TRAVEL::EUROPE 2011::BRUGGE::PART 1

We arrived at Brugge, Belgium, slightly before 8pm. Our flight from KL to Paris got 4 hours of serious delay. As a result, we missed the train from Paris to Lille Flandres. In order to continue with the journey instead of spending a night at Paris, we had no choice but to buy a new pair of tickets to Lille Flandres which cost us 113 euros. From Lille, we boarded another inter-city train to Brugge. The total train fare from Lille to Brugge is 33.60 euros for two.We tried to exchange the tickets for later time at Paris du Nord station but were told that the exchange can only take place 1 hour before the train departure time and it depends on the condition of the ticket we purchased.

The hotel we booked at Brugge is Hotel 't Keizershof. It is located at about 300 meters from the train station. It can be easily found on the left hand side on the way into the old town.

 
This hotel is run by a Belgian couple. There is no extra staffs in this hotel. The boss, Stefaan, would make the breakfast every morning for the guests and his wife is in charge of housekeeping. We booked a double room for 44 euros per night with breakfast included. No attached bathroom and no air-con inside the room. Inside the room, there is a wash basin though. The double room given to us is slightly small but nice and clean. We wish to have a bigger room but the space is sufficient for now.

This hotel is located about 15 minutes of walking from the old town center which is the market square. I found out that those hotels which are located nearer to the market square (probably 5 minutes of walking) would be charging 15-20 euros more per night.
 
One thing we like about this hotel is the breakfast. We were served with 7-8 types of bread and 6 types of jam and butter (mixed fruits jam, caramel jam, strawberry jam, cream cheese, Nutella and butter) every morning. Of course, the breakfast comes with coffee or tea too. Among the jams and butter, our favorite is the caramel jam. We bought two bottles for 3 euros each from Stefaan before checking out.
 
OK. Today I can only write the first part of the story here. Next part, I would like to share with you about what I captured of this beautiful old town. Stay tuned!

Bed is calling...