Another chance of adventure at hand. Today we are off to Brugges via bike, bus, and rail. The pan is for a casual tourist day in Brugges as well as a short bike ride around the town of Brugge. The challenge is getting to Brussels Centraal rail station with the bike. I haven’t seen a way to carry bikes on buses, so I need to get from Flegey to the station. That means riding or walking the 4k distance.
I used the Ride with GPS app in Australia to build a downloadable GPX file to get us to the beach and back in Perth so time to try again. Pick at start and finish location and Ride with GPS builds a bike friendly route I can view on my Stages Dash bike computer that is easy to follow. I’m not sure of the traffic conditions but I’m willing to give it a try. Worst case, I get off the bike and walk. The route time, approx. 12 minutes. This seems like a better option than Google maps on my phone. My phone does not fit very good in the mounts I brought along (Note to self, try things at home before flying 8 hours away to put things in play, DHU!)
Vera will hop on the 71 bus, and we meet at Centraal Station, and I know the trains allow bikes, they have a special car designed for bike travelers. My guess is I will be at the station before Vera. We both leave the apartment at the same time, walk down to the bus station and then I am off, bike lights on for safety. Traffic is very light, it’s Monday, I wonder why but I like it. Up a relatively long steep hill, oh yeah, I remember this and then back down the other side. The roads are narrow but manageable. A little confusing as I get close to the rail station area but before I know it, there is Brussels Centraal. All my worrying was for naught. Another challenge successfully completed. Not long after, the bus and Vera arrive, and we are ready for a snack at the station quick food shops.
Time to open the phone app for rail travel, it’s a wonderfully helpful app, load in destination and start locations just like doing a Google map search and up pops a list of trains, time of departure, time of travel and platform to board. Down the stairs we go and a few minutes later the proper train arrives right on time. In we hop but miss the door for bikes, oh well, the train is not very busy, so I lean the bike against a rail in the normal seating area and no one seems to mind. An hour or so later and we arrive at the Brugges rail station.
Google maps into play now to get us to the central Markt, a bit confusing but we manage, looking at the edges of buildings for street signs. They are ceramic, blue colored signs embedded in the stucco work of the builds, not always on every street and sometimes in slightly different locations to make it challenging. Wow, the town square is filled with tourists, lots of stores for shopping, food vendors in the street as well as cafes, impressive architecture in every direction. Very scenic
We plan; I go out and ride and return in about an hour and a half and then we make a new plan. Return time, 1:30 P.M. Off we both go, I on a bike Vera walking. I have no idea where to go, I originally thought I could follow a canal out to the Atlantic Ocean, but I modify that by just following one canal after another and head westerly towards the Atlantic. My energy level is moderate, still challenged with not getting a full night’s sleep, so my pace is quite casual. Just outside of the town central is a bike path I join with occasional other bikers usually passing me.
I know other bike computers do similar route tracking, but I love the fact that my Stages Dash has an optional buildable profile that shows my location on a map, tracks my route with a red line, plus shows bike paths as a green line, so helpful. Plus, the ability to upload GPX files from apps like Ride with GPS is a great feature. I rode out for a while and then made a u turn and followed my red line/route back into town without getting lost.
Vera and I meet up again, time for lunch not in the very busy town square. We walk out a bit along the route I rode and find a wonderful Italian Pizza café. A window seat inside for two, a friendly waiter and a delicious pair of larger than personal size pizzas and a coffee. All exceptional.
We have only seen a tiny portion of Brugges but now is closing in on 3 P.M. and we have traveling to do. Google maps gets us back to the rail station as we tried to navigate without it and realized our errors immediately. Back on the train, finding a busy loaded bike car. Having learned from yesterday, we waited and got off at Brussels Centraal not Midi/Zuid, much better, we can learn.
Now, bus 71 for Vera, back on the bike with Ride with GPS map to get back home, I should be learning this route by now, close. Up and over the hill in the middle of town and I am back to the Flegey area and our apartment. Instead of right home, I ride out of town another 5 k just to see a bit more of this impressive area. We are in the upper echelon part of town, the homes are huge and elegant, Summit Ave in St Paul has a long way to go to equal this area of Brussels.
Back to the lodging to settle in for the night and prepare for tomorrow which is planned for a Ghent visit and a long bike ride from Ghent back to Brussels but the weather is looking wet, windy, and cool so there may be a new plan in the works.
I know my tension level is dropping as we get more familiar with the area and realize there are more Belgians who speak English who are friendly and willing to help when we need it. Very friendly