Bruges

After arriving safely through the storm to Antwerp we had a few options as where to be bussed.  I opted for a morning in Bruges and the afternoon back in Antwerp, while Mom opted for the morning in Bruges and the afternoon in Ghent; if you want to how Ghent was you'll have to contact her directly.  I was motivated by my wariness of the storm as well as my weariness of busses and medieval cities (towns).

Bruges was beautiful (see pictures below), but incredibly small.  Having been important in medieval times, the town remained little affected by much in the following centuries except for tourism.  Beginning (according to our guide) with British tourists seeking nearby Waterloo and staying a while to experience Bruge' rustic charm, tourism seems to be about all the city has to live for.  If you compare the satellite map below with a map from 1775 (far past its heyday), you'll see that the city has altered very little.  To give you even more perspective, walking from one side of the old town to the other took about 30 minutes at the most and if you look at the wikipedia article I can confidently say that I saw all of the beautiful panoramas during my brief stay of 4-5 hours.




Map of Bruges from 1775

Bruges is criss-crossed by canals,

Studded with churches,

Comprised of narrow cobblestone streets,

Bordered by windmills,

Broken by towers,

And centered around a square, and this suggestive tower.

Once again, in the morning light:

Bruges