Welcome to Brugges, the land that time forgot. It used to be one of the most important shipping cities in Europe but with the advent of modernity, viola, it was forgotten. Rick Steve said it best that the city is "nicely pickled" and "ripe for tourists". It is truly a fantastic place. There is so much confusion in the architecture, gothic, medieval, and flemish. The poor little place doesn't know where it is. Belgium doesn't know which way it is going, with its Roman (yup its true) French, German and Flemish influences. It is officially a kingdom but was last ruled by a king in 1951 when king Leopold II abdicated. Back to Brugge, it is considered the Venice of the north, with its canals and picturesque scenery, architecture, and bell tower (see above). There is also a Michelangelo sculpture at the Church of Our Lady, yes another Notre Dame, which was given to the church in 1514 by Flemish merchants. It is one of a few outside of Rome. Um, I was too interested in the architecture and gravestones embedded in the floor, that I forgot to take a picture of it. Oh Michelangelo, I didn't mean to forget you.
I want to live there, where the little red windows are. Too bad its not somewhere else.
This is the interior of Our Lady. Michelangelo is to the right.
Look at the joinery of this. Incredible, its lasted hundreds of years.
The simplicity of this door handle is amazing. A bent rod with a couple small details to make it a serpent.
Our Lady, under renovation seen from the brewery. Its the brick tower where the Mic-y lives.
Um, the chocolade vending machine was incredible. We waited briefly for the train, used all of our euro coins and had one. Amazing, perhaps it was the cold, but it was a highlight of our trip.
A funny story about our trip. We went to a store to find perfume, and the woman, which looked crazy with one off's of nearly everything that would be in an old lady's closet, but for sale, and tried ordering something to no avail. It was definitely a strange experience. I should've taken a picture.
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