In Bruges

Last week, I accompanied Pete on a business trip to Antwerp, Belgium. So on the weekend we took a side trip to Bruges near the North Sea coast. If you haven't seen the movie "In Bruges" yet, you're missing a beautifully photographed (but also violent) portrayal of this city. It is a classic old European city with canals, cathedrals, cobbled stone streets, and wonderful shops and restaurants.

The historic center is literally encircled by a canal that was at one time a moat for their walled city. It's name comes from the Viking word for "wharf" because in the beginning it was a port of the North Sea until the harbor silted in. That caused the townspeople to pick up and mostly abandon the city. That's why the center is so well preserved.

The Markt Square Belfort (tower) is the focal point of the square. With every turn you take, there's another great picture.
Horse drawn carriages along with colorful buildings add to the ambiance.

Just in front of the Belfort is a small metal model of the tower and a Braille description of the old town in 4 different languages! It was really cool.



It's Belgium, so there's a chocolate museum, Yay! The museum explains how chocolate started in the ancient Mayan and Aztec cultures. Chocolate was considered a drink of the gods. I agree. Unfortunately, we have Cortez to thank for bringing chocolate to Spain and then Europe after he ruined their culture.


Pete loved the Wall of Beer, which displays most of the 580 different brands of beer all brewed in Belgium. We tried a few of those on the wall, and loved each one.


Bruges is called the "Venice of the North" because of all the canals running through the city center. There were even more during it's heyday but many have been filled in for modern travel.

In the Church of Our Lady is one of only two Michelangelo sculptures outside of Italy. The Madonna and Child is sculpted from Carrara marble like most of his work. The sculpture was so close you could almost touch it.

Another unique building and museum is the old city hall. The city council met in the restored Gothic room from the early 1400s. The wooden ceiling is hand-painted and carved with hanging arches. Large murals along the walls show a history of big events in Bruges.

We really enjoyed this 2-day visit. During this time of year, there are far less tourists so I can only imagine on a nice, sunny summer day how many people would be here. But, this is not to be missed and it's a shorter drive for us than going from Brookings to Minneapolis.




....even the swans love it here.
Tschus!