Bruges - Day 3

Day 3 was a trip to Bruges, about an hour east-northeast of Brussels. It was a rainy, damp day. That, and some Italian tourists, eventually took its toll on us.

I guess Beer Pong is a universal game. Apparently, you need to buy a Beer Pong "kit" because plastic cups, a ping-pong ball and beer are so difficult to find...

This was a really cool old building that we passed on the way to the Markt, from the car park. McDonald's has defiled it with their presence.

As in Reims in 2014, Star Wars is universal.

The Bruges Belfry across from the Markt. The Markt was setting up their Christmas Market but it wasn't yet open.

The top of this building, in the Markt square, had a clock that was oriented as a compass.

From the Markt, we walked up Breidelstraat to Burg Square. This is the Hotel de Ville (Town Hall).

If we could pan the camera to the right, in the image above, you'd see the Basilica of the Holy Blood. Here are some images from inside.

Stained glass windows.

Here's the outside entryway. For a small fee, you could walk up and view the Holy Blood. That area was roped off and no pictures were allowed. It would have been very difficult to get a picture given all the security and other guests. It was dark enough, inside, that a flash would have been required. We opted to obey the rules, this time.....

A close-up of the Hotel de Ville.

Looking back across the Square with the Belfry in the distance.

The Belfry from Wollestraat. Burg Square would be to the right, from this vantage point.

Words to live by.

The statue of Johannes Nepomucenus on a bridge over the Dijver River.

Looking down the Dijver towards the Church of Our Lady of Bruges.

This building, on the left, is not part of the church but was very interesting. The gate opens up into a courtyard behind the church.

Unicorns!

This is outside the church. Not quite sure what it was.

Inside the church is the Madonna of Bruges by Michelangelo. After watching the movie, Monuments Men, this was something we had to see. It was carved, out of marble, between 1501 to 1504.

Here are other interior shots of the church. Magnificent.

In the choir space behind the high altar are the tombs of Charles the Bold, last Valois Duke of Burgundy, and his daughter, the duchess Mary (below). The gilded bronze effigies of both father and daughter repose at full length.

We wanted to take a boat tour but had some time to kill. So, we wandered a bit.

This car looked like a cross between an old Mini and a Port-A-Potty. It was filled with stuff and looked more like a storage locker than an actual vehicle. Did you notice the mini Pope on the dashboard?

We're now back by where the boat tours are. Kasey in the foreground, to the right. We squeezed into one of the boats and took a river cruise.

The Belfry again. It dominates the sky in Bruges along with the bell tower of the Church of Our Lady.

Some buildings are quite modern.

We're back. The tour lasted for about 30-45 minutes. The Italians, previously mentioned, thought it would be great fun to feed every freaking bird they saw. On numerous occasions we were inundated with flying fowl hovering over the boat. It was kind of fun, once, but then became too much. It was a miracle we weren't all sporting bird poop by the end of the tour. Needless to say, that kind of ruined the tour for us.

We took a different route back towards the Markt. Since it was a grey day, darkness came a little early. And, it started to rain again.

The Market was cool all lit up though.

Back in Brussels, we muscled our way into Chez Leon, a famous local eatery.

The mussels are what Chez Leon is known for. Kasey scarfed them down. We now have a Chimay glass like the one in the middle of the table.

After dinner, we strolled back thru the Grand Place. We watched as they tested the light show for the Christmas Market. The Hotel de Ville played a major part.

We also stopped for some dessert on the walk back. Oh yeah!

Near Chez Leon is Jeanneke Pis. She's behind a grate and at the end of an alley. She's a little hard to see. Kasey worked very hard to get this decent image.