Apologies to Dorothy and the rest of the Wizard of Oz clan, but with the Summer Bank Holiday upon us we decided to lose our Eurostar virginity and took a long weekend holiday to Bruges , “The Venice of the North”.
Bruges is a somewhat magical medieval city filled with intertwining, cobblestone streets complete with narrow alleyways leading in all directions.
Like in Venice you could wander all day without a map and never really get lost. Scenery was in abundance, especially when you combine the canals with all the 300+ year old structures.
Our hotel was located near the center of the old town and was originally the 17th century residence of the Bishop of Bruges. Very interesting indeed except he must have had little tiny feet as I always had issues walking up the stairs to our room. We also received a friendly night time reminder of home... mosquitos.
You know… they say opposites attract, and it couldn’t have been more evident than this weekend. See if you agree.Seems Amy prefers her chocolate dark, while I tend to prefer the milk and white varieties. Beer? I chose the darker Belgian beers, while Amy stuck to the blondes. Amy enjoyed the Gran Marnier truffles while I horded the Amaretto ones. I ate my frites in the traditional way with mayo, while Amy had hers plain. However, we both had our waffles the same way… with strawberries AND ice cream AND chocolate sauce AND whipped cream. Plus we were also in agreement when it came to the Belgian delicacy of steamed mussels. NO thank you.
I don’t want to make it sound as if all we did was drink beer and eat. We toured De Halve Maan Brewery and yes… we sampled their wares, but “When in Rome... ”, right? We also entered several churches including the small Basilica of the Holy Blood, located in the corner of the ornate Burg Square and the Church of our Lady which houses the only sculpture of Michelangelo ever to leave Italy during his lifetime, The Madonna and Child.
The centerpiece of the town’s landscape is the 13th century Belfry which dominates the Market Square and was our compass point from getting lost. I also added it to my “Thing That I’ve Climbed” list as I walked up the entire 366 steps or 83 metres (that’s 272 ft. in case you were wondering). I’m not sure what impressed me more: The panoramic views of the city from atop the Belfry or the elderly woman I passed as I descended, climbing the steps one at a time with her cane.
We were also afforded a bonus of sorts as we were visiting Bruges during The Pageant of the Golden Tree. Seems this parade style re-enactment of Belgian history only occurs every five years and we can say we were there. Amy and I both commented how it wasn’t a very “happy” parade with a very somber tone to the whole event. The participants/actors dressed in various Norse/Medieval style costumes did their best not smile.
It’s a shame I didn’t brush up on my Flemish as I’m sure my auditory observation of “Bring out your dead!” as these fellows walked by no doubt would have gotten a laugh from the crowd.
3 comments:
What, no Mannekin Pis picture? Glad you had a great time!
Susan Bohlen
Ooops, that's Brussels! Guess it's been toooo long since I've been there.
Susan
I also really enjoyed Bruges, and it was great to see your photos. I especially like the one of Madonna and Child. I was very impressed with that sculpture, but did not get a picture of it. I also climbed all those steps in the belfry tower, and my legs were sore for 3 days, and that was when I was young. I think I was bad and left graffiti up there somewhere, too. Wonder if it is still there. I've been to Bruges twice, but never stayed overnight. Last time I just took a day trip from Paris.
Post a Comment