Bruges
EAT That's Toast
EXPLORE the Historic Center
DO go to the Chocolate Line Shop
SELFIE Minnewater Lake
EXPLORE the canals on a boat tour
christina
Bruges! The Venice of the North as they say. While I wouldn't necessarily agree with the Venice comparison this place certainly had it's fair share of charm. The canals were beautiful and we took a scenic ride through the town under beautiful old bridges and along picturesque shores. It felt very "old Europe" - I'm not even sure what I mean by that specifically, but something about it was haunting.
We went to visit the great collection of Flemish art at the Groeningmuseum and I was surprised at how much I enjoyed it knowing absolutely nothing about this art period or this school. What was striking was the constant representation of women breastfeeding which I thought was so interesting given how this is such a censored part of modern life. It reminded me how art really does give you a lens into a culture and a time; and how the celebration of the Divine Feminine was embodied through this act and portrayed and honored in art.
It would be a shame to talk about Bruges and not mention that it had the best chocolate I've ever had. This place is truly built on chocolate - my favorite was the hot chocolate shops and the fact that you could just pop into a store and buy a gourmet chocolate stick and they would put it in a warm glass of milk and voila you would walk back out into the street with your warm, amazing and delectable drink. It gave hot chocolate a new meaning for me and is now on my craving list officially.
julio
We knew there was a Colin Farrell movie about it but little else. It was the first train leaving from Amsterdam so we thought we would give it a try. Enter Bruges, sophisticated province of West Flanders in the Northwest of Belgium. We found a fancy vegan restaurant, many upscale S&M shops, more fries, chocolate, and waffles than you could possibly imagine and lots of medieval charm in this adorable city. I did get quite sick in the cold and nothing is worse than traveling and being sick. All you want to do is explore, eat and do new things but you have to take care of your health and body...boo hoo.
Bruges has more castles than any other country in the world. Its medieval era buildings and famous Belfry are completely in tact making it ground zero for medieval tours of old Europe. Its famous for its lace, chocolate, beer and jewelry and the city hosts an important religious celebration – the Procession of the Holy Blood. The procession began in 1149 when a certain Flemish count brought to Bruges a receptacle used for storing Christ’s blood after the crusades. The procession takes place around Easter with locals and visitors dressed up in ancient cult and knight garments.
We took a boat ride canal tour winding through waterways and coming up on ponds full of geese and swans. We gaped, ooohhd and aaahhd at the old buildings, churches and towers reflecting off the still waters. We visited the Church of our Lady where there sits The Madonna of Bruges , a marble sculpture by Michelangelo of Mary with the Child Jesus. We also visited the Groeningemuseum where the Hieronymus Bosch's masterpiece, The last Judgement was on display. Very cool. Between Spain, Bruge and NYC I've now been able to see a healthy serving of Bosch's work and I'm definitely a fan.
Notable as well is the Liège-Guillemins railway station coming in to and from Bruge desighned by by the Spanish architect Santiago Calatrava. His work is very common in Spain and it features Catalan Modernist form and function with Neo-Futurist shapes and materials. We stopped and explored the station it was so cool although we cut the exploration short as we felt like the area was a little shady and seemed to be being watched by the local riff raff. All in all Bruge was a fun adventure.
The Last Judgement by Hieronymus Bosch
