Visiting Magical Brugge

Visiting magical Brugge was certainly a beautiful traveling destination. This enchanting little town brings all the warming things into one. Good food, coffee, chocolates and an awing view to boot. November was a great time to visit since it was not that cold or too busy just yet. Traveling with a baby certainly made things more challenging, but so worth it still. All things considered, it was very, Lekker indeed!

I don’t get disappointed much, just because I have accepted that somethings in life just don’t work out the way you expect them to. Especially with a baby!

Brugge, Belgium. Arrival 4:30 Monday afternoon. Walking vastly towards our Airbnb apartment, passing by chattering teenagers catching a few words of the dialogue they speak. This was one of the reasons why we came to Belgium. The language was a big pull point for my husband, because why wouldn’t you want to go somewhere where they speak somewhat close to your language and to experience a place close to home, but yet, it was not like home at all. Exited, tired and anticipating all that this magical town has to offer. My husband usually does the vacation planning, so that means that everything is usually planned down to a T. I am somewhat less prepared whereas he is over prepared. I don’t get disappointed much, just because I have accepted that somethings in life just don’t work out the way you expect them to. Especially with a baby!

One thing that I have learned once again is that there is a never-ending road of fail and success with a child. One moment it all works and the next it all falls apart. I choose to celebrate the small successes even though it is only seen a couple of months down the line. Traveling enhances just all the nitty gritty parts of being a parent and surely brings out your endurance to stick it out when the tough gets going. Our little munchkin was teething pretty badly just before vakay, luckily it ended a day or two just before we traveled. I guess every parent says this, but he is such a bad teether. Sleeping arrangements are always a hassle, so best to pack those camper cots my dears! But our Airbnb was amazing and I would suggest spending more on sleeping arrangements when traveling because obviously, a good nights rest is key for a good vacation!

So day one was pretty much a travel day because our flight to Belgium airport was an hour and then an hour and a half by train to Brugge. Which felt like an eternity since our son was crawling all over and making small chats with random strangers. He is on the fast track and growing up so fast that I can’t even keep up. Oh yes and he is not socially awkward like his mother at all, so that forces me to get out of my bubble and make small talk with random people. He does not see the ques of stranger danger at all. Whereas I get a creepy feeling about every loner that I see. is that just a mom thing or am I just a weirdo?

So our second day went pretty great, we had breakfast at li’o lait which was pretty good considering the fact that I ordered a huge breakfast bagel and muesli yogurt parfait by mistake. My baby brain is still getting the better of me, nine months down the line. I had a few cups of coffee which helped with the numbing mommy brain for the rest of the day. I loved this pace open windows and jazzy music, but unfortunately for my husband our son woke up halfway through breakfast after a half an hours nap. Breakfast time over, ready to play, so off we went!

Brugge was quite chill at night. Everyone was either eating dinner somewhere or tucket cozy in their beds. We went for dinner at and then after decided to take an evening stroll. Not a good idea since it was freezing, but our son was fast asleep in his pram and we took the opportunity, cobbled streets and all. I’m not going to pass up this chance to have a cappuccino and mochi caramel ice cream with my hubs in the freezing cold. I mean what is mochi caramel anyway? It tasted great btw. I have been out of the food loop for sure. The only “new” superfood I have lined in my pantry is activated charcoal and that does not taste anything like caramel, I tell you.

Lunches where pretty low key since we opted for a big breakfast and afternoon nap or let me say shopping time for mom. I loved the fact that Brugge had so much to offer. Places to eat, sightseeing and heaps of good shopping spots and the fact that it was a small quiet little town made it even better. This is what every girl or mo asks for. I just need an hour or two to relax, hubby just look after the baby and I can just be. Even if it’s just window shopping (who am I kidding here) There where too many shops to see in so little time before I had to head home but Dille et Kamille really surprised me(they have an online store), as well as Sissy boy home. These two home brands really just hit it out of the park for me and I was delightfully surprised by their ceramic goods. My bag was somewhat more on the hefty side when we left. There were a couple of coffee shops that we tried after whee little man’s nap in the afternoons they where Espresso bar, le pain Quotidien (favorite-healthy/vegan options) and Tonka. Must do- buy chocolate at the chocolate line if you like something different. We bought a box of bacon, wasabi, Apple tarte Tatin, saki, chili, rum & ganache etc. There are so many to choose from and they are all delish!

There are so many options to choose from when it comes to coffee shops, chocolates and Belgian waffles that you kind of get sidetracked. We tried a different coffee shop every day and just opted for the closest restaurant every night. A lot of the places where closed on Tuesday and Wednesday for some odd reason. Supposedly there is an Uber eats that we did not know about, so this is for sure a go to when you have kids.

My tips and notes about Brugge:

Be aware of the cobblestone streets- pack a baby carrier.
Do enough research on where you want to eat, it will take some planning, but it will be worth the effort for sure!
Be gracious on your schedule and babies schedule. Sometimes things just don’t work out the way you planned. Like us, we missed our train on the way back so had a three-hour layover before our next flight back to Toulouse.
Take deep breaths, because you’ll probably get frustrated that you have traveled all this way to see this amazing place, but can’t get it all done. that’s life with kids and you know what it’s okay.
Pack them layers when you are going in November!!
Be sure to pack snacks or even baby food if you can, because you never know what you are going to find when traveling abroad.
Know that you will be tired by the end of this trip, but it will be worth it otherwise you’ll never go anywhere!

This was just a vastly sum up from our vacation. It takes more effort to actually go and see places, but since were only here for a while I got to make it count. Who knows if I’ll ever get the chance again!

Any tips that you can advise when traveling with kids will be much appreciated.

Have a lovely weekend!

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November 24, 2017/by Mariza Ebersohn

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