The land of canals and extreme backyard decks:
We spent our last weekend together in Belgium in Brugge. The city is called 'the Venice of the north'. That moniker is a stretch, but not much. The city is beautiful. While they still have cars in the city, the canals are an unmistakable mark of the city. This city used to be one of the biggest trading cities in Europe. From what I read, Brugge was the largest trading city in Europe for a period of 50-100 years in the middle ages. But the fact that it is about 10 miles inland on a canal from the North Sea was its eventual undoing. The canals leading to the city were rapidly silted over and most of the commerce moved to Antwerp instead. Thus the city's population declined by over 50% in a generation. What was left was a backwater city with former delusions of grandeur. And what for us the tourist is the most authentic Middle Ages town in Europe.
Brugge is a very manageable walking town, there is no metro. But to circle the ring road, essentially circling the city, would be about a one hour walk. A very good place to spend a weekend or two.
There are two main squares in the center of Brugge, both are very European town center type places. Some pictures:
Again, canals are a big part of this city. We took an intimate boat tour of the city. Paty, myself and 38 of our closest friends:
The canal has a thriving population of swans, pretty birds:
And every town in Belgium large enough to appear on a map has to have a traditional Belgium brewery. Shockingly enough, Paty and I found the one in Brugge. It was quite nice and the beer was really good. If you happen to find yourself in West Seattle at Casa de Tobin, you to can have a beer out of one of these glasses as I brought a few home:
Brugge also is home to a really famous statue. It is called Madonna and Child. This marble statue is in the church that has the really high spire you see in the background of a couple of these pictures. It is famous as one of the only pieces of art by Michelangelo outside of Italy. This is a legacy of the century of fame that Brugge enjoyed.
We watched the World Cup debacles that were England v Portugal followed by Brazil v France in Brugge. The atmosphere even in this little tucked away town was great for the World Cup games. Still an amazing amount of English fans everywhere. The English travel and support their team better than any country in the world. On Sunday morning after a late night commiserating both the England and Brazil loss, this is what we stumbled upon:
This guy is finishing second in the annual Brugge Marathon. It is safe to say that he was not among the people out reveling or lamenting the night before World Cup quarterfinals! Paty thought it would have been great if I did the race also. But as you can see from these pictures, there is about 40 pounds of me extra that would not have been pleasant to drag around the 26.2 miles.
No comments:
Post a Comment