Brugge, Belgium (Day 1)

Went to Brugge on Wednesday.  It's about an hour out of Brussels.  

Bruges (Brugges in Dutch) is the capital and largest city of the province of West Flanders in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is located in the northwest of the country.

The historic city centre is a prominent World Heritage Site of UNESCO. It is oval-shaped and about 430 hectares in size. The city's total population is around 117,000, of which, around 20,000 live in the city centre.  Bruges has most of its medieval architecture intact. 

From 1200 to 1400 Brugge was the economic capital of Europe north of the Alps. The Brugge fair was established in 1200 and contacts with Britain were the first to develop, particularly related to wool. This was followed by other regions - northern Europe, the German countries, and the Mediterranean. The growing prosperity of the city was reflected in the construction of public buildings, such as the imposing belfry in the Grand-Place, and Brugge was quickly established as an economic capital of Europe. The palace of the van der Buerse family became the monetary centre, giving its name to the concept of the Bourse (stock exchange). Following its growth the town developed a series of social institutions from the 14th century onwards, including the Saint-Jean Hospital and the typical small God's Houses (Hôtels-Dieu) and hospices. The Gothic town hall of 1376 remains the oldest in the Low Countries.

The weather was fantastic and the city beautiful.  Loved it.  Left early so got in around 11:00.  We dropped our bags at the hotel and went to get some lunch and to explore the old city.

The Square

City Hall

Bruges' most famous landmark is its 13th-century belfry, housing a municipal carillon comprising 48 bells.The city still employs a full-time carillonneur, who gives free concerts on a regular basis.

Lunch on the square

Major Streets went off the main square at each corner.

One of them went through to The Burg Square

Town Hall

The Old Recorder's House (one of the few rennaisance buildings in Brugges)

Basilica of the Holy Blood where the relic of the Holy Blood is kept

Carriage Parking

The Canals.  I found them more like Venice canals than Amsterdam, because a lot of the houses and buildings were the actual canal walls.

Just walking in the direction of the "Church of Our Lady" to find Michaelangelo's Madonna and Child

Note the window in the white building.  A mannequin of Marilyn Monroe's famous pose with the blowing dress.  Weird, but there it was. Ha

Church of Our Lady

Book Club ladies.  This is the one the Monument's Men looked for and found in the Altaussee Salt Mine in Austria.  Guess what it was stolen once before.  Keep reading.

"Michelangelo's depiction of the Madonna and Child differs significantly from earlier representations of the same subject, which tended to feature a pious Virgin smiling down on an infant held in her arms. Instead, Jesus stands upright, almost unsupported, only loosely restrained by Mary's left hand, and appears to be about to step away from his mother and into the world. Meanwhile, Mary does not cling to her son or even look at him, but gazes down and away, as if she knows already what is to be her son's fate. It is believed the work was originally intended for an altar piece. If this is so, then it would have been displayed facing slightly to the right and looking down".

"Madonna and Child shares certain similarities with Michelangelo's Pietà, which was completed shortly before, mainly, the chiaroscuro pattern and the movement of the drapery. The long, oval face of
Mary is also reminiscent of the Pieta".

"The work is also notable in that it was the only sculpture by Michelangelo to leave Italy during his lifetime. It was bought by Giovanni and Alessandro Moscheroni (Mouscron), from a family of wealthy cloth merchants in Bruges, then one of the leading commercial cities in Europe. The sculpture was sold for 4,000 florin.

The sculpture was removed twice from Belgium after its initial arrival. The first was in 1794, after French Revolutionaries had conquered the Austrian Netherlands during the French Revolutionary Wars; the citizens of Bruges were ordered to ship it and several other valuable works of art to Paris. It was returned after Napoleon's final defeat at Waterloo in 1815. The second removal was in 1944, during World War II, with the retreat of German soldiers, who smuggled the sculpture to Germany enveloped in mattresses in a Red Cross truck.  It was found two years later in Altaussee/Austria and again returned. It now sits in the Church of Our Lady in Bruges, Belgium".

Church pulpit - really high and ornate as are most in the churches and cathedrals we have seen.

The walk back to our hotel "Martin's Brugge", which was just off the Square on a side street. Walk down any street and see all kinds of neat places.

Of course there was Belgian Chocolate close by

Belgian Lace

and Belgian motorcycles?? It was actually a Kawasaki, I think, but it was really cool with the sidecar.  Would love to take a ride in one of these.

I let Terry pick the restaurants since she is the foodie.  For dinner she picked a typically Belgian cuisine place known for its dishes prepared with beer.  "Cambrinus Bierbrasserie" on Philipstockstraat not too far off the main square.  We both had the Belgian or Flemish Stew made with beer.  Terry even ordered the same beer to complement her stew.  Turns out the alcohol content in that beer was 10.2%.  We got to talking to a couple next to us who turned out to be from the US but visit Belgium frequently.  He told us the alcohol content of the beer.  He turns out to be quite the beer aficionado. Apparently there are some 1500 different beers in Belgium and this retired Professor of Languages (from Princeton) and Grandfather's goal is to drink all of them at least once.  He was up to 985 over his many visits to Belgium.  HA.  He says his children do not necessarily think this is a goal to be proud of, but he begs to differ.  I myself think its a grand ambition at this stage in life.  Try em all!  A very nice couple we enjoyed talking to them.

Hmm which one shall I have.

Tomorrow we have a city tour scheduled.