Along with Amsterdam, Bruges is said to be the "Venice of the North." Of course, neither city really compares to Venice as far as the canals go. I admit I am a bit biased, because I still consider Venice my favorite city I have ever visited - though I think Venice may now be tied with Paris. But, canals or not, both Amsterdam and Bruges were amazing, beautiful places to visit. Bruges quaint charm is what really got me. Some areas looked like they were right out of a fairy tale; especially the Béguinage which had a courtyard just covered in flowers at the time that we visited.
Among many different places of interest, The Madonna of Bruges - found in the Church of Our Lady - is one of Bruge's highlights for sure. We set out on a quest to get to the church before it closed at 4pm. Or at least that's the time we thought it closed. When we got there we were relieved to find that the church wasn't closing until much later. Now, if only we could find the correct entrance...being with people from the tour group, which included friends Nancy and her husband Marshall, we all wandered about until a few people from our group decided to be daring and jump the turnstile in an area that was obviously not being used at the moment. Nancy and Marshall followed, as did I, being ever the risk taker. Even my dad joined in the shenanigans! Of course, we didn't get too far before we were approached by security, nicely asking us to go around and use a different entrance - and we all had a good laugh at what we had just done.
Once legally inside, we explored this beautiful church and found our way to the Madonna of Bruges; a sculpture of Mary holding the baby Jesus done by none other than Michelangelo.
After seeing the church we went and had some Belgian beer and Belgian fries in the town square, just chatting and people watching, taking it all in. Later on, Nancy and myself set out on our own little photography tour, finding some great hidden gems. Of course, our Belgian experience would not be complete without a trip to a chocolate shop. I had bought some chocolate in Brussels, but had not had my fill, and it seemed that every other store in Bruges was a chocolate shop! We went to a well known, and well reviewed shop called "The Chocolate Line" and it was definitely some of the best chocolate I have ever tasted.
The next day was a walking tour of Bruges, covering pretty much every place you should see, including the Basilica of the Holy Blood, where there is an elaborate tabernacle that supposedly holds the actual blood of Jesus Christ. The Basilica dates back to the 1100s.
So, as you can imagine, I took hundreds of pictures in Bruges. Here, I have posted only a handful - my favorites.
Below: The Madonna of Bruges
Here I am drinking a Belgian beer called Juliper, which I was later told was the Budweiser of Belgium! I never said I was a beer connoisseur. I thought it was delicious! ;)
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