The month of November has been full of incredible travels; exploring Bavaria, München, Luxembourg City, Budapest, Disneyland, and Paris. Our one-year wedding anniversary approached - how was I to plan a trip that could (possibly) top any of these? I decided to select a city we've wanted to see for sometime, but haven't had the opportunity to visit - to Brugge (Bruges) or bust. The drive took a little longer than expected - stopping once for gas, dinner, and to break the monotony of traffic. Our impatience was alleviated when my late night meal created quite the confusion. I ordered a "hot sandwich," but it was made with a baguette and cold cuts - a topic that was discussed until our arrival downtown. It was too late to explore the city and the Christmas Markets closed for the evening, therefore; we prepared for (yet) another big day of sightseeing.
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| Building walking down Breidelstraat |
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| Belfort Courtyard |
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| Bawdy Chocolates |
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The following morning started with a delicious buffet courtesy of the Hotel du Sablon. After eating, we took a stroll down the street to the Grote Markt and Belfort (Belfry). The Christmas Market kiosks were just opening and the ice rink was preparing for the day's skaters. When approaching the Belfry we stumbled upon the Salvador Dali Museum-Gallery XPO. Being one of my favorite artists (having never seen an original), I requested if there was time see the artwork - of which Julie made an exception given the circumstance. The exhibit is a private collection and patrons can purchase the works directly off the wall. The showroom is relatively small, nonetheless; an impressive arrangement - our transient visit finished our cultural enrichment for the day.
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| Basilica of the Holy Blood |
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| Altar |
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| Decorated arches |
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Exiting the gallery, we stopped by the Belfort, passed through the courtyard and headed east - taking a left on Wollestraat to window-shop two chocolatier storefronts. We took a quick right on Breidelstraat and set our course for Burg Square. First, we visited the Basilica of the Holy Blood (Basiliek van het Heilig Bloed), home of the Relic of Precious Blood. There is an admission to view the relic, but we were content to explore the main church. The basilica is beautifully decorated with an abundance of color adorning the walls and structures in an otherwise opaque chapel. We walked next door to Stadhuis (City Hall) which doubles as a museum, but our compressed sightseeing schedule limited our time to observing the exterior.
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| Stadhuis |
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| Ohhh....pretty |
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| Burg Square |
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We continued our city-in-a-day tour, taking Blinde-Ezelstraat under the archway of City Hall and encountered our first canal. We took pictures momentarily, but soon became distracted when we saw the weekend market setup across the street. There were vendors with handmade crafts, jewelry, paintings, and fresh fish (seemed like the odd feature, but is the mainstay of Vismarkt which literally translates to fish market). We veered slightly of course and became enamored with the low-cost of everything. At home, our Festivus Tree was sparsely decorated with the few ornaments we own. Having made a few purchases in Bruges, our tree would look decadent upon our return.
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| Canal Boat Rides |
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| On Sint-Annarei |
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| Jan van Eyckplein Square |
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| Spiegelrei |
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We redirected our focus to exploring the city - and what better way than take a boat ride through the canals. Conveniently, Canal Boat Rides was located opposite the market. We paid a small fare and boarded the vessel after a short wait. The boat started heading east down Groenerei - giving us a wonderful perspective of the city from the water. The only problem, our tour guide/captain was less coherent than Charlie Brown's teacher and had the delivery of the manically depressed robot from Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (Marvin). The boat steered down Sint-Annarei and once more on Spiegelrei - ending at Jan van Eyckplein Square. Our water chariot turned around and headed to the other half of the canal- passing by the Church of Our Lady (Onze-Lieve-Vrouw), Old Saint John's Hospital (Sint-Janshospitaal), and Minnewaterpark (similar to an island for waterfowl). We garnered a better understanding of the city's layout and made our way towards Swan Island to get the Terra firma viewpoint.
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| Church of Our Lady |
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| On the canals |
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| Relais Bourgondisch Cruyce (Hotel) and Belfort |
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Traveling by boat is more pleasant than walking, but we found our way back to Minnewaterpark to get a closer look of the swans, ducks, and various waterfowls that populate the area. Tourist were taking pictures, others observing, and some feeding the birds - fun to be had by all parties involved. We walked around this area briefly, before heading back towards the city center to catch a free harp concert.
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| Venturing back to Minnewaterpark |
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| Sashuis |
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| Another canal...weird |
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Luc Vanlaere is a harpist that has daily concerts (15:00, 17:00, 16:30) for free at Site Oud St Jan, a venue across from the Church of Our Lady. The show lasts around forty minutes and is a great way to relax and rest your legs. There is no obligation for a donation or burden to purchase his albums, but surely; a nominal contribution is always appreciated. Both of us enjoyed the concert and left what we felt was appropriate for sharing his talents (as did several others). By the time we left the recital, it was dark out - finally, the decorated Christmas markets would be illuminated.
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| Handen hebben elkaar nodig (The hands that need each other) by Johnny Webrouck |
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| View from Begijnhof Bridge |
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| Swan Island (Minnewaterpark) |
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We came across two Weihnachtsmarkts, both of which had multiple vendors and Glüwein everywhere. Julie and I enjoyed the German markets, but our favorite of all the festivities is easily Bruges - affordable souvenirs and cheaper drinks (five ornaments for €10, handmade pottery for €6, Glüwein with a shot for €4). Following some libations, some additional purchases were made before going back to the hotel to get ready for our anniversary dinner.
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| Small Weihnachtsmarkt |
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| Grote Market |
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To close out our evening, we had a reservation at Cafedraal, a fancy-pants restaurant down the street from the hotel. They asked if the two of us wanted to celebrate with wine or champagne, however; we are beer-lovers - and we were in the land of the world's best beer. It would have been an egregious offense had we not consumed the local barley and hops specialty. Both dinner and the city were unassumingly delightful, Julie loved our anniversary weekend in Bruges - so much so, that we plan to return when the weather is warmer and can enjoy the city at a more leisurely pace.
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| Skating rink in Grote Markt |
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| Belfort at night |
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| Walking home |
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