In Bruges

We planned to go to Bruges two weekends ago but felt as though we needed a weekend to just stay at home and get a bit more organized (which was nice and definitely very grown up of us, but it was boring.)  So when last weekend came around, we decided to go to the Venice of Belgium, Bruges. Some people here love driving and while it only takes about 2 hours or so to drive from one end of the country to the other, I hate driving in other big cities or in our case, countries. Even with my handy dandy GPS, I have an aversion to driving. It's different here. And secondly, my mid-size Toyota Camry is not so mid-size here. There are plenty of roads where we have to back out to give way to others. And just about every parking space we have encountered barely allows the car enough room to fit and for us to open the doors. That is a challenge. And on top of that, even with my GPS, we would have been confused as to where to park and how to get out of the narrow medieval roads of the city. So as we normally do, we trained it. Driving, minus traffic, would have taken 1 hour 15 minutes. Training it took about 1 hour 50 minutes. Even if we have to make a change, which we did in Brussels, we think it is totally worth it. First off, it takes all the pressure off the driver. We don't run in to traffic. And we can just sit back with the boys and read a book, surf the web, and just look at some pretty countryside. And if we decide to partake of a couple strong Belgian ales (which we are known to do), we can do so. It just makes sense. So we left the train station near our house (Jurbise) at 0930 and got to Brussels and then changed trains to go to Bruges.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It's such a walkable and pretty city. If you have ever been to Venice, I think you would agree with me that the moniker "the Venice of Belgium" is quite apt. If you get away from the crowds you can really see how these old deserted streets near canals have seen people running and walking down them for hundreds of years (Bruges City Hall was built in the late 1400's). So we got there and found a greatflea market on the banks of one of the canals.  It was all very nice stuff (Pop, you would have had to restrain mom;). I tried to negotiate with a merchant selling a beautiful little globe of the old world. He was asking 38 euro and I casually offered him 25. He smiled and said no. I said alright, I'll give you 28. He considered the offer, but eventually said no. Se la vie.

 

 

 We crossed a bridge from the market and took a canal ride and were treated to great views of the city. It's so nice to see it from down in the water. The best was seeing a yellow lab sitting on a pillow in a window on what I would describe as Bruge's grand canal. It's amazing how the buildings are built into the water. We were talking about how damp they must be, at least in the basements.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After our canal ride, we walked around trying to find a place to have lunch with a view. We found it a bit later when we walked by a group of three restaurants with tables all set up on the edge of the canal. We set up shop and paid entirely too much money for a very average lunch, but the view and atmosphere we soaked up were well worth the price of admission. We don't make a habit of eating out a ton because it is quite a bit more expensive to go out (a liter of water at a restaurant usually costs about 7-10 euro), but when we do, it's clear that the service is set up to leave you alone unless you need anything, which enables you to spend upwards of two hours or more eating, talking, and drinking. It's very nice and laid back.

 

 

Sufficiently full on food, drink, and atmosphere, we spent the rest of the day wondering around seeing beautiful architecture, watching a group of Dutch men playing Boulle (Boche Ball) in a shaded park near the Burg (the City Centre) and amazingly, came to the beautiful (the pictures on the website do not do it justice) Basilica of the Holy Blood (http://www.holyblood.com/?page_id=98&lang=en). There is some debate about the timing of the arrival of the relic of Jesus' blood, but either after the fall of Constantinople or after the second Crusade a piece of cloth which Joseph of Armamithea used to clean Jesus' body after the Crucifixion was brought to Bruges. It was enshrined in a beautiful vial and is displayed each week for the faithful to venerate. It was very powerful and awe inspiring for us. Such a beautiful and solemn place.

 

 

 

After some more wondering around, we headed back to the train station, but not before stopping at a nice outdoor cafe for a beer which was produced right around the corner (Bruges Zot) and hot chocolate for the boys. We then caught our 6:30 train and got back home by about 8:30. An absolutely beautiful day which the pics and video do not, we are sorry to say, do the city and its beautiful history and architecture nearly the justice it deserves.