Brugge, Belgium: A Traveler's Journey . . .

My second day in Brugge started with a walk through this very lively open market. It was being held in Burg Square rather than Market Square because they were preparing it for the annual Christmas Market to begin in December.  I enjoyed listening to the vendors shouting out their products in friendly competition with each other to attract customers. It was fun to watch. 

I decided to climb up the 366 steps to the top of the Belfry for a nice view of the town.  I figure it was best to do it early before it got crowed and I got tired from all my my sightseeing. Smart move!  The climb isn't straight non stop, thank goodness. There are about 3 little breaks where there is a room and benches (he, he).  The rooms have little stories about the tower's history and in a couple of them there is a display of the bells.  There was some rennovating being done so we didn't quite have access to one section at the top for a full 360 degree view. Still it was pretty nice to see the town from high up.

And towards the very top, the stairway became even tighter and in the center there is a big rope to hold on to.  Going down was also tricky because the steps were narrow and you had to watch when people were coming up and one of us had to stop and move to the side to let each other pass. Everyone was very polite.

View of the tower from below in a courtyard, I'll have to post a video of the bells.

I  could not take the canal cruise because they stopped operating for the winter. Bummer but the hotel recommended the City Bus tour, which I took.  It was 15 minutes long and gave a nice overview of the main attractions. 

From the tour, I discovered another place called the Begijnhof that I really wanted to see too.  It is a very peaceful little place with a nice church. I bought a nice guardian angel souvenir and gift here. They were made by monks.



And in case you needed a reminder to be quiet, here's their very polite way of reminding you . . .

A traveler's journey  . . . is filled with early and late night adventures, busy or near empty train stations, long train rides and peaceful places of contemplation.  They are filled with people you meet who smile when you tell them where you are from and who puts on smile on our own faces as we learn where they are from.  It's walking down a narrow street and moving to the side to make way for locals carrying bags full of fresh vegetables and other products they just bought from the town's weekly open market. 

And if a traveler's journey takes us to a beautiful little town called Brugge, Belgium, we should consider ourselves fortunate.  Thank you so much for the wonderful time I had . . .