While traveling in Belgium, we decided to go to the city of Bruges.  Beautiful and relaxing Bruges is in the West Flanders province in the Flemish (Dutch speaking) region of Belgium. You can also find a welcoming atmosphere, comforting local food, and of course chocolate in various shapes and forms!

As detailed in my most recent post, we similarly took the train from the town of Liege to Bruges. It took about under three hours to get there and it costs about 44 Euros roundtrip.

I really appreciated exploring this city and the cobbled streets to take-in the architecture. After exploring the city and the various shops, we decided to get a bite to eat. There are a lot of restaurants and café’s here, but I find it’s always good to try a place that includes some local dishes to see what the region offers.

We decided to check out the restaurant Maria Van Bourgoundie which had traditional Belgian fare.

CHICKEN WATERZOOI

I opted for a lighter dish of the chicken waterzooi which is a stew dish and was originally made with fish. Today, using chicken is much more common. The dish consisted of chicken, a thickened vegetable broth, cream, egg yolk, and vegetables. The vegetables included: carrots, onions, celery, leeks, and some potatoes along with many different types of herbs.

 

I really liked this dish and thought it was perfect for a somewhat breezy and chilly day. The stew was not overwhelmingly rich, but had the right balance of flavors and after I finished it, I felt satiated and not overly full. I also always love the combination of the vegetables in this dish, so this was a winner for me.

CARBONADE FLAMANDE

My boyfriend ordered the Carbonande flamande, a traditional dish offered in Belgium. It’s a hearty beef and onion stew made with beer and is often accompanied with frites (or fries) or potatoes. He also paired the dish with a Belgian beer (of course) Kasteel. I don’t drink beer, but I’ve always heard Belgian beers are quite rich and have some of the best beers in the world (per my boyfriend, lol).

This dish is quite rich, but very flavorful and you can most definitely taste the bold flavor of beer infused throughout the meat and sauce. Thyme, bay leaves, and mustard accompany the dish. The dish has a slightly sour and sweet flavor. After eating this dish, you might want to go for a walk to loosen the tightness in your belly : )

After grabbing lunch, we decided to walk around the town to visit the various shops and the Markt square. There are a ton of shops to choose from and there are a lot of cute little trinkets and other things to pick-up for your friends and loved ones. Items in the shops were also reasonably priced.

 

Bruges is also known for their water canals. It’s quite lovely to view the many boats passing by. You’ll also see people being taken by horse carriage around the town. Tremendously cute and quaint!

Also, we happened to stop by a little park area where there were so many swans! I’ve never seen so many swans in one place.

 

To sum up, if you happen to be or are traveling to Belgium, Bruges is a great place to explore. Even though there are tourists here, it’s not quite as touristy as bigger cities such as Brussels. The town also has a very calming atmosphere and was one of the highlights of my trip.

Restaurant details:

Maria van Bourgondie

Guido Gezelleplein 1, Bruges 8000, Belgium

 

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