Our arrival in Bruges on a cloudy draughty morning instantly hit a low point with all those prototypical European narrow cobbled alleys and cathedrals and old brick walls – Phew! Hadn’t we seen enough of them already?! On the brighter side the hotel room was cozy and warm and since there was no rush to join the hoards of people to see those ‘same old things’ I hit snooze. Adi, on the other hand, wasn’t so taken down by it. And so while I slept grumpily the winds had blown over the clouds in our favour bringing in lots of sunshine (well, the sun does make everything better) and coaxing us to be out there! And with each passing hour the graph picked up until it turned the frown upside down completely!
Okay! May be that was a little dramatic and I just needed to sleep more. 😉
Without a shadow of doubt Bruges is one of the most beautiful European cities. A bite-size very walkable Belgian city of ginger-bread houses, horse – carriages trit-trotting on cobbled stones (with horse poop smell wafting), happy bikers ringing past, peppered with a few windmills, tree boughs kissing the stone bridges and canals winding and weaving through it. A description only a childhood fairytale could match.
Oh-so-romantic Bruges!!
No but this is true that Bruges was not a love at first sight although in hindsight I do wonder why it wasn’t?
In this two part blog on Bruges/Brugge (in Dutch) I don’t have any tips or tricks up my sleeve to help you do Bruges. Even so I strongly feel you’d set your heart on it once you finish the reading the posts.
All we did in Bruges was wander aimlessly with no plans or itinerary – popped in a shop, sat by a canal, rode a bike, ate when we felt like and let the course be spontaneous (and I immensely enjoyed the change!!). Neither did we stick to any order nor do the pictures that follow do!
This is where most of us begin in Bruges – the market square or Markt.
It’s the heart of the city – a colourful one at that!
Fringed with cafes and al fresco dining – it makes a great place to people watch – get the rhythm of the city. It’s often brimming with tourists but the heart is big enough to hold them all.
The horse-drawn carriages also find a place in Markt.
To be watched out for while taking in all the sights around the centre. They whiz past really close at times!
Also sitting in the centre of Market square is Belfry Tower – a medieval bell tower.
We went up there to the complex working of bells and to see through the maze of the city.
The orange roofed cityscape.
With alleys winding around the ‘biscuit’ houses Bruge is an extremely photogenic city.
A sign put up inside the Belfry.
There’s surely LIFE in Bruges!
While the views up there were good, walking down in those alleys was even better!
And the ‘old brick walls’ ceased to be boring. 🙂
Oh, I did warn you of some self obsession in Bruges right?
So there!
Colour blocked in a different alleyway.
Also, I always look better with a shopping bag in hand although I try to hide it sometimes 😀
Every little thing – a signboard or a window display or a table setting is done with great sense of aesthetics.
We saw at lot of it without ever getting bored.
Bruges makes sure romance doesn’t leave the city. It’s always spring time in Bruges.
An inviting table setting.
All hail the Sun (and the one who did the tables).
A door handle to have!
Lots of earthy colours and rouge flowers in wrought iron balconies – Pure charm!
A boy by the window.
I honestly don’t know the names of so many buildings we’ve photographed.
Some or may be all are of historic importance.
It’s not that I don’t remember – I never found out.
It was a beautiful building on a beautiful day and I had the best company and nothing else mattered!
We spotted an exhibit of window panes close to the structure in the previous photo.
And next thing we know we were trying shoes at a store right opposite!!!
Hmm…the bags look nice too. How did I miss seeing those?!
Besides fabulous pair of shoes we also found Adi’s Doppelgänger!!
Could do with some work on hair and voila! we can tell our grand children about their grandfather’s bust in Bruges.
Bruges has one of the most stunning architecture of all European cities with such clean lines that some of the building almost look two-dimensional.
I mean, look at this!
Lots of majestic looking buildings stand huddled together like one big family.
Old St. John’s hospital was one of the places of interest that I missed peeking into.
This medieval structure is one of the oldest surviving hospital buildings in Europe that looked after the travellers and pilgrims who passed through.
Old stone bridges of Bruges are one of the most beautiful!
And when our silly wanderings brought us to one we sat by it in contemplation reflecting our thoughts.
ha ha! No way. With that light and that sight…we were taking pictures of course!
Omg! They are fighting again.
That one is off to a pub.
Bridges of Bruges.
A garden of some sort with two playful cherubs. This was another place of beauty where I posed blissfully unaware of surroundings.
Only thing I was aware of was warm evening sunshine that felt so good as the evenings turned a tad nippy.
Okay. Why is there a map? In hands of someone who can read it?
Whatever happened to ‘aimless wanderings’?!
Well, the map was to bring us here!
This is Minnewater Park with a small lake aka Lake of Love and a castle known as Minnewater Kasteel – it houses a restaurant.
Absolutely romantic place if you come here in evenings.
The Lake of Love wasn’t exactly lovely as it wasn’t too clean on a closer look or even pleasant smelling but it was no doubt very picturesque.
There’s a small public green space in minnewater park where one can escape the hustle of the city. Also here’s hoping some of the beauty of Bruges rubs on to me.
Here’s another of loads of pictures I have of myself in Bruges so that when I’m old and wrinkly, grey and grumpy I can look back to these and feel good again in this feel-good place! 🙂
Besides being a sight for sore eyes, Bruges is a gastronomic haven! Although for us these two criteria are good enough to go back to Bruges but it so happens that there are windmills and canals and bikes and a beach close by and a cuddly golden labrador named Fidele as well! All that fits in the next post. Umm…and then some.:)
With Bruges being so gorgeous, it’s a daunting task for me to find something to say that hasn’t been said before…so I should get on to it while you savour this post!
Ciao!
Beautiful buildings, biscuit houses,lakes gardens, canals—-everything what a wanderer wants. Looking great, keep rocking dear.
Many thanks, you’ve summed it beautifully!
Thank you so much! More ‘feel-goodness’ in Part 2 of the same.
Yes, truly a feel good travelogue.