stone come alive.

Before we knew it, it was time for lunch. Most of the group were happy to sit at a sidewalk café, but there was nothing on the menu that appealed to us. Jerry stood up and said he was going back to get a sandwich he had seen in a shop window, so I went with him. Good thing! The bread makes the sandwich and we each had wonderful ones, standing at a counter with a bunch of teenagers.

Then we walked back to the Market Square where we had separated from the group. We saw more teenagers eating Frites, so we stood in line to get a paper container filled with Belgian Fries – not French as one of our friends mistakenly tried to order. We ate the hot, delicious fries standing in the square with more teenagers.

More walking and window shopping along the main street with many other people of all ages. Jerry thought a cup of coffee would be good, so we started looking for a place to get a real café. We saw a charming little shop and vegan eating was forgotten! Jerry had an excellent cup of coffee and I had a pastry that was mostly whipped cream and cherries. It was so good I didn’t even mind feeling sick for a little while – in fact, it was worth it!

As we headed back to the station, we saw a park full of tulips in bloom, another delightful park along a canal with banks lined with white swans, one of which was sitting on her nest. Then Jerry spotted another statue of the Madonna with the bird’s nest.

Back in plenty of time, having eaten our way through Bruges.