Located between Germany, France and Britain the country of Belgium is known for being one of Europe's best-kept secrets. Belgium is split between Wallonia in the South, where they speak French and Flanders in the north where they speak Flemish, a dialect of Dutch.
During the first week I plan to travel by train from Amsterdam to the town of Bruges in Belgium. I will spend a longer two night day trip in Bruges because I have read how beautiful this town is and I wanted to make sure that I had a little more time than just an overnight day trip to explore around.
Bruges is a well-preserved Gothic City that has most of it's interesting sights within the city centre which is itself a prominent World Heritage Site of UNESCO.
The first on my must see list is to visit the Church of Our Lady where I will find the very famous Madonna and Child by Michelangelo. It's said to be the only Michelangelo statue to leave Italy in the famous artist's lifetime. The white marble statue is brilliant and I can't wait to see it in person.
I want to also see the Basilica of the Holy Blood. Originally the Chapel of Saint Basil, this church is famous for its relic of the blood of Christ, which, according to tradition, was brought to Bruges in 1150 after the Second Crusade.
The Market Square is the heart of the city and certain days of the week are market days. And lucky me, I will be there on one of those days. Yay! For some reason this square reminds me of Old Town Square in Prague. Very beautiful.
Also located in the Market Square is the Bell Tower (Belfort). This Gothic bell tower is 83 meters (272 ft) high and is 366 steps to the top. An amazing view of the city is promised to all those who make the climb. I shall think of that thought as I make the climb up. :)
Weather permitting, I hope to take a nice boat tour of this beautiful city, which was highly recommended by fellow blogger and Slow Traveler, Girasoli (Shave Ice & Gelato). I'll probably just check with my hotel for a recommendation on which tour company to go with.
And last but not least, arrival time in beautiful Bruges will be early enough to have some of those famously delicious Belgium Waffles for breakfast. :)
Next up, Berlin . . .
barb cabot has left a new comment on your post "If it's Tuesday, I'll be in Bruges (Belgium) . . ....":
ReplyDeleteA fun read...sounds like such a great adventure. Your title caught my eye and made me laugh.
. . .... at 9:37 AM
Hi Barb, thanks so much for your comments. Sorry but I had to repost my entry because of an error on my original post. I usually just edit my posts but for some reason when I do I lose the paragraphs. I'll have to figure that out one of these days. :)
ReplyDeleteLuckily, I was able to copy and paste your comments from the moderation page here so it wouldn't be lost.
I love my title too. When planning my day trip to Belgium, I thought how cool it would be to actually go on a Tuesday... :D
Don't forget to eat some belgium chocolate--it will give you energy to climb up all of those stairs!
ReplyDeleteHi Maya, excellent idea. I shall definitely sample some delicious belgium chocolate before my climb. :)
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for your comments.
I'd like to come with you. Never been to Belgium and we have friends there. I look forward to your reports!
ReplyDeleteIt sounds like a wonderful city. Yum on waffles and chocolate!
ReplyDeleteHi Jane, thanks so much for your comments. I wish I could take all my blogging friends with me. How wonderful that you have friends in Belgium. I hope to capture the best that I can in describing Bruges from my experiences. I have a strong feeling I'm going to want to return there myself. :)
ReplyDeleteHi Annie, totally agree. Yummy on the Waffles and Chocolate. :) Thanks so much for your comments.
All sounds yummy! If you see that 'nasty boy' Colin (Farrell-In Bruges) say 'hi' for me!
ReplyDeleteThose churches (and the Michelangelo statue) look so beautiful! Sounds like it's going to be a wonderful place to visit.
ReplyDeleteHi M, yummy is so right. And if I see Colin I will definitely say hi from you (and me) :)
ReplyDeleteHi Sandra, I'm really looking forward to Bruges and seeing the town and the two churches. The boat tour sounds like fun too, so I hope the weather holds up. :)
Thanks so much M & Sandra. And the countdown continues.
Definitely climb the bell tower. The view is beautiful even in November. It may be a little cold for a boat ride. We had an afternoon snack of waffles at a cafe on the square near the church of holy blood. Lots and lots of chocolates. All good so is the food. I really enjoyed walking around the city. I didn't go to any of the museums but they might be a good option if rainy. If you had more time, you could also take a tour of the WWI fields - I've heard great things about Quisimodo tours of Flanders fields but I've never done the tour.
ReplyDeleteHi Marta, thanks so much for your comments and tips. I hope to make that climb for the view, but will since both you and Maya recommend the chololate as Maya says, it could give me a burst of energy to get to the top so I shall have to visit a chocolate shop first...:)
ReplyDeleteI am hoping for some descent weather for the boat tour but will wing that part of the itinerary based on the weather I'm dealt. Thanks for the tip on the Flanders field and tour group. I haven't read about that. I'll research it tonight and add it to my itineray as another interesting thing I could do while in Burges. Thanks soooo much Marta. I really appreciate all the tips you've been sharing. And I love the idea of waffles as an afternoon snack. I will have it as a meal on both days there. :)
I can't believe I did not climb the bell tower in Bruges! I am looking foward to hearing how you like this gem of a little city and look forward to seeing some of your photos.
ReplyDeleteHi Girasoli, I thought of you when I read about the tower because I know how much you love to climb towers. But Maya and Marta had a good idea. I'll have some chocolate before the climb. :)
ReplyDeleteI forgot if my hotel in Bruges has wi-fi but I will definitely do a post about my stay there from Amsterdam if not Bruges.
Thanks so much for your comments.