What is there to see and do in Bruges? The main attraction for me was the architecture and the city itself. There are no "must see" sights in Bruges so it was relaxing and nice to just enjoy being in a new city.
Tuesday, April 10, we headed out to see what there was to see in Bruges.
We used this window as a marker to help us find the way back to our house. From the main street, turn right when you see this window;)
Bruges has a main canal running through the town. It used to be one of the main stops on the cloth trade route and most of the cities money was made this way.
THE attraction in Bruges is this bell tower. It has been on the square since 1300 and a carillon bell rings each 15 minutes. We just had to climb the 366 steps to the top for a view of the city.
Emerson waving goodbye as he heads up the stairs.
The inner workings of the bell tower. We were in this room when the bells rang and it was so neat to see how this machinery runs to make the bells ring out a specific tune.
Belgium chocolate anyone? No thanks. I have never liked Belgium chocolate...too waxy. I thought I would give it a try since I was in Belgium. Nope, still no good. They are pretty to look at but they have no real chocolate flavor.
Moving on to Burg Square. This is the Basilica of the Holy Blood. This church was built by a crusader in 1150 to house the drops of Christ's blood he brought back from Jerusalem.
The interior of this church was beautiful! Unfortunately the phial of blood was not on display the day we visited.
Townsend showing off his monkey skills in front of City Hall
The "Gothic Room" inside City Hall.
There was a carnival on the main Market Square while we were in Bruges. The boys played a fishing game and won these action figures...
...and this is what the action figures looked like after only about 5 minutes. Have I mentioned my twins are hard on toys?
Our only attempt at a family photo while in Bruges. This stone bridge was so cute.
Inside the Church of Our Lady. This is the only Michelangelo sculpture to leave Italy in Michelangelo's lifetime.
This church was very beautiful.
The final resting place of the last local rulers of Bruges. After Mary of Burgundy, and her father Charles the Bold died, Bruges was ruled by the wealthy Hapsburgs of Austria.
We visited two museums while in Bruges. We found the Bruges city ticket to be quite handy. For one price you get admission to all the sites in the city. The Gruuthuse Museum was the 15th century mansion of one of Bruges wealthy merchants. The neatest part about this house was that they had their own chapel that overlooked the inside of the Church of Our Lady. So they could wake up on Sunday morning, walk into their own little chapel and observe the service without leaving their house. The second museum we visited was the Groeninge Museum. This museum showcases the art of Bruges painters during the 1400 when Bruges was a wealthy and very cultured city.
After a full day of site seeing we let Oma and Andrea continue their adventures (they went to another museum and then on a boat ride through the canals) while Hyrum and I took the boys to the playground. They had a lot of fun climbing and sliding and jumping and digging. We spent the night again in Bruges and walked around a bit the next morning before heading out of town.
Of course the sun decided to come out on the morning we left!
Bruges was a nice relaxing stop to break up our road trip. Just being able to stay in the same place for more than one night helps make you feel less rushed. I really enjoyed this cute little city, I hope to visit again some day.
Off to the Netherlands...
No comments:
Post a Comment