October 5^th / 6^th - Bruges Belgium

Hi there,

It’s that time of the week again so pull up a cup of coffee and let’s visit Bruges.

Bruges is about a 4-hour train ride from Dusseldorf so it gives you plenty of time once again to watch the landscape pass. It still amazes me how meticulous and well groomed the yards/cities are. Yes, every city has its downside by the train tracks but outside of that, impeccably groomed yards. Out of the cities, most yards also have vegetable gardens, which from the passing train look quite yummy. I haven’t figured out what they do with all the acres and acres of cornfields we pass so it must be an export product. I haven’t seen enough cattle to eat all the grain that could be produced from these fields.

As always, bicycles are in abundance everywhere. We would definitely be in better shape as a country if we peddled around as much as they do here. Again, mostly flat terrain so they never have to contend with hills like in San Francisco.

Naturally we have to start with a little history:

Bruges/Brugg is a very small community, which was established between the 7^th and 9^th century on the shores of the Zwin. Its first inhabitants called it Bruggia, later the town developed around a fortress called "Burg" where the Counts of Flanders held their main trading transactions. The town soon became an important trade center due to its link to the sea. In the 13^th century it became a world port. It is known as the Venice of Germany.

The allies never bombed Bruges during the war so its buildings are truly amazing. We floated down canals under bridges over 700 years old. Water in the canals is fresh water and locks maintain the level naturally under the "Water Lock Masters" home.

Arrived at the train station and immediately headed for the Info. Counter to pick up our city map and off we go. You can walk all of Bruges in about 1.5 hours so getting lost should not be a problem. Right… There is no rationale for the layout of the streets so the challenge is there and on a couple of occasions we weren’t quite up to the challenge so we got to see things off the beaten path, which is always nice.

About the time we hit the city center, it started raining. What else would you expect. We found a city tour bus and squeezed in with the crowd. There were 3 delightful ladies of the senior citizen persuasion in the seats in front of us. They added lots to the tour, just listening to their dialogue was great. After the initial tour, we headed off to find our hotel, which can be an adventure in itself. There is more than one street with the name Burg in it so we had multiple opportunities to see different parts of the town. They weren’t ready for us to check in so we left our backpacks in their capable hands and took off.

We observed a lace maker in action. The most specific textile art in Bruges is ondoubtely lace made with spindles. The finest one is called "fairy stitch" for which 300 to 700 spindles are needed. This is definitely an art that takes years and years to perfect. I would have a royal mess just trying to keep all the spindles straight.

We found a Celtic pub, which just beckons you on a rainy Saturday afternoon, so we responded to the call. They were serving beers that we had no knowledge of so one must taste. I had a Jupiler and Jim had a Lief blond. Pubs here are as full of families with their children as adults. This one pub had a group of young ladies at a table, which was naturally drawing attraction from all the single young guys. After a while when the young ladies got ready to leave, and put their outer shirts on, we found out they were a group of girl scouts. We were wondering if there is a "Drinking" badge to be earned here and that was what they were working on.

We saw De Market, which during the centuries was the most important square of the town. If you go out to the web site, you will see pictures. The Provencal Palace and the Post Office are both here in the gothic style and were built in 1887.

Our hotel was located in part of the town called De Burg. This could be fairly called the Acropolis of the town. The fortress of Count Baldwin I was built there and later administration buildings and sanctuaries were erected there. Now there are also hotels, pubs, and restaurants.

We saw De Heilige Bloedbasiliek. The Basilica of the Holy Blood, which is a two level roman style sanctuary of the 12^th century. According to tradition, the Holy Blood was brought back from Jerusalem by Derrick of Alsace and entrusted to the city of Bruges in 1150. They have this huge parade each year and bring the Holy Blood out for all to see.

The Church of Our Lady is a very unique gothic monument. The tower is one of the highest in the territory. This church contains the beautiful marble masterpiece by Michelangelo, "Our Lady and the Infant". This is the only known work of Michelangelo that left Italy during his life.

We took a canal trip where you saw some of the most beautiful old houses and views of the Cathedral and other parts of the city. Shots of some of these views should be out on the web site.

On Sunday there was a flea market on one of the canals. If you are an Antique lover, this place is a must when you come to Europe. Jim kept saying, "It has to fit in your suitcase". He was definitely saved by that thought.

We had a great time and as always, wish you were with us.