In Brugge

Streets in Brugge

We are in Bruges (or Brugge) after a short 2 hr train ride from Amsterdam. I have been to Bruges before but this is Matt's first time in the charming little city. He's wanted to come here since watching the movie "In Bruges". The movie is great for those who haven't seen it and shows many of the local sites.

Bruges is a beautiful city; winding cobblestone streets through medieval buildings that date back to the 15th and 16th centuries. We crossed the canals that wind through the city  over small arched stone bridges. Bruges is straight out of a fairy tale.

Basilica of the Holy Blood

"Blood of Christ"

We visited the Basilica of the Holy Blood, known for a vial which is said to contain a piece of cloth with the blood of Jesus Christ. It was brought to the city after the 12th century Second Crusade. We visited on a Sunday and ended up going to Mass. Neither of us really expected to be at Mass (which was entirely in Flemish) but we laughed about it later. We also visited the Church of Our Lady, which has a Michelangelo sculpture of Madonna and child dating back to 1504.

          Having a few at Brugs Beertje 

In the evening we headed to Brugs Beertje, a small pub in the city which has over 300 beers on their menu, many brewed in the monasteries by nearby Trappist monks. We tried so many different great (and strong) beers at this spot. The walks home were beautiful. The city lights up at night giving you a different perspective of it's beauty.

It's been a few days and we are ready to catch the train to Brussels to pick up our car rental. It will be nice to have our own transportation and not be at the mercy of the train routes. Matt will need to get used to driving on the right side of the road again though!

We will be heading to the Champagne region in France on our way to Burgundy.

Brugge at night