2 days Bruges

My husband and I just returned from a 10-day trip to Amsterdam (4 nights), Bruges (2 nights) and Haarlem (4 nights). I am posting our experience on this forum in case others are planning a similar trip. (The Amsterdam and Haarlem portions are posted under separate topics in the Netherlands section of this forum.) Bruges is an ideal side trip from the Netherlands, and we found 2 nights sufficient.
Day 1 (Monday): Arrived by train around 2:30. Checked into apartment—we stayed in the “old town” about 8 -10 minutes walk from Market Square—IMHO you definitely want to stay in the old part of the city. Walked to the Rozenhoedkaai (great view and photo-op) just off Burg Square and bought canal boat tickets at the kiosk there for a delightful boat canal tour. The boat was open air, and our (live, not recorded) guide was very good (30 – 40 min). This gave us a great sense of Bruges from the water. Afterwards, wandered around and just explored Bruges—it’s not very big and you can’t get lost for long. Several museums etc. were closed—it was a Monday-- but just exploring is a real treat—you are immersed in medieval times when you wander around this wonderful city. Dinner @ Cambrinus (not far from Market Square, recommended by RS). LOVED this place! We ate here both nights, as we saw so many things on the menu/plates served at nearby tables that looked delicious. I had made reservations by phone earlier that afternoon. It was a full, bustling place that we wouldn’t have gotten into otherwise. This is a pub, but in my estimation, one with very high quality, non-pub food. They offer an immense number of beers (they serve wine too). Veal tornedos, ribeye steak, shrimp tagetellia, many appetizer options, goat cheese salad, French onion soup, and to-die-for crème brulee, to name a few items. Looking at some of the menus of other restaurants earlier that day, it seems that Bruges leans towards the pricey end of the spectrum food-wise, but this pub had excellent value. Cozy, wood-panelled, convivial atmosphere/good service.
Day 2 (Tuesday): Breakfast/coffee at earlier hours (before 10:00 a.m.) is hard to find in Bruges, or I don’t know where to look! We had an excellent breakfast, however, at San Serverai; they specialize in both sweet and savory bagels. Climbed the Bell Tower—this is well done, with interesting display info on a couple of floors where you can take a breather on as you climb. Did Groening Museum; excellent, manageable--mostly Flemish art that helps further immerse you in medieval-ness—we spent a couple of hours there. Lunch @ SOUP--fantastic, homemade soups with bread, paninis, just off Market, sit outside (it’s a tiny place). Recommend! We were going to take advantage of the nice weather and bike ride out to Damme, but the bike rental place we went to was unexpectedly closed. We decided with our relatively limited time to do RS self-guided walking tour starting at Market Square and identify some of the lovely places we’d walked by, (and wondered what we were looking at!) We didn’t go into all the stops on the tour, but really enjoyed the exploration of the city this way. Excellent waffle treat from Chez Albert, near the Square. The walk ends at the Begijnhof and Minnewater, which are a real treat to see! Swans, water, tranquility. Some really charming-looking restaurants too, but you do pay for the views of park and its canals. So glad we saw this area…and such a non-hurried way to spend the rest of the afternoon. At 6:00 we went back to the Sint-Janshospitaal where we thoroughly enjoyed a free harp concert (30 -45 minutes) performed by Luc Vanlaere. This was a lovely surprise—we saw a sign earlier in the day about it. He does 3 free concerts a day (Tuesday-Saturday)—he is amazing and plays different harps from around the world and also his own handmade harps –all music he composes himself. We bought a CD to support his art—this was a real highlight, highly recommend! (continued on 2 days Bruges, part 2)