Part Two: Bruges, Belgium

I got off the bus from the train station and walked past a large windmill, through a large stone archway, and onto a cobblestoned street. At the Bauhaus Hostel, I stumbled into a bar on the main floor, which turned out to double as the reception desk. I was relieved to rid myself of my backpack and took a seat at the bar. Here I met two Americans from Philadelphia who'd also just arrived. After we were properly nourished, we armed ourselves with a walking tour map of Bruges and set off to explore.

Bruges is gorgeous. Really gorgeous. Small, though - it took us about two hours to walk around the entire city. And that included a stop at a local microbrewery, as per our map's recommendation. It's a medieval looking city, full of monuments, churches, beautiful architecture and canals. Whereas in Brussels I spoke to everyone in French, in Bruges most people speak Dutch and so I resorted to English. (A confession: for the first couple days I was in Belgium, I was mystified by the sheer number of German tourists milling around. Eventually I realized that I was hearing Dutch, not German.)

One of the many canal boats touring around:



I will never fail to be enamored with cobblestones:



Another main square:



Um, I think this one has something to do with royal people:



Yeah, I could see this in Victoria, but still:



Oh wait, maybe it was this one that has something to do with royalty:



I think Bruges has been trying to beef up its tourist image in the past few years; it's now being touted as "one of Europe's major tourist destinations" and "the Venice of the North." It was a holiday Monday in Belgium the day I was there, and it was absolutely crammed with tourists. It was hard to spot any locals. Actually, ironically many of them seemed to be hanging out at the bar in our hostel, which became quite the happening spot come evening.



Well, I have to admit we were a little curious about this exhibit after seeing the title, but I wasn't in Bruges long enough to see it:



Peeking around the corner of an outdoor cafe:



So...many...churches...





In the Onze Lieve Vrouw Church, we found "Madonna with Child," apparently one of the few Michelangelo sculptures outside of Italy:



Another canal boat:



Another canal:



The Stroofstraatje, a narrow alley where, according to our walking tour map, you can "smell the sex in the air" (formerly the red light district):



Bruges was full of bicycles, just a hint of what was to come in Amsterdam:



The Beguinage, which is now inhabited by Benedictine nuns:



Just a few more photo opps:











And well, after all that walking, what's left to do?





The main square (Markt) at night: