Bruges or Brugge is the capital and largest city of West Flanders in Belgium. It is sometimes referred to as the Venice of the north along with other cities like Amsterdam. This city has been on our must see list for a long time and since Bill and Katiti were also keen to go we scheduled a two night stay at an AirBNB and headed out at noon on March 18. It is about a three hour train journey with at least one stop as there are no direct trains from Amsterdam to Bruges, most go through Brussels or Antwerp. We all elected to carry backpacks rather than rolling luggage on the rough city streets.
First stop was Antwerp Station. We initially had six minutes to change trains but we were 2 minutes late and Jim’s train app advised him that we couldn’t make the transfer. This was the second flight of stairs we had to go up with one more to go. The train was standing still when Jim arrived but it started moving immediately.No problem, we now had time to admire the magnificent Antwerp train station and just take another train to Bruges. We arrived at 3:30 pm rather than 3:00, so what.Interior courtyard of our new home. We had the deck above and another floor above that.Narrow house across the street from us.Heading out towards the city center to explore before our 6pm dinner reservations.Belfry of Bruges is a medieval tower located on Market square which is one of the major symbols of this town.This is another iconic set of buildings on the main town square.And another icon is the Provincial Court.Of course we had to climb the 366 stairs to the top of the belfry. Pictures to follow.Very picturesque, eh.We run this museum to support our nomadic lifestyle.This is the famous beer wall of Bruges.2Be shop and brewery. A charming bar with an outdoor terrace on the canal.The bar, Sandy liked the closer stein which has a curved base.Outdoor terrace from across the canal.Ain’t that the truthStadhuis (City Hall) of Bruges built in a late Gothic style between 1376 and 1421 is one of the oldest city halls in the Netherlands.Basilica of the Holy Blood built between 1134 and 1157 as the chapel of Flanders; houses a relic of the Holy Blood allegedly collected and brought from the Holy Land. We go inside later.We had our first meal at Diligence which is a cozy restaurant located in the heart of the city that serves authentic Belgium fare. It was also the site of the bar scene from the movieIn Bruges. We watched the movie before going. It is a very weird movie but it was fun to be able to recognize the scenes.Day two and our only full day in Bruges we took a fun and informative canal boat tour. Bruges is a beautiful Medieval town and it was delightful seeing the buildings from the water.
Some spots required a head duck as you can see in this video.We love seeing the streets named after us 😊.Steenstrat is a major shopping street in the center of Bruges.Sint Salvatorskathedral opened in 1275. The church tower at 115.5 meters is the second tallest in the world.Lighting a candle for the brother of a friend who died prematurely.We climbed the 366 steps to the top of the belfry and these are our views. Sint Salvatorskathedral is the tall spire.That canal corner is where we took our canal tour from this morning.Inside the Basilica of the Holy Blood.We took a quick spin through the Groeningemuseum which highlights Flemish primitives. This is Death and the Miser by Jan Provoost.Judgement of Cambyses by Gerard David. On the left this judge takes a bribe and is arrested by the king. On the right is the punishment, being flayed alive. His skin is used to upholster a chair for his son who succeeds him as a judge.Jheronimus Bosch, the Last Judgement.
Shopping the local market for dinner when we get home to Amsterdam.
There was a big bicycle race starting in Bruges at noon. This is the support crews following the racers.We stopped by this sweet tranquil garden on our walk to the train station. It is a convent garden founded in 1245. It is called Beguinage as it was once home of the beguines, emancipated lay-women who led a pious and celibate life. Today some nuns and single women from Bruges live here.Beguinage chapel.Jim lighting a candle for his brother David who is undergoing a quadruple bypass today in Tennessee. Philip is now the only brother of four with no known heart disease.A very small park on the canal with a lot of swans.We had planned on having a small lunch and a drink here, Kasteel Minnewater, but it was closed.We had a drink here while waiting for our train back to Amsterdam.Train station at Bruges.Train home hit 300 km/hr.
Well we finally made it to Bruges and it was well worth it. Two nights there gave us adequate time to see what we wanted, that being said we wouldn’t mind returning again.
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