Yesterday we went to Bruges. The city is absolutely GOREGEOUS!!! It was also alternating between snow and sunshine while we were there (which is infinitely better than rain). The snow made the city even more pretty! There are also tons of canals around Bruges that serve for a lot of great picture-taking moments.
Before even getting on the train, 2 things happened.
1) Heidi and I were waiting for the metro and saw one of the janitors at the metro stop. He was wearing BRIGHT ORANGE firefighter pants. Bell-bottom style. They were bright yellow from about the knee down. I pointed them out to Heidi and she said "wow. Fierce." haha. Apparently all the janitors wear them.
2) I attempted to order a latte in French at the train station (after all, I AM trying to learn). I got as far as "latte, s'il vous plait." Then he asked me a question in French. Which I obviously did not understand. Then he asked "English?" and I replied "yes."
"Why didn't you just say that in the first place!?" he said. He was very miffed. The rest of our interactions were in English (which he spoke very well). That's the difference between Paris and Brussels. In Paris, they get mad if you don't try French first (or so I've heard), while here they would rather you just speak whatever language you can. haha.
Anyway, Bruges is about an hour train ride from Brussels and closer to the coast. The city has A TON of history because in the middle ages it was apparently the capital of Europe for trade and industry. We went to several museums and churches. They also have a giant bell tower that you can climb up (we didn't). My tour guide, who you've heard about before, said that the rumor is that on a clear day you can look out from the bell tower and see to the ocean. But she's never seen it because it's never clear enough. haha.
The first church we entered (Our Lady Church or Onze Lieve Vrouw) had a Michelangelo (!) painting right at the entrance. Although apparently "it's not really a good one. Well...it's fine I suppose but it is not famous or anything and he has better ones" (quotation from our tour guide).
Another highlight was The Holy Blood chapel which actually has a religious relic- holy blood from the crusades. We even had the opportunity to pray over it while we were there! You could stand in line and then in turn go up and put your hands on the case, pray, then the priest would give you a little brochure w/ a prayer to say after and then he would wipe off the relic w/ a cloth and the next person would come up. I did it! The chapel was also GORGEOUS. The walls were all intricately painted with all kinds of designs. There was beautiful stained glass and the altar was absolutely STUNNING!
My third favorite place was the Beguinage that we visited. These started in the 14th century (I think) as a place for women to go if they were left alone. They are basically like a convent but for your average women, and they usually serve as a place for women to pray and take part in some sort of activity to help the city. The one we visited was like a small neighborhood. There were tons of swans around the outside of the walled neighborhood (very pretty) and once we entered through the gates they asked us to be completely silent. The inside had lots of little connected houses with a green park lined with trees in the middle. Very cool! And people still live there!
It was overall a successful trip! I highly recommend a visit Bruges if you ever come to Belgium. The weather was cold, but it was completely worth the visit.
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