Our Last Day in Brugge/Bruges/Brugges/Brugs...Whatever...

It's because they have such a varied past - so many rulers, so many languages, so many spellings.  Whatever the reason, Brugge (how the train station spells it) is a fabulous fairy tale place. 


One legend - and my favorite - tells of how some of the richest families made their money on gruit, a mixture of herbs and spices used as bittering agents in beer making.  These families cornered the gruit market and were making money hand over fist. 


That is until someone discovered hops were cheaper, sustainable, came in a variety of strains, and could be standardized.  Soon the Richie Riches were out of money, Brugge lost its standing as gruit central, and no one had much money to renovate or update much of the town.  Lucky for us, it got stuck in time, and is now the charming, picturesque, and fabulous beer-making locale we've totally enjoyed for the past few days.







We've enjoyed mussels, frites, a canal tour, several wonderful beer halls, and today, a chocolate shop.


Holy crap! is right.  Alluring, sensual, decadent, and sooooo easy to get carried away.  Yum!

We had a beer in a bar that had a wall of beer.


And then we had a beer in an 800 year old grotto.


But wait, there's more!  Tomorrow we return to Brussels for a few days - more beer, more frites, more chocolate, and a New Year's Eve celebration.  Stay tuned!

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