So if you haven't heard of the movie In Bruges, we both highly recommend it! Its a dark comedy, set in Bruges Belgium. Brendan Gleeson, Colin Farrell and Ralph Fiennes all put on some incredible performances. But the real star of the movie for us was Bruges. So we put on our list of cities to visit, and here is our adventure!
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0780536/ A link to the movie on IMDB
It was a short walk from the train station to the old center of Bruges. Bruges is pronounced like the sport of luge, with the ‘s’ silent. We also saw it spelled like Brugge and Brugges. All of which allude to its canals and brug’s which is Dutch/Flemish for bridges. Its one of the most intact medieval cities in Belgium, and just a gem of a town that I am glad isn't on everyone’s to do list for visiting in Europe. Here Saviya sits on on of the first bridges we crossed to get into the old city, this pump house restricted the higher water and kept the canals below at a constant level. One of the funniest things we found about Bruges was the immense number of horse drawn carriages throughout the city. The odd part is they all fly through the city at full gallop! This isn't an enjoyable sightseeing tour, its a seat of your pants ride across cobblestones through the crowds. I would vote this tourist trap off the island…
So we checked into our hotel which was a great location but very small (and not just by European standards…one of our smallest in 9 months of travel here). We took a walk a few blocks up, and here Saviya stands in front of the old hospital. Like many things that are hundreds of years old it was used for many things, but it was known as a hospital, and sits next door to one of the older churches. Below are a few pictures of the church
About 10 yards further up is yet another church! Above you see a seemingly useless walkway connected to the church. I can only assume at some point there was a gate or other structure connected to this at some point and once removed this had to stay for some structural reason. But cute pic!
You keep on knocking, nobody home! Saviya used this pic on her monthly real estate magazine. Can she find your new dream home?A look back towards the way we came…With the hospital and church on the right, other church on the left.
We round the corner to see 2 more churches! Maybe this town should be called Kerkes not Bruges! The taller tower in the background and the shorter one in the foreground
But finally we stumble across ‘The Belfry’. This church clock tower was a major feature of the movie, and easy to see why. Its a wonderful structure, visible from all around Bruges. More about this in the next posting.
-Colin
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