Profile
Blog
Photos
Videos
Travel Blog of the Gaps
- Blog
-
Location Date Europe 
1664924400 North America 1652310000 Asia 1520553600 Africa 1289520000 -
Location Date Ireland 1664924400 Germany 1652310000 France 1651964400 Spain 1651359600 Iceland 1624575600 Slovenia 1569884400 Austria 1569625200 Italy 1569452400 Portugal 1475967600 UK 1443826800 Czech Republic 1430089200 Slovakia 1428966000 Turkey 1428447600 Greece 1412118000 Switzerland 1348959600 Belgium
1269990000 Netherlands 1269903600 - Brugge
Hello again, Blogonauts!
On Tuesday, I awoke in Amsterdam's pre-dawn darkness, ready again to test my railway acumen. The cab driver who picked me up at the hotel suggested that he drive me to all the way to Brussels, but I convinced him my train ticket was already paid for.
This time my destination was Bruges (a.k.a. Brugge in Flemish, or as I prefer, Phlegmish). It is a medieval Belgian city that traces its glory to the days before the Crusades. Ringed by a canal, within this circle Bruges is awash with Gothic churches, homes, and government buildings, many more than 600 years old, along with many Neo-Gothic structures erected later to match the municipal theme. In other words, Bruges is part genuine antique and part reproduction. Nonetheless, the effect is 100% enchanting.
I achieved my aim of arriving early enough for breakfast in Bruges, and luckily, my room at the Loreto Hotel was also already available. So I parked my luggage, grabbed a bite, and set off to explore.
All walking tours of Bruges begin at the Markt, or Market Square. Reigning over the plaza is the Belfort, which (depending on whom you ask) was built either in 1240 or 1280; the top portion containing the carillon was added in the 1480s. This, of course, makes the Belfort one of the legitimate older structures in the town. On an adjacent side of the square sits the Provincial Government Palace, which although hyperbolic in its Gothic appearance, was actually added only around 1900.
Nearly adjacent to the Markt is the Burg, another open square containing, among other things, Bruges’ city hall. Of greatest note on the Burg is the Basilica of the Holy Blood. Apparently one of Bruges’ Crusaders was given a thank you gift for chasing the Muslims from Jerusalem—a vial containing "blood" that supposedly flowed from Jesus’ wounds during the crucifixion. The Crusader thought this little token of holy hemoglobin was pretty keen, so of course he built a sizeable church to house it. (That sounds a bit like receiving a puppy for Christmas: Unless you really wanted one, the financial outlay to keep the thing raises questions over the actual benefits of ownership.)
Bruges contains several superb museums, including the Groeninge Museum and the Memling Hospital Museum. Both contain wondrous works of famous (and mostly religious) Renaissance art. Among them are Jan van Eyck’s portrait of his wife and Hieronymus Bosch’s Last Judgment triptych.
The town is also filled with other numerous old churches, and since this is a Catholic town, they have maintained their paintings and statuary (including a lovely Michelangelo “Madonna & Child”).
And Bruges is famous for its lace and chocolate, which render the shop windows all the more alluring.
In the afternoon I took a longish walk to the northeast corner of the city, where I found several large, old, very still windmills. (Although some of this ilk still assist in keeping the low country from becoming a quagmire, the modern equivalents are deployed more and more frequently.)
My dinner was a luscious herring and salmon dinner served under the canopy at a Restaurant Central Bruges, which sits directly on the Markt. About halfway through my meal, I watched the unwary crowds scuttle about in a brief but heavy rain shower.
On Wednesday, Paris.
Blog to you later!
On Tuesday, I awoke in Amsterdam's pre-dawn darkness, ready again to test my railway acumen. The cab driver who picked me up at the hotel suggested that he drive me to all the way to Brussels, but I convinced him my train ticket was already paid for.
This time my destination was Bruges (a.k.a. Brugge in Flemish, or as I prefer, Phlegmish). It is a medieval Belgian city that traces its glory to the days before the Crusades. Ringed by a canal, within this circle Bruges is awash with Gothic churches, homes, and government buildings, many more than 600 years old, along with many Neo-Gothic structures erected later to match the municipal theme. In other words, Bruges is part genuine antique and part reproduction. Nonetheless, the effect is 100% enchanting.
I achieved my aim of arriving early enough for breakfast in Bruges, and luckily, my room at the Loreto Hotel was also already available. So I parked my luggage, grabbed a bite, and set off to explore.
All walking tours of Bruges begin at the Markt, or Market Square. Reigning over the plaza is the Belfort, which (depending on whom you ask) was built either in 1240 or 1280; the top portion containing the carillon was added in the 1480s. This, of course, makes the Belfort one of the legitimate older structures in the town. On an adjacent side of the square sits the Provincial Government Palace, which although hyperbolic in its Gothic appearance, was actually added only around 1900.
Nearly adjacent to the Markt is the Burg, another open square containing, among other things, Bruges’ city hall. Of greatest note on the Burg is the Basilica of the Holy Blood. Apparently one of Bruges’ Crusaders was given a thank you gift for chasing the Muslims from Jerusalem—a vial containing "blood" that supposedly flowed from Jesus’ wounds during the crucifixion. The Crusader thought this little token of holy hemoglobin was pretty keen, so of course he built a sizeable church to house it. (That sounds a bit like receiving a puppy for Christmas: Unless you really wanted one, the financial outlay to keep the thing raises questions over the actual benefits of ownership.)
Bruges contains several superb museums, including the Groeninge Museum and the Memling Hospital Museum. Both contain wondrous works of famous (and mostly religious) Renaissance art. Among them are Jan van Eyck’s portrait of his wife and Hieronymus Bosch’s Last Judgment triptych.
The town is also filled with other numerous old churches, and since this is a Catholic town, they have maintained their paintings and statuary (including a lovely Michelangelo “Madonna & Child”).
And Bruges is famous for its lace and chocolate, which render the shop windows all the more alluring.
In the afternoon I took a longish walk to the northeast corner of the city, where I found several large, old, very still windmills. (Although some of this ilk still assist in keeping the low country from becoming a quagmire, the modern equivalents are deployed more and more frequently.)
My dinner was a luscious herring and salmon dinner served under the canopy at a Restaurant Central Bruges, which sits directly on the Markt. About halfway through my meal, I watched the unwary crowds scuttle about in a brief but heavy rain shower.
On Wednesday, Paris.
Blog to you later!
- comments
T Wonderful writing and descriptions, and lovely photos.I think you new career should be as a travel writer.Bon Voyage and enjoy Pareee.T in Sao Paulo
mm We agree..........you have described things so well, we feel as if we've been there. I have a linen/lace handkerchief and lace pin that was brought to me from Brugge when Church Street's choir was on tour in Europe.
JETO HelloI live near Bruges.And as someone who is deeply concerned about history, I have to say this.On one of the pictures shows a bridge, the description says it's a medieval bridge. However much places in Bruges, like this one, are pastiches of medieval constructions or building, that were only built recently in the 19th century. This bridge is a fascinating example of a copy of the medieval trade bridges. It's built in the 19th century out of old grave stones. So watch out, when talking about medieval architecture! Not everything you see is medieval, most of it is 19th century revivalism. In the city of Ghent you have the same 19th century fakeness, like the Graslei. But of course, this doesn't mean it is ugly :)!
Lawrence McFarland Thank you for the correction. I was misled by an audiotour podcast I was listening to while walking around the town.The Gothic & Neo-Gothic architecture are interwoven in Bruges, often seamlessly. The reconstructed bridge clearly captures the spirit of the original, if not the provenance.