“Travel has a way of stretching the mind. The stretch comes not from travel’s immediate rewards, the inevitable myriad new sights, smells and sounds, but with experiencing first hand how others do differently what we believed to be the right and only way.” – Ralph Crawshaw
BRUGES, BELGIUM - APRIL 1, 2014 (Morning Tour)
We Traveled The World And Discovered How Others Do Differently. The Belgians Or Flanders Do Things Differently From The Americans And Canadians. Different Ways But Everyone Are All Right And Live Happily.
Welcome To Bruges! As The The English Spelled It Or Brugge As Its Known By The Dutch.
Our Tour Group Started Our Walking Tour From This Spot. From The Port, We Rode A Tour Bus And We're Drop Off Here. Today, We Visited the Beautiful City Of Bruges, Belgium. A Small Medieval City That Could Be Best Enjoyed On Foot. Let's Start Walking!
Bruges Was Surrounded By an Almost continuous Rings of Canals. In Reality, This Charming City Of Bruges Was Truly A Reminiscent Of A Fairy Land.
Beautiful Bruges W/ Stone Footbridge Spanning Picturesque Canals W/ Playful White Swans Around.
How Beautiful To Walk Along The Tranquil Medieval Canals Snaked Around The City. Bruges Was An Enchanting And Magical City.
Bruges Was A Very Idyllic Place To Visit. Remained Unchanged Since The 16th Century.
As An Artist And Colorist, My Eyes Were Oftened Attracted To Bright Scenes Like This - One Of The Colorful Medieval House Along The Canal. Red Rooftop, White Windows Accented W/ Red Trimmings, Red Doors W/ White Boat. How Cool!
Along The Way, We Passed By Many Narrow, Winding Cobbled Stones Streets W/ Quaint Medieval Houses And Quaint Cafes.
Another View Of The Canal Which Was Vibrating W/ A Fairytale Feel.
Beautiful Bruges W/ Charming Canals And Belfort At The Background.
View Of Belfort Tower From The Canal. Bruges Was Dripping In Rich History And Quaintness.
The Church Of Our Lady Dated Back To The 13th, 14th And 15th centuries. It's Tower, At Approximately 401 Feet In Height, Remained The Tallest Structure In Bruges, Belgium.
The Altar Piece Of The Chapel Enshrined The Most Celebrated Art Treasure Of The Church- A White Marble Sculpture Of "Madonna And Child" Created By Michelangelo In 1504.
We Saw The Movie "Monuments Men," Prior To This Trip. Surely We Recognized This Famous Sculpture Here. It Was Taken Twice From Bruges. Once During Napoleonic Times And The Second Time By Hitler's Art Collectors. It Was Returned Both Times.
We Had A Fantastic Time In Bruges. One Of The Most Picturesque Cities Left Almost Entirely Untouched Since Medieval Times.
The Beautiful Old Arch Of The Old Civil Registry.
Bruges Was A City W/ Two Town Squares. This Was The Second And Smaller Square Called "Burg." Smaller But Still Lovely. Also Less Crowded Of Bruges Two Medieval Squares. Most Tourists Congregated In The Main Square. So Burg Square Seemed Less Chaotic.
One Of The Key Landmarks On Burg Square, The Gothic Town Hall Of Bruges From 1373. Also Named "Stadhuis." Here's The Heart Of The Administrative Center.
The Burg Square Was Really A Showcase Of Different European Architectural Styles. Here Stood The Old Civil Registry Building In Renaissance Style (1534 - 1537).
The Entrance And Exterior To The Holy Blood Basilica On Burg Square.
The Bishop Palace Building. The City Center Is One Of The Best Preserved Medieval Cities In Europe.
Other Medieval Architecture At the Burg Square W/ Belfry At The Background.
The Burg Square Became A Lovely Landscape, Like A Painting W/ Addition Of Decorative Branches.
The Market, The Main Square And Largest. The Commercial Heart Of Medieval Bruges.
Main Market Square, Starting Point For Most People Visit To Bruges. An Impressive Open Space Lined W/ 17th Century Houses And Overlooked By The 13th Century Belfort. This Historic City Was Added To UNESCO World Heritage List In 2000.
Bruges Is A City That Had Been In Our Bucket List For Years. Since We Saw The Movie "In Bruges," We Had Been Fascinated W/ The Idea Of Visiting Someday. That Someday Happened Today.
The Main Square Is Dominated By The 13th Century Belfort At Approximately 272 Feet High. Belfort Was A Beautiful Tower Structure Located At The Heart Of The Market Square. A Neo-Gothic Architecture.
Close Up View Of Medieval Belfort W/ The Giant Clock. One Of The City's Most Prominent Symbols.
Walking Around The Square Felt Like We Were In A Movie Set. Actually We Were In The Real Setting Of The Famous Movie "In Bruges." Although It Was A Dark Flick, It Was Inspiring To Be Here.
A Poem By Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Titled "The Belfry of Bruges," Refered To The Building's Checkered History:
- "In the market-place of Bruges stands the belfry old and brown;
- Thrice consumed and thrice rebuilded, still it watches o'er the town."
Back View Of Belfort.This Tower Was The Central Feature Of The 2008 Movie "In Bruges." Visitors Could Climb Up The 336 Steps To The Summit And Enjoy The Wonderful View Of The City. We Didn't Like To Do That As We Had An Easier Way Of Going Up There Through
Watching The Movie. The View Was Also Much Better From The Movie As There's No Crowds To Fight For The Views.
The Square Was Very Attractive W/ Many Colorful Houses. Very Beautiful Subject For An Impressionist Painting.
In The Center Of The Market Stands The Statue Of Jan Breydel And Pieter de Coninck.
The Market Square Was Crowded W/ Locals, Visitors And Police. The Premier Of China was Visiting.
Bruges Had Many Exciting Maze Of Winding Cobblestone Streets. Bruges Was Small, Even If You Get Lost, You'll Still Find Your Way Back To The Main Square.
Saw This Nice Place To Relax. Very Colorful Outdoor Cafe. The Bright Blue Table Clothes Were So Inviting.No Time To Stop Or Eat Here. Later We Had Lunch At The Viking.
Another Outdoor Belgian Cafe W/ Eye Catching Table Clothes Of Hot Pink. What A Contrast To The Old Cobbled Stones Pathway!
Sitting Among The Beautiful Yellow Daffodils In Front Of The Tranquil Convent Garden.
Begijnhof With White Gable Houses. The Nuns Who Lived In These Houses Were Benedictine Sisters Who Moved Here Originally In The 1830s.
We Passed By Minnewater, A Lovely Park W/ A Lake And A Medieval Small Church Close by. This Lake Was Oftened Referred To As The Lake Of Love. What A Serene And Quiet Place To End Our Morning Tour! Grateful to God For Enjoying Beautiful Bruges.
"If our lives are dominated by a search for happiness, then
perhaps few activities reveal as much about the dynamics of this quest – in all
its ardour and paradoxes – than our travels." (Alain de Botton)
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