A morning walk to the St Janshuis Windmill – Belgium & Netherlands, Part 3

This post is the continuation of a series documenting our trip to the countries of Belgium and Netherlands in the Spring of 2023. We were based in Bruges for the first half of our trip and had done a walk around the pretty centre of Bruges on our first day (First Taste of Bruges – Belgium & Netherlands family trip, Part 1 ). I also walked around Bruges at it’s prettiest in the early mornings and after the lights came on and as in most European Old towns it was a magical experience. ( Bruges at Dawn & Dusk – A tranquil beauty – Belgium & Netherlands, Part 2 ).

On our second day in Bruges I had planned a day trip to the city of Ghent later in the day so we decided to spend the morning doing a walk to the Sint Janshuis Windmill at the edge of town. I returned from my morning walk to find the rest of the family ready and waiting for me to have breakfast. We went to the beautiful canal side restaurant of our hotel Duc de Bourgogne where we had a delicious & sumptuous breakfast. I was worried about the vegetarian parents but thankfully there was a great selection of breads, cheeses, waffles, pancakes and granola to make it worthwhile for them. I ate my usual fill of cold cuts, cheeses and croissants!

The tastefully decorated canal side restaurant at the Duc de Bourgogne

Enjoying our breakfast with a great view as bonus

With our tummies satiated we set off for the Windmill. The route was through Grote Markt and the overcast morning had turned into a beautiful clear day. The day trippers were still in their beds or en route so the square was still empty. So I couldn’t resist taking more photos of the Bell Tower and the Square itself. The blue skies and cotton candy clouds gave it a totally different look from the grey skies on the previous day.

Parents at the Grote Markt square on a beautiful morning

Grote Markt still waiting for the day tripping hordes to appear

We then walked past the square towards the windmill with the help of my previously downloaded offline maps and trusty Rick Steves guide book. We stopped in front of the City Theatre for a quick photo of the building and the sculpture of Papageno (A fictional character from Mozart’s Magic Flute) in front of it.

The City Theatre in Bruges with Papageno Statue in front

There were a lot of streets being relaid in Bruges when we visited so we took a detour from the route prescribed in the book and took the next lane in the general direction of the Windmill. Every street in Bruges has something beautiful and even this detour that we took had a smaller church that I don’t even know the name of but it looked pretty enough to take a photograph or two of.

Another pretty small church off the main tourist drag in Bruges

We then followed Google maps which led us to the edge of the old town along yet another pretty canal lined street and small bridges leading across to the other side. There was not a tourist in sight just a couple of hundred metres from the Grote Markt.

Photo from the Augustine bridge in Bruges without any other tourist in sight

We walked along the canal at leisure taking photos at every bridge we came across till we reached the edge of the old town. It had turned out to be a great decision to get away from the touristy centre of Bruges where I didn’t have to wait for someone to get out of the frame before taking a photo.

The next bridge across the canal  Torenbrug with an old fashioned streetlight at one end

The beauty of Bruges without the crowds

Posing at the edge of Old Town Bruges

The unique architecture of Bruges

We then walked past the wider canals used in the heyday of Bruges by cargo vessels and into the outer zone of Bruges which isn’t pedestrian but still pretty all the same. The streets were still cobbled and the houses were still mostly red brick gabled ones and every few blocks there was a church that stood tall over the other houses in the region.

Carmersstraat and the English Convent church in the outer zone of Bruges

Finally we reached the grassed park beyond the city where the original ramparts of the medieval city existed- this was where the Sint Janhuis windmill was located. This windmill is the only one of the 4 windmills located in this part of town where grain is actually ground. There are tours to see how the mill works but we weren’t really interested in going inside. 

The Sint Janshuismolen – The only working windmill in Bruges

Amma was happy to find a bench to sit on after the almost 2 kilometre walk from our hotel and they rested their legs while we went ahead to see the other windmill seen in the distance.

Amma resting her legs after a good 2 km walk to the Sint Janshuismolen

We had reached and taken our photos when the horse carriages carrying the first lot of day trippers came to see the windmill. The horses in Bruges were particularly healthy as compared to the frail specimens I am used to back in India on the tourist circuits.

The horse carriages with the day trippers come to see the Windmill

With the Sint Janshuismolen , Bruges

We then walked along the rampart park next to the wide canal which was where the original moat to medieval Bruges existed. 

The rampart park in Bruges 

The next Windmill on the rampart was the Bonne Chiere mill which was on a mound like the Sint Janshuismolen but wasn’t fenced off. We walked around the mound where there was a gradual path up to the windmill instead of the stairs we saw on the near side.

The Bonne Chiere mill in Bruges

The gradual cobbled path up the mound to the Bonne Chiere mill

The climb up the mound was worth it just for the view across the rampart park and to the other mill in the distance. We took a few photos and waved at my parents sitting in the distance before going down the same way.

The beautiful view from the mound of the Bonne Chiere mill – Sint Janshuismolen in the distance

The Sint Janshuis Molen in the distance and the Bonne Chiere mill in the foreground

As we got down could see one of the 4 currently existing city gates nearby. I never let the chance to see yet another landmark go, especially since it was right there! We walked towards the Kruispoort gate and took photos of the medieval gate before turning back and meeting my parents patiently waiting at the base of the Sint Janshuismolen.

The Kruispoort gate – one of the 4 existing gates to Old town Bruges

Saying goodbye to Sint Janshuismolen

We then decided to take a different parallel street to the one which we had come from to see yet another unexplored part of the city. This was the residential part of Bruges with not a tourist anywhere. The cobbled streets and the gabled houses still made it a pleasurable walk back to the hotel with regular stops to take photos of the beautiful lanes and churches dotting the area. 

Walking back through a residential part of Old town Bruges

Window decorations 

Yet another pretty street in Bruges

It would be a pleasure to live in a neighbourhood like this!

Posing in front of yet another beautiful shop in Bruges

We then saw a tower in the distance which looked photogenic enough for a detour. On reading up about it later I know that it was the tower of the Jerusalem Church and we walked to its base to see it from close and take a few photos before moving on. 

The tall tower of the Jerusalemkerk draws us towards it

The Jerusalem Church in Bruges

As we walked on yet another tall spire came into view – The Sint Annakerk or St Anne’s Church. It was being restored when we visited so we couldn’t take a look inside and had to be satisfied with taking photos of the exteriors.

The Sint Annakerk in Bruges

We were now getting close to the hotel itself so we took the route with least tourist sites in the way and had a peaceful walk back to our hotel.

Taking the least touristic route back to our hotel

 It had been a great morning walk to an oft ignore part of the beautiful city of Bruges. We then dropped my parents back at the hotel to rest their legs ( Amma was particularly pleased that she had been able to do the walk!) while we went to see the beautiful churches in Bruges that wasn’t of any interest to the parents. I wanted them to get some rest before we left for a day trip to the city of Ghent later in the day so that they could enjoy without being exhausted.

All of that is the topic for another post as I have rambled on far too long as is my habit. I wanted to write this walk as a separate post as it was the most peaceful walk we had in Bruges in the day time and I would highly recommend it to anyone visiting this pretty town.

Till next time,

Bye.