We left super early so we would arrive early.
We spent two nights in Bruges.
We spent the whole afternoon and evening at de Haan BEACH!
It was just a short drive to de Haan and it was such a lovely beach.
The water was quite cold, even though it was a very warm day. No one was really in the water.
We walked along the strand, collecting shells, for about 3 mi, then back.
We got gelato. Of course.
There was a fun beach playground.
We had dinner on the boardwalk.
Goregous Trappist beer and moules frites. Fish and steak. Everyone was happy.
The next day, we walked around Bruges.
We ate breakfast at our apartment.
I used the walking tours in Rick Steves Belgium: Bruges, Brussels, Antwerp & Ghent.
We went straight to the Basilica of the Holy Blood. There’s a lovely chapel on the ground level.
We got to view the relic up close. It was just amazingly perfect timing. The annual festival was later that week too.
We paid to see the Michelangelo sculpture at the Church of Our Lady.
The whole city is just lovely with the canals and old houses.
We ate lunch at De Halve Maan. It was delicious.
Then we did the brewery tour. The kids loved it.
We learned about barley and hops and methods.
We got to taste more beer. The blonde beer tasting is included with the tour. We prefer the Dubbel or Tripel Zot and the Straffe Henrik.
We got chocolates at The Chocolate Line and Leonidas.
We saw lots of fun historical sites.
We bought dinner at Carrefour and cooked it in the apartment. Alex was thrilled with the wild asparagus!
Our last day, we toured the Flanders WWI sites.
We ate breakfast in our apartment and packed up.
We saw “The Brooding Soldier” statue at St. Julien Memorial. Our favorite was the Memorial Museum Passchendaele 1917. We had a picnic lunch by the pond. We drove to Ypres to see The Menin Gate. We saw the Essex Farm cemetery and memorials.
We got takeout for dinner.
Looks like a lovely trip!
We often stop off in Bruges on the way to Holland. Absolutely love the place. Great to explore with little ones too! #MondayEscapes
I love Bruges but never been as a family. Would love to return #mondayescapes
This does look lovely. Beautiful pictures! Your family enjoyed a perfect trip together. ?
You all look so happy in the photos. I’m surprised the kids loved the brewery tour – this is encouraging! #mondayescapes
They also love the Sandeman Port tour in Porto, Portugal! https://www.jenniferalambert.com/porto-in-november/
I’ve never been to Bruges and it looks so beautiful! I had no idea there was a beach near by – excuse my ignorance! A wonderful family trip and who doesn’t love steak, frites and beer! #MondayEscapes
PS I’d love to know what a servant leader is I’ve never heard the phrase?
Traditional leadership generally involves the accumulation and exercise of power by one at the “top of the pyramid.” By comparison, the servant-leader shares power, puts the needs of others first and helps people develop and perform as highly as possible. Servant leadership turns the power pyramid upside down; instead of the people working to serve the leader, the leader exists to serve the people.
SO much fun here!!!
This looks like a wonderful trip! How fun.
#InspireMeMonday
Bruges is wonderful! I live in the Netherlands, but have stayed there for a weekend with my husband. I never tried to do a city trip with my children though, but maybe they’re still too young. I can tell your children were having fun! Beautiful pictures!
This looks like such a wonderful trip to share with your family! What a great way to make history come alive! I’m blessed to be your neighbor over at #TuneInThursday.
Beautiful images. I love the beach playground! Thank you for linking up at #glimpses this week. I hope to see you again soon.
We went at Christmas with our kids and did many of the same things as you – Half Moon Brewery and De Haan beach too.
Unfortunately my kids were totally off form during our visit, so it wasn’t the best! We booked a trip back without kids and had a great time!
#MondayEscapes
I never thought about Bruges for beaches! Sounds like a seriously fun – and very delicious trip. It was definitely educational too. Thank you so much for sharing with us, and for being a part of Hearth and Soul, Jennifer. Pinned and scheduled to tweet tomorrow on Travel Tuesday. Hope to ‘see’ you at the party again this week!