Bruges, Belgium: City of Canals, Churches, and Chocolate

The reason we decided to start our trip in Belgium was to visit the town of Bruges. Andrea had discovered interesting reviews of the town and decided it was a place to visit. The center of town has the distinction of being on the UNESCO World Heritage List as a medieval city. It has become a major tourist destination for Belgium.

Bruges is only about a 30 minute train ride from Ghent. When we got on the train, it was already full of travelers from Brussels. This should have given us a clue as to what we could expect in the day ahead.

The train stops on the outskirts of Bruges so visitors have to walk to get to the city center. As we came into town and looked over a canal, we saw a boat tour company. Since we had failed to take a canal tour the day before in Ghent, we decided to take one now in Bruges. We figured earlier was better.

We had a short wait for the next boat. Although we were first in line, that didn’t mean we got the best seats. We ended up in the back of the boat. I was in the center and could only face forward so my views were somewhat obstructed. The trip was fun and informative, but not totally what I would have hoped for. The boat moved fairly quickly over the route so that taking any pictures felt like it was being done on the run. There was little opportunity to think a shot through. It was point and shoot and hope for the best. I was also shooting over people so sometimes a stray arm or head got in my way.

The operator ran an audio throughout the tour that commented on the history and the sites we were seeing. While the information was very good, it was hard to remember it all. When we got off the boat, we couldn’t recall the information given about the different buildings. The audio was provided in three or four languages. English was always first and then other European languages. This meant long pauses between the commentary so one wasn’t always ready when English returned.

Going under some of the bridges was interesting. The boats are low to the water for that reason. From a photographer’s perspective taking photos from such a low position creates challenges when processing them. The angles can be too much. Despite these challenges I’m glad we did the trip, and these boat trips are not expensive. It cost about $12.00 per person for about a 25 minute tour.

After the boat trip we began to wander around town and see the various sites. We didn’t really have a plan so we just wandered along. If we had obtained a map, that might have helped, but we couldn’t find one. The town is not a small village. It is actually surprisingly large and can be challenging to navigate.

Churches again dominate the skyline with their tall steeples. There are a number of churches in the town, and on this day they were all open to the public to come inside and see the interiors. I came away with a number of impressions about the churches. First was that these churches hold a great deal of historic and valuable pieces of art. Some churches had walls lined with art from well known Flemish artists. The Church of Our Lady Bruges even has a sculpture by Michelangelo. We didn’t see it as they were charging admission to a separate museum to see all the well known art pieces they own. That church also boasts the third largest brick tower in the world and dominates the Bruges skyline.

Another aspect of the churches I noted were the lecterns. These were usually in the center of the sanctuary, not in the front by the altars. Each one had a great deal of carvings around them. They were not simple lecterns, but were very ornately designed as well as quite high above the congregation. There were steps leading up to the pulpit where the priest would speak.

Of course there was also a great number of stained glass windows as well as often decorative ceilings. It’s amazing to think about the construction of these churches and the amount of work and artistry that went into them. One hopes that they will continue to be used to bring honor to God and not become simply museums for pieces of art and architecture.

Besides the steeples rising above the city, the bell tower also rises high above. We were able to get timed tickets to visit the Belfry towards the end of the day so going up was our last major activity. The Belfry has a long history that goes back to the 13th century. Various bells and chimes have been used, and the mechanisms that work the bells have also advanced over the years. As visitors climb up the tower, there are various stops along the way that give some history as well as allows one to see the bells and some of the mechanisms.

Climbing the tower is not an easy task. The circular staircase that winds around has wooden treads that are narrow and well worn. For much of the climb there is a thick rope that is attached to the center of the spiral. Visitors can hold on to it as there are no rails until the final section. Of course with narrow stairs passing people going the opposite directions becomes a challenge as well. However, seeing the bells and the views from the top makes the 366 step climb worth it in the end.

The Belfry is beside the main public square known as Market Square. City Hall as well as the Provincial Court are also here. This is a busy area with tours starting here and restaurants set up in various places along the edges of the square.

Visiting other cultures involves a lot of different elements. Food is one of them. One of the popular food items we encountered was the Belgian waffle. A number of shops sold these throughout the town, and we couldn’t resist. They have become take out items. Servers put a waffle in a paper tray and add toppings. Andrea had caramel and whipped cream. She said it was one of the best things she has eaten. I had mine with strawberry and dark chocolate. It was very good. This is a must eat item if you are going to Belgium.

Of course another important Belgian food is chocolate. There are numerous houses of chocolate around town with many options of what to buy. You can enjoy the chocolate when you buy it, or take it home to remind you of your trip. I took some home.

There are a couple of challenges in visiting Bruges. The first one relates to bathrooms. The use of a public bathroom costs .50 euros. While that isn’t much, it is if you have no euros. We were planning to use our credit cards for the trip and not exchange money. However, when one needs money to use the bathroom, one’s perspective changes. I finally broke down and got some money from an ATM. Shortly after that I noticed that there were some public urinals around town, and there was no charge for them. Some were more discreet than others, and I finally ended up using one. Andrea was rather indignant at that. She felt it was a discrimination against women who could not use a public urinal like men. They had to pay. However she managed to wait until we had lunch and used the restroom at the restaurant without paying.

Another challenge in Bruges is walking. The streets of Bruges are mostly cobblestone which creates an uneven surface. This makes walking more difficult and tiring. We walked over 10 miles in Bruges according to Andrea, and we were really sore by the end of the day.

We visited Bruges on Easter Monday, the end of a four day weekend. As a result it was a very busy place. Much like the previous day in Ghent, restaurants were crowded and busy most of the afternoon. There were people everywhere. Carriage rides along with cars, motorcycles, and bicycles added to the confusion so that we had to be cautious of traffic wherever we went.

Nevertheless, Bruges is an interesting city filled with brick buildings. Here are a few final photos of this lovely city.

In late afternoon we walked back to a very crowded train station as everyone headed home from the weekend. We did manage to have seats on the train but not together. It was nice to be back in our apartment for the evening and just put our feet up and relax.

Bruges is well worth visiting. We Americans often think something a few hundred years old is really old. But when you see buildings going back to the 1300s, it changes one’s perspective about what is old. Bruges has a way of doing that. Tomorrow it’s on to the Netherlands.

As always your comments, questions, and likes are welcome.

Credit: The three waffles photos taken by Andrea Lee