Breakfast Room

After a good nights sleep we ventured downstairs for breakfast. The breakfast room is quite stunning. It is situated in what was the choir of the church.

The breakfast buffet was one of the best I have ever seen. There was a decadent option of having a glass of Cava to put you in the mood for the day ahead. I chose not to indulge so early in the morning ;-) After the refreshing breakfast we ventured into to town to find the tourist information office. We failed and as it was raining we moved onto plan B.

We visited St Rumbold’s Cathedral with its wonderful architecture, artworks and stained glass windows. I found it a little sad to see that parts of it are crumbling and in need of a little TLC.

St Rumbold’s Cathedral from Kazern Dossin

When we left the Cathedral the rain had stopped so we went for a stroll to find the Beguinages. We managed to miss the Beguinages too and ended up by the kazern Dossin museum and military barracks where Jews were held awaiting deportation during WW2. The museum was excellent and thought provoking. It invited the visitor to ask questions and look for answers.

Kazern Dossin

After our visit to the museum we strolled back in the direction of the hotel and we managed to find the Beguinages that were being illusive earlier in the day. The Beguinage Church was shrouded in scaffolding rather spoiling the ambiance. Several other buildings in the city (including the Cathedral) are also currently subjected to portions of scaffolding.

The Beguinage

After exploring the Beguinages we made our way back to the hotel to freshen up before venturing back out into the city for another excellent dinner. Our journey took us past the brewery.

Het Anker Brewery

After dinner we retired to the hotel for nightcap in the hotel bar.

8 Comments CherryPie on Apr 1st 2014

8 Responses to “Mechelen – Day Two”

  1. ....peter:) says:

    You could have just posted the picture of breakfast in the choir of the church and saved the rest for another day Cherie…
    it seems like you are making the most out of your holiday in Mechelen… great presentation….peter:)

  2. Ginnie says:

    The more I thought about it, the more I remembered that we were in Mechelen 3 years ago, Cherry, but we never knew about that church/hotel. It would have been worth seeing, if not staying a night there!
    http://ginniehart.blogspot.nl/2011/06/belgium-dendermonde-mechelen-and-lier.html

    • CherryPie says:

      The weekend I was there they held a carnival and it was also open hotel weekend. This meant you could go round all the hotels if you wished. We chose not to, there was so much else to see and do.

      It is well worth a look if you find yourself in Mechelen again :-)

  3. I like this place!
    But it’s a bit too dark for breakfast?! Don’t you think?
    Makes me feel kinda sleepy again… Ha…

    • CherryPie says:

      I am not surprised it makes you sleepy I took it just before bed time and the lighting was subdued. They were laying the tables for breakfast and if you look closely the room is empty.

  4. james higham says:

    Our journey took us past the brewery.

    Can you elaborate on this part of the day, Cherie?

    • CherryPie says:

      We found the brewery unexpectedly. We stepped inside the shop to see if we could see evening meal menu. We couldn’t! We took a few photographs and then walked along the river Dyle back in the direction of the hotel…

      ;-)