I knew I’d have a strong reaction to Brugge.
As the single most visited city in Belgium, I had great expectations for Brugge as a destination and figured it would be a traveler’s wonderland. The scant research I’d done before my trip told me to expect one of Europe’s most well-preserved medieval cities. As a history and architecture buff, as well as a student of medieval literature, I was looking forward to feeling that I’d stepped backwards in time, that I’d walk along quiet streets and meet lots of locals who’d tell me their stories. I would leave Brugge feeling enriched.
But reality rarely matches fantasy and the reality was that I hated Brugge on sight.
I remember being excited on the train to Brugge, although mildly annoyed by the group of rowdy teenagers who were misbehaving towards the back of the car, but my disdain began growing from almost the moment I arrived in the city. The incredibly modern train station outside of the city center was a complete surprise. I had anticipated that the train station would at least try to mimic the medieval architecture Brugge is famous for, but the concrete structure with its showy facade immediately rubbed me the wrong way.
A half an hour walk from the train station took me to my hostel where I dropped off my bags and then caught a local bus to take me to the city center. The day couldn’t have been more gorgeous and the weather had warmed to a comfortable temperature. As I waited for the bus, I tried to convince myself to put my first impressions of Brugge behind me and to approach it from a fresh perspective.
My resolve dissolved almost immediately when I boarded the bus and it was already full. At each stop we took on more and more people until we were jammed in like sardines. I consider myself to be pretty easygoing so the discomfort of the bus ride didn’t bother me much. I was disturbed most by the throngs of people who were all headed in the same direction as I was—the overcrowded bus was only a sign of things to come.
I got off the bus early and made my way down a few narrow streets to the Grote Markt. What I saw made me immediately want to turn around and go back to my hostel.
Oh. My. God.
There were people everywhere. The tourist hordes were virtually clogging the central market square, many draping themselves on the base of the statue situated at the center of the square. Bright yellow tour buses lined up in front of the beautiful town hall, ruining the view. Masses of camera-toting tourists indiscriminately shooting photograph after photograph of each other in front of the guildhouses on the square. I’d been to the central marketplaces of both Brussels and Antwerp, but the vibe here was completely different. It was noisy and chaotic and not at all what I was expecting. The city that was supposed to be crown jewel in my Belgian experience simply wasn’t.
If I had known it would be like this, I wouldn’t have come. I was kicking myself—hard– for not staying in Antwerp (which I loved) a day or two longer.
It isn’t often that I wish for a travel companion, but I would have given anything in that moment for someone to tell me that the problem was with me, that maybe I was overreacting. Truthfully, I hadn’t been myself for days. I arrived in Belgium tired and unhappy and for the most part, unenthusiastic about my trip. In Antwerp, I rediscovered some measure of happiness which Brugge seemed to snuff out like a candle.
I could barely eke out a smile for my solo traveler self-portraits. My heart was not in this. My complete and utter disappointment with Brugge almost made me move on to Ghent immediately, but then my more rational self demanded patience. This was only a small portion of the city and I hadn’t yet scratched beneath the surface. I decided to wait and stay as long as I had planned and give Brugge a second chance.
Could I learn to love Brugge in spite of its flaws? Maybe. But I wasn’t even sure I wanted to.
How do you cope when a destination you’ve traveled to doesn’t live up to your expectations?
I know exactly how you feel. I’ve been to Brugge a 100 times because each time we have a visitor they want to go there! Usually I just tell them: one morning is enough, we should go to Gent afterwards and enjoy the afternoon there. 😉
Actually, there’s a small village outside Brugge, called Damme, which is really nice. I should have suggested this to you. You can either rent a bike and go along the canal or just take a boat trip. Damme is small, pretty and is full of bookshops: it’s the Flanders book village.
http://www.damme-online.com/gb.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Damme
It might be too late for you, but here’s the suggestion for any future tourists in Belgium.
Cheers
It’s funny that you say 1 morning is enough! I arrived in Brugge in the early afternoon, and I think if I’d been there earlier, there would have been fewer people out and about and I might have liked it a bit more. Damme sounds wonderful…I’m sorry I didn’t know about it until now. Thanks for the suggestion! Hope you’re well! 🙂
Sometimes that just happens, mostly on the moments you’re feeling low. I had that with Brussels the first city ever that I visited alone. It was big, noisy and rude at times. Since then I had a hate relationship with the city that I can’t avoid because I need to work there sometimes! So I went there in november last year with a good map and I wandered around for hours until it started to snow. I discovered then and there that it’s actually a lovely city! So sometimes a city needs to grow on you. For Brugge go back in november or january then the city is yours and take a hotel/hostel in the middle of the centre because then you can wander around in the evenings when most tourist are gone or tucked in their hotels. On that moment Brugge is magical medieval even more so when there’s snow!
Cynthia–I think your advice about returning to Brugge when there aren’t so many tourists there is absolutely worth taking. I sincerely think that if I’d been in a better mood, I might have tolerated the crowds better, but I think I was expecting this beautifully preserved medieval town and the hordes of tourists were ruining the illusion. Sigh (I shouldn’t talk since I was a tourist myself!) I did take another opportunity to wander around Brugge which I’ll write about later, but you can definitely escape the crowds and really discover Brugge. 🙂
I don’t think there’s anything wrong with bailing if you don’t like somewhere. Sometimes, you just don’t. YOu might also find that you happen through it another time and you really like it. We took two goes at Vietnam. The first time was really hectic, because we did it the wrong way. The second, we came to value the craziness.
Theodora–I hate not giving a place a real chance you know? Sometimes your perspective about a place can change after a good night’s sleep and a new day. I wasn’t sure when I’d ever get back to Brugge, so I felt kinda obligated to at least try to like it. But I do agree–there are some places you just won’t like even after a second chance and that’s okay too.
Yes! Yes you can! I had a similar reaction to Madrid at first, but I just kept going, kept walking, kept looking for different neighborhoods. If I’m disappointed with one thing, I move on to the next. I figure eventually, I’ll find the thing that helps me see the positive side of the city. And I did. It sounds to me like Brugge wasn’t what had flaws; it was the people who were annoying you, not the city itself. When people start getting on my nerves, I just head in a different direction from them and find a less crowded spot where I can appreciate the place.
Gray–that’s exactly what I did…I’ll fill you on more later on my attempts to find the better side of Brugge! 🙂